Monessen posts $345,000 deficit
MONESSEN – The struggling city of Monessen ended last year with a $345,000 deficit in its general fund in a pattern of overspending that has continued for several years.
The auditing firm of Cypher & Cypher of Canonsburg presented those findings at a Monessen council meeting Thursday after explaining the city over-estimated revenues last year.
Steve Cypher said the audit didn’t list any other significant findings, stating the business office does a “nice job.”
“They just don’t have any money,” Cypher said after leaving the meeting.
The news came at a time when Monessen has many crumbling streets and abandoned houses and downtown buildings in varying stages of disrepair.
City leaders entered into a state program to avoid becoming a financially distressed municipality after ending 2015 with a deficit of more than $600,000.
Cypher said Monessen has difficult decisions to make in a city with an aging and shrinking population.
He said the city’s police officers receive full family health insurance after retiring, a benefit that is expected to cost $3 million at the end of this year.
The audit report was also given at a time when the city’s mayor hasn’t attended a council meeting in four months.
There had been rumors Mayor Matt Shorraw planned to attend Thursday’s meeting, said Councilman Anthony Orzechowski, who has been leading council meetings.
“He’s not going to walk in here, and everything is going to be fine and dandy,” Orzechowski said as the minutes ticked down to Thursday’s meeting.
Shorraw never walked through the doors to City Hall, joining Councilman Gil Coles in missing another meeting.
Shorraw, 27, who took office in January, did not return a message seeking comment Thursday.
Two weeks ago, he issued a statement in which he claimed he forwarded to unnamed state officials information about “some very serious concerns in regards to the future of the City of Monessen.”
He also said he has stayed away from City Hall because members of council have been combative with him.