Mar 5, 2019 3 min read

MONESSEN – Anyone on city council who misses a meeting without a good reason will now be subject to a financial penalty.

On Thursday, Monessen council adopted an ordinance providing for the assessment of reasonable fines for absences at regular or special council meetings. Solicitor Joe Dalfonso said the ordinance will take effect immediately and fines can be assessed for individuals who miss any meeting where a vote takes place.

Under the terms of the ordinance, if the mayor or a council member misses a meeting, they will have two business days to provide a written explanation, specifying why their absence was justified. Those elected officials who don’t comply with the ordinance will be fined $25.

“These fines are the equivalent of a parking ticket,” said Dalfonso. “If anyone fails to pay the fine, they would get a summary citation and if that isn’t paid, then this could go to the magistrate.”

Dalfonso said Mayor Matt Shorraw and Councilman Gilbert Coles would not be fined for any meetings they missed before the ordinance was passed. Shorraw has now missed 26 consecutive meetings while Coles has only attended one meeting since February 2018, leaving after providing a necessary vote to extend the city’s liability insurance.

The ordinance allows absences for council members and the mayor when they are sick or disabled or if they are caring for someone in their immediate family who is ill or a newborn. In addition, the ordinance allows a council member to miss a meeting for a family emergency, business or travel.

Dalfonso said if those who receive a stipend for their elected service are fined, the fine will be deducted from the stipend. All but Coles receive a stipend. Coles has never filled out the paperwork to receive his, so if he is issued a fine, he will receive a letter in the mail that gives him 10 days to pay the fine, Dalfonso said.

Shorraw has, in the past, said he felt threatened by other council members, who have denied threatening either man.

As a result of Shorraw’s absences, Councilman Anthony Orzechowski was appointed the city’s acting mayor.

Also, during the meeting, council members approved a transfer of the police pension fund and firemen’s pension fund from Rayliant Asset Management to Huntington Private Bank.

“If some of you may remember, the mayor sent out letters to the state auditor general saying he had a fiduciary responsibility to make sure everything was being done legally,” said Orzechowski. “Just so you know, we had two meetings with the police pension board and, at no time, was the mayor available for the same thing he had the gall to complain about. So, if you’re going to stand on your pulpit and you’re so adamant that things have been done illegally, why would you choose to do that and never even participate for one second in the outcome?”

Last July, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale questioned why the city didn’t provide an explanation as to why one plan manager was selected over another, as required by law. At the time, DePasquale called the process “fatally flawed.” Since then, DePasquale reached an agreement with the city that allows it to receive $154,585 in police and firefighter pension aid funds on a conditional basis.