Mar 6, 2020 2 min read

MONESSEN – Five banks have rejected Monessen’s applications for loans to pay bills, partly because of leadership problems and internal struggles, city officials said.

The institutions also rejected tax-anticipation loan requests from the city because of its long-term debt and no “concise plan” to pay it down, city administrator John Harhai said Thursday.

“We’re going to make it,” Harhai said with confidence that he can pull the city through its financial problems.

City Council meetings have been contentious since first-term Mayor Matt Shorraw returned to meetings Jan. 6 after a nearly two-year absence from City Hall.

His return followed the November election that created a new majority on council in his favor, and his first orders of business involved firing the former administrator and solicitor.

In a news release early Thursday, Shorraw, 29, indicated the city’s “finances seem to be improving slightly.”

Councilman Anthony Orzechowski, who served as acting mayor during Shorraw’s absence, said he doubts the city will be able to weather its financial problems.

“No, I don’t, from what they have done,” said Orzechowski, while claiming the new leadership has been withholding information from him and Councilwoman Lois Thomas.

“They won’t tell me anything, show me anything,” he said.

He said the former majority was approved for a tax-anticipation loan and paid it off with interest.

“They believed in us,” Orzechowski said.

However, the city ended 2019 with a negative balance of more than $200,000, he said.

Harhai said the city has a little more than $200,000 in its general fund and that real estate tax payments have been arriving at City Hall.

He said he didn’t expect the city to lay off any employees to pay other bills.