May 13, 2022 5 min read

CHARLEROI – Charleroi council hired former Washington councilman Matthew Staniszewski as its new borough manager Wednesday.

However, the three-year contract that includes a $65,000 annual salary for the position was not approved. The meeting agenda included the hiring and an accompanying contract written by a third-party legal firm.

After some members of council expressed concerns with portions of the contract, a motion was made to vote on it separately from the hiring.

“I didn’t know we had an agreement on a contract,” said Councilman Jerry Jericho.

“We discussed it last week when we sent in out,” responded council President Paul Pivovarnik.

In a 4-3 vote, council hired Staniszewski, with Pivovarnik and council members Larry Celaschi, Joseph Smith and Cathy Diess casting yes votes. Jericho, Jeannine Motycki and Nancy Ellis opposed the hire.

The motion to approve the contract was voted down, with Diess, Motycki, Ellis and Jericho voting against and Pivovarnik, Smith and Celaschi in favor.

“I voted against Matt because I have some trepidations,” Motycki said Thursday. “I did not vote for the contract because there are so many things that I feel should not be in there. The contract states a very expensive severance package, and if something would happen and we would have to do that, I feel it would take the borough broke.”

She also said that a three-year contract can’t be approved with an election coming up in two years.

Jericho raised concerns at the meeting about the salary.

“It was $62,000, now it’s $65,000,” he said. “We only have budgeted $60,000. How did we get up to $65,000?”

Celaschi said the remaining money will be covered by American Rescue Plan funds.

“We never even discussed that,” Jericho said.

The personnel committee will meet Monday to discuss the contract with the other members of council. What is agreed upon at that meeting will be sent to the solicitor’s office for a draft to be prepared to be sent to the third-party firm.

The contract must be approved by council, which could take place at a special meeting or at council’s next voting meeting June 8.

Staniszewski served two separate terms on Washington City Council. He did not seek reelection in November and left the seat when his term expired at the beginning of January.

While a councilman, Staniszewski was charged with driving under the influence on multiple occasions, the latest occurring Feb. 16, 2021, when he crashed his sport utility vehicle into a concrete median on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. According to court documents, his blood-alcohol level at the time was .267%.

He had been serving six months’ probation following a DUI conviction in Washington in August 2019 and was just eight days away from completing it before the turnpike crash.

Earlier this year, Staniszewski pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of DUI highest rate second offense for the turnpike crash. The charge typically carries a sentence of 90 days to 23 1/2 months in jail, but he avoided jail time.

Staniszewski’s defense attorney in the cases was current Charleroi Solicitor Sean Logue, who was not in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting.

“There is no conflict whatsoever,” Logue said Thursday about Staniszewski working in the borough in which Logue is the solicitor. “I’m proud of Matt. He has the education, experience and training to be a great borough manager.”

Joe Scioscia, a member of the Logue Law Group, handled the solicitor’s duties Wednesday. He said even though the contract has not been approved, Staniszewski can start work since he was hired for the position.

“He has been hired, so he’s allowed to start working,” Scioscia said. “It will be up to Mr. Staniszewski and the borough to come to an agreement on the terms of the contract. He’s allowed to start work under the date agreed upon under the contract.”

That date could be as early as Monday.

Staniszewski said after the meeting he has been a private business owner and has also served in local government for close to 20 years, having worked as director of community and economic development in New Castle and borough manager in Homestead. He also said he was a member of the legislative committee for the Pennsylvania Municipal League.

“I look forward to working with all of the elected officials,” he said. “For the ones who did vote against me, I look forward to strengthening our relationship together so they will have the same confidence in me as others. I look forward to utilizing my expertise, my education and my experience to help the borough of Charleroi and even the Mon Valley region.”

Staniszewski was the only person considered for the position.

The borough manager position has been vacant since January, when council voted to approve a personnel move without getting into the specifics of the motion. When council met Feb. 9, it approved a separation agreement with former borough manager Joe Manning and accepted his resignation.