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Charleroi council suspends borough manager

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CHARLEROI – Citing “disrespectful” behavior, Charleroi council suspended its borough manager without pay for 10 days at Wednesday’s meeting.

“He’s a very good borough manager,” council President Frank Paterra said of Matt Staniszewski on Thursday. “But he was disrespectful to some people in the audience at the last meeting (June 7) and with a couple calls. I’ve talked to him a couple times, but he’s been in a position where he hasn’t acted like a borough manager should act. Hopefully, after these two weeks he’ll come back and be different.

“A borough manager is supposed to be in the community and have public relations with the people. He’s lacked that. It’s unfortunate, but we’re hoping when he comes back he’ll tend to the business of the borough and his people skills will improve.”

Staniszewski was not present at Wednesday’s meeting.

When contacted Thursday, Staniszewski said, “I have retained legal counsel and the improper actions of council will be addressed.”

Wednesday’s meeting was recessed until 6 p.m. June 28, when controversy surrounding the proposed dissolution of the Authority of the Borough of Charleroi (ABC), which provides water and sewer services to a number of municipalities, is expected to be put to rest, according to Paterra. The borough was expected to hold the first reading of an ordinance to dissolve the ABC at the contentious June 7 meeting, which drew a capacity audience to oppose the action. The meeting ended without council taking action.

Paterra said Thursday that there will be no further need for the services of attorney Thomas Wyatt, who was hired to handle the ABC matter, adding that nothing was accomplished for the $53,000 it cost the borough.

“I tore up the ordinance on the water authority (Wednesday),” Paterra said. “I appointed (Councilman) Jerry Jericho and Nancy Ellis to go to the water company to see if they could work something out, and they did.

“Nobody’s rates are going to go up. Nobody is going to lose their jobs. We’re not going to sell the authority. We’re going to solve this problem and accept what they’re giving us and end this thing.”

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