Jun 20, 2024 By Paul Paterra 4 min read

Donora council approved a second reading of an ordinance giving the borough code enforcement officer the ability to execute search warrants, but the solicitor has no plans to sign off on them.

Council approved the second reading June 13 in a 4-3 vote. Voting in favor were Casey Perrotta, Fred Berestecky, Mike McDowell and Tommy Thompson. Dissenting were council President Cindy Brice, Jim Brice and DeAnne Pavelko.

Perrotta has been the driving force behind the ordinance, which calls for the solicitor to sign off on warrants before going to a magistrate for final approval.

He said the genesis of the ordinance goes back a couple years, stemming from the suspicion of an “insect infestation” at a borough residence whose occupant refused officials’ request to inspect the property.

“The property owner cannot give the code enforcement officer permission to do an inspection on the residence if there is someone occupying the residence; it’s their domicile,” Perrotta said, referring to rental properties.

“We should be able to build up enough probable cause that a judge would sign off that we have a search warrant to conduct a rental inspection against the property owner,” he said.

Solicitor Steve Toprani said he would not sign off on any of the warrants, noting the borough’s insurance carrier had reservations about the ordinance. Concerns include who’s going to execute the warrants, have they received proper training and will police officers be involved.

The borough has one code enforcement officer, Joe Volpe, who works part time and has no experience with search warrants. Council voted to advertise for a second part-time code enforcement officer at $23 an hour at the June 13 meeting. Donora currently has one full-time police officer, Chief Neal Rands.

“They raised a number of legitimate and practical issues and said the use of this type of ordinance may not be covered under our general liability insurance,” Toprani said. “Our commercial, general liability carrier said they have never even been asked to evaluate an ordinance of this variety.”

Toprani also said his personal insurance carrier advised against approving warrants because he likely would not be covered.

“I’m not sure there exists a circumstance where we should be applying for a judge to get a search warrant to go into someone’s home,” Toprani said. “I don’t agree with the majority of council’s vote on this. I think it could potentially subject individuals to liability. I think it creates a risk where one wouldn’t exist otherwise.”

In his previous capacity as Washington County’s district attorney, Toprani signed off on numerous search warrants.

“I know the risks that are inherent with these,” he said. “You’re dealing with people’s constitutional rights. Warrant service is very dangerous, and oftentimes people don’t know why you’re appearing for a warrant.”

Perrotta said he found similar regulations in four other Pennsylvania communities, the boroughs of Darby in Delaware County, Hellertown in Northampton County and Northeast in Erie County, as well as the city of Sunbury in Northumberland County.

He said Toprani’s refusal to sign off on warrants could serve as an obstacle.

“If the borough ordinance states that it goes to the borough solicitor for approval before it goes to a judge, those are the regulations we have to follow,” Perrotta said. “Technically, we don’t need that ordinance. There are statutes that give us the authority to apply for an administrative search warrant without a borough ordinance. The borough ordinance is only to give additional regulatory compliance.”

Cindy Brice said her concern deals with the term “borough designee.”

“So you’re going to give power and authority to a regular citizen,” she said. “That’s my problem. It’s a way to sidestep the normal judicial process. There is nothing set up for this, they’re just pushing it through.”

Perrotta said the term borough designee was included in the absence of a code enforcement officer.

“I just want to clean up Donora,” he said.