Mar 7, 2019 3 min read

Be it on the federal, state or local level, those who make decisions on behalf of taxpayers are entrusted with a special duty to be good stewards with our money, hear our concerns and act on our behalf and in our best interest.

We elect them to office because we believe them to be the most capable of representing us.

Good government truly is a priceless commodity … except, it seems, in Monessen, where council has deemed it necessary to put a dollar value on meeting attendance.

At a meeting last month, they enacted an ordinance that will fine those who do not come to voting meetings $25 for each unexcused absence.

The move came as Mayor Matt Shorraw and Councilman Gilbert Coles continue to shirk their duties, skipping meetings (and opportunities to give their input) in the struggling city.

Shorraw hasn’t been to more than two dozen consecutive meetings. Coles has been to only one since February 2018. He showed up in June to be the necessary third vote to keep Monessen’s liability insurance active.

It took council about two minutes to approve that renewal, and as council opened the meeting to public comment, Coles got up and left.

An ordinance and the imposition of a fine shouldn’t be necessary to get those elected to office into their seats at public business meetings.

Shorraw and Coles ran for the offices they now hold. If they don’t want to be there, they should quit and allow those who’ve faithfully attended meetings to accept letters of interest and appoint folks who will participate.

In a Herald-Standard letter to the editor last week, Shorraw recognized that many wonder why he and Coles aren’t coming to meetings.

“To touch on that,” he wrote, “it is because we have no desire to be a part of the … practices of our colleagues, and in time the full story and details will come out.”

He then went on to address what he called “missed opportunities” by council members, citing returned grant money, criticizing their participation in a citywide comprehensive plan and questioning what they’re doing with a state-sponsored Early Intervention Program.

Here’s the problem: Shorraw may be hitting the nail on the head and raising alarm bells, but it’s incredibly difficult to take anything he’s saying seriously.

Council members Anthony Orzechowski, David Feehan and Lois Thomas are the boots on the ground in Monessen. They come to meetings where they discuss city business, interact with the public and address residents’ concerns.

While Shorraw continues to post and share posts about the city on his Facebook page, social media outreach is not and never will be a substitute for his participation in government business at open meetings.

He needs to come back to the table. Coles needs to come back to the table. It is the only way residents will be able to take any concerns the men may want to voice seriously.

If they are not willing to face the residents they were elected to represent, then it remains our sincere hope that they will both step down.