SCRANTON – City Council approved final passage of several important pieces of legislation on Tuesday, including two that will continue to put them at odds with city administration. Following a public hearing on the matter before the regular meeting, council established new rules and regulations for the West Scranton Skate Park, which is currently maintained by the Hyde Park Neighborhood watch and surrounding neighbors in West Scranton. After holding a public caucus with Northeast Revenue Service LLC last week to answer council’s questions about the WilkesBarre company’s collection methods, council passed an amended contract with NCC on Tuesday to collect the city’s delinquent real estate taxes from 2004 through 2010 with a 4-1 vote. Council Vice President Pat Rogan dissented. It is a two-year contract with the option of a one-year renewal. “We hammered out a contract that helps the city with its debt and current deficit and makes payments of tax delinquencies more fair, affordable, efficient and accountable,” Council President Janet Evans said. Next, council unanimously passed an amended list of authorized towing companies for the city and an establishment of rules, qualifications and standards to be followed by the companies as well as fines and penalties for towing and fees. Councilman Jack Loscombe said the city will receive more revenue under council’s amendments and provide a more fair process for towing companies by separating authorized towers, salvage towers and heavy duty towers on separate lists and adjusting the tower’s fees accordingly. Councilman Bob McGoff said that towers he spoke to felt the changes were “legitimate and acceptable.”
Then council unanimously overrode Mayor Chris Doherty’s veto of legislation drafted by council solicitor Boyd Hughes to transfer funds from the Urban Development Action Grant second repayment account to another account to pay for lifeguards and the purchase of pool chemicals and supplies so that the Novembrino pool could be reopened. In a letter addressed to City Clerk Nancy Krake, the mayor said that council violated the Home Rule Charter and Administrative Code by not discussing changes with him first. He wrote that council “illegally and improperly attempted to create” a special city account to deposit the UDAG repayments and that use of UDAG funds “falls completely” under his discretion, adding that the Department of Housing and Urban Development does not allow these funds to be used for those items. “He fails to provide any citations to support his reasons for veto,” Evans responded, addressing what she felt were the mayor’s “inaccuracies.” She said a special city account was established, as evidenced by vouchers from the city controller. The city’s Office of Economic and Community Development has no legislative authority over council and there is no documentation to prove that UDAG repayments can only be used by the mayor, she continued. UDAG funds can be used for “any city purpose,” she contended.
Additionally, Evans listed the mayor’s “wasteful and personal” spending of funds, saying that the money should always be spent on improving citizens’ quality of life. Finally, council passed legislation that prohibits the Scranton Recreation Authority from charging city residents an admission fee to swim at Nay Aug Park, citing children and families who cannot afford the fee as their primary reason for the change. The vote was 4-1, with Councilman Bob McGoff dissenting. The legislation asks that citizens show proof of their residency to enter the pool for free, though Scranton-Lackawanna County Taxpayers Association member Bill Jackowitz suggested in a letter to city officials that all children ages 1-15 should be allowed in automatically, and those 16 and older should provide a valid license or ID. “Providing free swimming for the children of Scranton not only takes away some of the financial burden from the families, but it also takes away the possible safety risk of swimming in the (Nay Aug) gorge or swimming in streams or rivers,” Rogan said. McGoff said that other pools in the city provide free swimming and that he views the Nay Aug pool as “a separate entity” where a charge is necessary to maintain the pool and the park itself.
