Barletta: Eachus hurting Hazleton in effort to tarnish me

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta on Monday said House Majority Leader Todd Eachus is playing politics in trying to discredit him and the result could be bankruptcy for the city.

Eachus has sent a letter to state Auditor General Jack Wagner that condemns Barletta’s action in removing money from the city’s pension fund and asks Wagner for help to resolve the issue.

Barletta, a Republican, said Monday the issue would have been resolved two years ago had it not been for Eachus, D-Butler Township. Barletta said Senate Bill 961 would have enabled the City of Hazleton to fund post-retirement health care benefits for retired city employees by “shifting” to the city’s general fund a portion of the revenues available under the special taxing authority created by Act 205 of 1984.

The state Senate approved the bill 49-0 and it went to the House. That’s when Eachus stopped the measure, Barletta said.

“Senate Bill 961 wouldn’t cost the state one penny,” Barletta said. “It won’t cost the taxpayers anything.”

Barletta charged that Eachus got the bill stalled in the House Finance Committee.

“On more than one occasion, I have asked Rep. Eachus to support the bill,” Barletta said. “Instead it sat in the House for almost two years and died. Eachus didn’t do one thing to get this bill passed; he raised one objection after another. Now time is up and the Auditor General has to move forward.”

State Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, said he remembers Barletta coming to Harrisburg in 2007 to try to work out a legislative solution to the issue.

“I thought we had one,” Yudichak said. “It passed the Senate 49-0. I offered a discharge resolution in the House to get it out of committee and I was told that a solution was being worked on with Mayor Barletta and Rep. Eachus to resolve the issue. Now here we are two years later and the problem continues to threaten the health and welfare of the residents of Hazleton City.”

Hazleton is in the throes of a financial crisis, facing an approximate $500,000 budget deficit this year. Additionally, the city must repay $1.5 million in improperly spent pension money to the state. Wagner said the city improperly used a portion of special tax revenue designated for police and firefighter pensions to pay for retirees’ health-care benefits and to buy back unused vacation and sick leave from employees who accepted an early-retirement incentive.

The city appealed Wagner’s determination and an administrative hearing officer last month upheld the auditor general’s determination. Barletta said the city will appeal that decision to Commonwealth Court.

Barletta said the auditor general agreed that the bill, if re-introduced and passed in the state Legislature, could be retroactive. The mayor said he has asked Eachus to re-introduce the bill, but Eachus has refused.

“Not only has (Eachus) refused to help Hazleton, he has gone out of his way to destroy the city by writing to the auditor general,” Barletta said.

“Specifically, between 2003 and 2006, Mayor Barletta diverted $1,593,122 out of the city’s pension fund, knowing that legal grounds for this transfer were questionable at best,” Eachus wrote to Wagner. “After you ruled the transfers improper in 2006, the Mayor diverted an additional $1,391,558 in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 budgets. This amounts to a total of $2,984,680 diverted from the city’s pension fund.”

Eachus told Wagner that he is “deeply concerned” that Barletta pursued what he called an unusual practice.

“And he did so without regard to its legality,” Eachus wrote. “And I’m troubled that he escalated it for three years after you ruled it improper.”

Eachus said Hazleton police officers, firefighters and other city employees “should not be held victim to the Mayor’s policies,” nor should city taxpayers be left to foot the bill.

Eachus asked Wagner to meet to discuss the issue to identify the legal and financial boundaries that apply to the issue.

“There are Republicans and Democrats in Harrisburg who are concerned about this,” Eachus said. “Of course I want to help the taxpayers of Hazleton, but there is more than one way to do it.”

On the charge of politics, Eachus said, “The mayor is the one playing politics. For me, it’s about policy and numbers; we have to protect the pension first and develop a policy that guarantees protection for Hazleton and will not cause firestorms in other third class cities.”

Barletta said he will not back down. He said that if Eachus won’t help, he will find someone who will help Hazleton.

“If he wants to play political football with the future of Hazleton, then he will have to live with the destruction of this city at his feet,” Barletta said.

Barletta said petitions are being circulated in Hazleton asking city residents to sign and urge Eachus to reintroduce the bill. Barletta said Hazleton paid more into the pension fund than what was required by law. He said he never removed any pension funds, only those that were paid above what was required. Barletta said he fears having to lay off police and fire personnel.

Yudichak said he is sure the bill could get re-introduced in the state House and he is confident the Senate would again support it.

“The whole issue of pension reform needs to be addressed,” Yudichak said. “Too many pension funds are underfunded and municipalities are taking out bonds to pay for pensions and they don’t have any police on streets. I can see this happening now in Hazleton. We have to come to some resolution that can preserve the general welfare of that city.”

HT News

Mayor accuses representative of getting bill that would help city stalled in state House.

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