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By JENNIFER LEARN jlearn@leader.net
Tuesday, February 08, 2000 Page: 3A
Even though township commissioners plan to fire Frank Ciavarella in a week,
he was promoted back to Public Works director on Monday.
Ciavarella was demoted to laborer last week, but state officials said the
move appeared to be illegal because commissioners hadn’t voted on it.
“I’m like a ping-pong ball,” said Ciavarella, a Republican commissioner
who sides with Democrats. “They think it’s easy to play with lives. They have
nothing else better to do.”
Ciavarella said the Republican majority commissioners scrambled to put him
back in the director job so they won’t get in trouble. Ciavarella has
threatened to challenge the legality of the demotion in a lawsuit he plans to
file after his firing.
Republican majority Commissioner Bill Watkins said last week that he and
some of his fellow commissioners want to get rid of Ciavarella because they
believe his $36,000-a-year salary could be better spent on other items, such
as a Public Works truck.
Watkins said demotions are administrative decisions that can be made
without a vote. He said last week that Public Works Supervisor Bill “Red”
Morgan was put in charge of the department to ensure a smooth transition until
Feb. 14, when commissioners expect to pass a new budget that will remove
Ciavarella from the payroll altogether.
But on Monday, Ciavarella said he was surprised when Morgan started asking
him how to proceed with a work assignment.
“Why are you asking me?” Ciavarella asked.
He said Morgan told him, “because you’re the Public Works director.”
Ciavarella said he didn’t want to order around workers until he got the
go-ahead from township officials.
According to Ciavarella, township Administrator Ed Mera didn’t know
anything about the new directive until he contacted township Supervisor
Chairman John Sipper on Monday morning.
Mera told him that Sipper wants Ciavarella to train Morgan so he is
prepared to take over Ciavarella’s job duties on Feb. 14.
“Red (Morgan) has been working in the township over 25 years. If I have to
train a man who has been here that long, it only shows you that they need
Frank,” Ciavarella said. “I’m still in shock on that one.”
Morgan and Sipper could not be reached for comment.
Worker Paul Sepko said Ciavarella should stop taking credit for improving
Public Works.
Sepko said Ciavarella left during three snowstorms to attend a Wyoming
Valley Sanitary Authority meeting, to plow the lot of his car dealership and
to “take a break” at home.
Ciavarella has said he worked many uncompensated hours during snowstorms,
and leaves only if the workers are busy carrying out specific job assignments.
Call Learn at 831-7333.