Mayors’ Vision: Cognetti continues message of transparency

SCRANTON — Paige Cognetti previously said that the most important thing for her administration is transparency in Scranton, and she said that is still a main goal as Scranton continues to face challenges posed by COVID-19.

According to the mayor, she is proud of the ways Scranton has responded to the crisis, but she urges that citizens and business owners continue to exercise caution.

“It’s not past tense,” she said of the ongoing global health crisis, which was still only on the horizon during her last conversation with the Times Leader.

With Lackawanna County set to move into the green phase of Pennsylvania’s phased reopening, she said the message isn’t quite the same as the stoplight metaphor that had been so apt up until this point.

“Green does not mean go; green still means caution,” she said. “We still need to act with caution, we still need to social distance.

“Going green doesn’t mean a license to go back to normal,” she said.

With that said, though, she said she is very proud of the successes that Scranton did have in the battle with the disease. According to her, there were no cases of the virus among any of the city’s first responders.

“We prioritized keeping our first responders healthy,” she said.

That said, though, she said one of the biggest challenges facing the city is its lack of its own Department of Health — something Wilkes-Barre is relatively unique in the state for having. Cognetti said that Scranton’s lack of its own health department affects the data that the city has to work with. Since the city is only able to use the numbers available from the state, which are based on ZIP code and not municipality, Cognetti said it is hard to know exactly how many people in Scranton have passed away as a result of the disease.

“It is very difficult to tailor the response without that data,” Cognetti said.

According to the mayor, her administration is looking into creating its own Department of Health, but there is one major problem: money.

“The funding piece is huge,” Cognetti said, adding that the city is likely facing a $10 million budget deficit this year. “We know that we do not have the budget for it.”

As such, she said that she along with the respective mayors of Wilkes-Barre, Pittston and Hazleton have all been trying to “hammer at the need for funding” from the state and especially federal governments.

But, despite her concerns about safety, she said she is glad for businesses about the move into the green phase.

“There’s been some inconsistencies in the rules around what businesses can and can’t be open,” she said about the previous phases of the reopening process. “The good thing about the green phase, it gets things back to an equilibrium. It’s good for businesses in that way.”

Cognetti said that she has some concerns about the commonwealth’s guidelines, suggesting that the maximum amount of people in gatherings might be too high — “250 does seem like a lot to me,” she said — but she said that her administration will not be imposing any stricter guidelines than what the state suggests as of right now, especially noting the relatively small number of facilities in the city that could hold a gathering that large.

#BLM protests

In addition to COVID-19, Scranton has also seen a number of Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd, like much of the rest of the country. According to Cognetti, Scranton was also in a unique position in regards to these protests as well.

As much of the Black Lives Matter movement focuses on police brutality, some of the discussion has centered around #8CantWait, a series of eight policies activists around the country say will reduce the number of individuals killed by police. The policies include the banning of chokeholds and strangleholds, the requirement that officers issue a warning before firing a shot, banning firing at moving vehicles and requiring comprehensive reporting of incidents that involve the use of force.

According to Cognetti, the Scranton Police Department already had some form of all eight of these policies in place, and has for some time.

“Substantially, we have 21st century policing policies in place,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t be better.”

According to her, that improvement can only come from transparency. Cognetti said that she and Scranton Police Chief Carl Graziano have been actively engaged in conversations with protesters and activists about best policies moving forward.

Being proactive

For Cognetti, transparency directly correlates with efficiency. And, especially in the wake of dramatic changes caused by COVID-19, she said it’s very important to get information out there.

For example, when Scranton City Hall opens again on Monday, the treasury department will not be taking cash payments. Cognetti said large signs will be posted outside so people know before they even walk up City Hall’s steps.

“The more proactive we are with information, the fewer questions we get and the fewer hours of staff time we have to take answering questions,” she said.

As Cognetti continues on into her first term as mayor, she said she is incredibly thankful for the people around her who have helped, including the other local mayors, especially Wilkes-Barre’s George Brown, Hazleton’s Jeff Cusat and Pittston’s Michael Lombardo. She said she’s built a partnership with them that has gone into “hyperdrive” in the wake of the deadly disease.

And most of her thanks went to the employees of the city, saying she is really excited about the team that has been brought on to drive the city forward. According to her, the fight against the virus just couldn’t work without all the employees who have made numerous sacrifices.

“It’s really about people,” she said.