Fighting City Hall From Within: An Ongoing Series IV
Matt Shorraw, Mayor City of Monessen
Part IV
The Mon Valley Sewage Authority
The Mon Valley Sewage Authority is a joint authority between the City of Monessen and the Borough of Donora. The authority represents a 60% holding by Monessen and a 40% holding by Donora. The PA DEP has recently advised verbally that the authority is one of the best-operated authorities in the state.
Within the past year or so, the City of Monessen, led by the ex-Magisterial District Judge, city solicitor Gary Matta and his law firm, and ex-Mayor Lou Mavrakis have set out to create an antagonistic atmosphere at the Mon Valley Sewage Authority, allegedly in order to promote the sale of the Mon Valley Sewage Authority to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC).
Yancey Taylor, (twice-convicted felon and Donora’s board appointee), Catherine Tucker (Monessen’s board appointee), and George Shusta (Monessen’s board appointee and former sewage authority Chairman) were allegedly planning to vote for the former magistrate’s son, Joseph R. Dalfonso, (who is the Assistant Monessen City Solicitor), to be the sewage authority solicitor. They also planned to vote Gary Matta as special counsel for the authority. Both Matta and the former magistrate’s son Joseph R. are part of the same law firm.
George Shusta allegedly became very concerned and failed to vote the way the former magistrate, Mavrakis, and Matta wanted. Shusta became concerned because board member Yancey Taylor was allegedly receiving text messages from the ex-Magistrate demanding that his son be named sewage authority solicitor. Taylor supposedly forwarded these texts to Shusta, which angered him and caused him to vote to retain the current solicitor and hire an additional firm as special counsel. Additionally, Mavrakis was calling Shusta multiple times per day, demanding Shusta have lunch with Monessen Solicitor Gary Matta before the sewage authority vote was taken. Shusta refused. Shusta then allegedly received a call from Nino Pansino (friend of the former magistrate) and had lunch with him instead. Shusta was on edge due to the vitriolic responses by the ex-magistrate and Mavrakis following the vote, because Shusta did not vote the way they wanted. Shusta recently resigned from the sewage authority board, with three months remaining in his term. Was he forced to resign prematurely? If so, by whom?
In addition, at the March 11, 2019 sewage authority meeting, it was mentioned that the Mon Valley Sewage Authority remits a monthly line usage fee payment to the City of Monessen that amounts to $504,000 total per year. This surfaced after Monessen Councilwoman Lois Thomas Claimed that there was “no money” in the account. Residents are now questioning where the fees have been going over the past two years, and why they haven’t gone to fund the DEP mandated stormwater separation tank, or to fund the aging Monessen sewer lines.
As it stands now sewage ratepayers in Monessen pay $12 per month for a line usage fee. The purpose of this fee is to repair catch basins/storm sewers, pay for other line maintenance and related fees, and to help build the DEP-Mandated Storm Water Separation (EQ) Tank. This line usage fee has been helpful for the city in the past and will continue to be helpful in providing residents the proper services in regards to sewer lines.
Additionally, line usage is also used for:
- Repairing failed sewage issues.
- MS4 — a relatively new mandate that is ongoing and never-ending.
- Rather than taking a straight dollar amount to extract and forward the line usage funds, Mon Valley Sewage Authority takes 3% and will continue to take 3% as the fee rises to cover future phase work. This is significant because they took 3% when it was $5 and still charge 3% now that it is $12 — to do the same amount of work. They are aware and will not change.
- The City’s Public Works employees are sometimes compensated from line usage when they operate the Vactor truck and other line-related equipment.
- Anything else that can remotely be related to sewage or water.
Historically and incorrectly, line usage fees have been used to cover other debts such as insurance and pension obligations, and there is roughly $80,000 “borrowed” from line usage in 2016, which was never paid back to the fund, in order to pay other city expenses at the end of the year.
Some of our lines are almost as old as the city itself, so it is crucial that we repair and maintain them. Where has this funding gone?
That is why it is crucial to follow the line usage money and make sure that it has been going to the right places. It is also crucial to protect the Mon Valley Sewage Authority and its employees so that we can avoid skyrocketing rates and commission fees to various entities, that could come from a potential sale that may not be above-board. This seems to have been the intent, and I feel it continues to be the intent, of the ex-magistrate, Solicitor Matta, Solicitor Joseph R. Dalfonso, and other involved parties from the very beginning. It is unfortunate because it is not what is in the best interest of the residents.
MS
*Please note: edits were made to this piece on 11/10/19 because the word ‘allegedly’ was inadvertently omitted from the original publication. Additionally, I request that all persons mentioned in this article not delete any text message, email, or other written correspondence between any of them.
