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HAZLETON &#8212; The city council refused to create the position of Budget and Finance Director at its meeting Tuesday, a motion placed on the agenda by Mayor Jeff Cusat.The resolution was voted down 4-1, with council member Jack Mundie casting the lone &#8220;yes&#8221; vote.Cusat said he wanted to create the position under the auspices of city administrator Tom Pribula, but did not plan to fill it immediately. He wanted the position to be available if it needed to be filled at a later date.Councilman Bobby Gavio said, &#8220;So this is basically a job description?&#8221;Both Gavio and councilman David Sosar assured Cusat that, should the position need to be created and filled at a later date in an emergency, a special meeting on the issue would be called by the council.In another matter, Michael Vislocky, president of the Department of Public Works Service Employees International Union, said a grievance has been filed regarding work for which the city had issued Requests For Proposals.Vislocky said, according to past practices, said work had been completed by union members.Cusat and solicitor Shawn Logsdon said they could not comment because the grievance has been filed.Vislocky said the matter is slated to go before the council in May and he wanted to make members aware of the union&#8217;s position. He provided each member with a copy of the grievance.Prior to Tuesday&#8217;s meeting, the council members were reluctant to make appointments to various authorities, citing Cusat&#8217;s failure to present department heads. On Tuesday, however, they did approve Anthony Columbo to the Hazleton Housing Authority, Ann Vinatieri to the city planning commission and made several appointments to the veterans advisory board.Following the meeting, councilwoman Jean Mope said the appointments were an attempt to show good faith toward the mayor.&#8220;We want to show that we are willing to work with the mayor,&#8221; said Mope. &#8220;But, we are still expecting department heads to be presented to the council in the near future.&#8221;In another matter, the council approved an application for a grant application to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the center city park project which would establish a park on Broad and Laurel streets.When questioned about matching funds, Krista Schneider from the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress and writer of the the grant, said the alliance has applied for a Greenway Trails and Recreation Program grant to match those funds.&#8220;The application has been tied up because of the state budget,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But this is a long term project and, if necessary, we will apply for other grants.&#8221;The council voted down the creation of a Parks and Recreation Advisory Board placed on the agenda by Cusat.&#8220;I just want to provide opportunity for more recreation in the city,&#8221; said Cusat.Councilwoman Grace Cuozzo said she believes mechanisms are already in place to address recreational issues.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Geri Gibbonsggibbons@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</shirttailMeta></div>

Hazleton City Council refuses to establish position of Budget and Finance Director