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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; It&#8217;s hit or miss with department heads attending city council meetings, and Thursday night just a single one showed up in Police Chief Marcella Lendacky.</p><p>The scarcity prompted some council members to ask what happened to Mayor Tony George&#8217;s notice from the beginning of the year about his senior staff.</p><p>&#8220;I just want to know what&#8217;s up with that,&#8221; said councilman Tony Brooks. Councilwoman Beth Gilbert joined with him in asking for an explanation.</p><p>A few weeks after taking office the mayor issued a press release on Jan. 25 saying he would not attend the council meetings in order to allow constituents to address council members and get answers from department heads.</p><p>&#8220;They will give firsthand knowledge as well as solutions to residents&#8217; problems. Department heads will provide accountability for the services that their department provides to residents,&#8221; the press release said.</p><p>Lendacky and Deputy Fire Chief Alan Klapat, representing Fire Chief Jay Delaney, responded to questions from the public.</p><p>City Administrator Ted Wampole, who represents the mayor at the work sessions and meetings, said it&#8217;s a &#8220;cost factor&#8221; that determines when they attend. All of them work during the day and having them stay on for the 6 p.m. meeting &#8220;wouldn&#8217;t be a great use of city assets&#8221; unless there was something pressing on the agenda.</p><p>But Gilbert said most of the department heads are salaried employees.</p><p>Council approved the four items on the agenda:</p><p>&#8226; The sale of unused alley next to the property of James and Donna Kowalczyk at 419 S. River St. to them for $400</p><p>&#8226; The installation of a stop sign at the intersection of East Chestnut Street and Sunrise Drive</p><p>&#8226; The application for a 2016 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant in the amount of $18,455 for the police department to fund firearms/Taser instructors certification, tactical and non-tactical training and saturation patrols for violent crime areas</p><p>&#8226; The appointment of Jessica McClay and Francis Collis to the Traffic Committee and Angel Jirau, Donald Fiorucci and Ron Felton to the Fire Civil Service Commission, all to replace members whose terms expired.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Brooks </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_brooks.jpg</photo0><caption0>Brooks </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Only police, fire departments represented at WB meeting</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre City Council asks why department heads are no shows