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Wilkes-Barre police union won’t participate in preps for civil service exam

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Part-time secretary at Hanover Area loses job, alleges cronyism

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; City council will vote Thursday on a resolution that calls for the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association to conduct an assessment of the police department in light of the growing acrimony between Chief Marcella Lendacky and the police union.</p><p>The move has been brewing for months now, but the push for a probe came to the forefront again after a spate of recent officer suspensions. The union says six officers in all have faced some form of discipline, although the mayor puts that number at five.</p><p>In December, the Police Benevolent Association asked council to exercise its authority under the city charter and investigate the department after the union conducted an internal survey that equated to a no-confidence vote in the chief. Even prior to Mayor Tony George appointing Lendacky, the union expressed its concerns about her leadership qualifications and ability.</p><p>Councilman Bill Barrett, a former city police chief, said he and council chairwoman Beth Gilbert have been researching the matter after the recent suspensions.</p><p>The Chiefs Association has agreed to it just as a third party would come into a business and look at how it operates, noting what&#8217;s done well and what&#8217;s not, Barrett said. He asked for council&#8217;s support, adding he believes it would be beneficial to the department and the PBA is in favor of it.</p><p>&#8220;I just think it&#8217;s a solution, not an investigation,&#8221; Barrett stressed Tuesday.</p><p>City Administrator Ted Wampole said the administration would go along with it.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re not opposed to that,&#8221; Wampole said. He also asked about the cost, but it&#8217;s unclear at this point.</p><p>Barrett replied the Chiefs Association said it would see what has to be done and come up with a proposal.</p><p><strong>Small financial cushion projected</strong></p><p>In other business, the city is expected to end the year with cash on hand, but it&#8217;s not cause for celebration, a financial consultant told council.</p><p>A draft cash-flow projection report has the city with $693,409 as of Dec. 31, said Vieen Leung, a senior managing consultant with PFM Group Consulting LLC of Philadelphia.</p><p>If the projection holds true, it&#8217;s a turnaround from Mayor George&#8217;s warning that the city could run out of money after spending more than $1 million in unbudgeted expenses to clean up after the March blizzard. It&#8217;s also the result of the debt service restructuring that council OK&#8217;d to improve cash flow.</p><p>Leung pointed out there&#8217;s no projected cash shortfall. There&#8217;s also not much of a cushion either.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s equal to about five days of operating expenditures. That&#8217;s frankly a little scary,&#8221; she said of the projected year-end balance. Best practices put the figure at about two months of expenditures, Leung added.</p><p>The city is operating on a $47.1 million balanced budget. But expenses are on track to hit approximately $47.5 million, while revenues are going to be close to $47.2 million, according to the draft report. The $1 million cash that the city had at the beginning of the year will absorb the negative $306,591 balance or the difference between revenues and expenditures, according to the report.</p><p>PFM, hired with $275,000 in state grants and city funds, has been guiding the administration since last year through the state&#8217;s Early Intervention Program for municipalities on the verge of financial collapse.</p><p>Council won&#8217;t have to act on the report that was presented solely for informational purposes.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Barrett </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_Barrett_Bill-cmyk.jpg</photo0><caption0>Barrett </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></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 @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Vote coming Thursday on Wilkes-Barre police probe