W-b Man Gets Probation In Domestic Dispute Case

153 Cyclists Pump Out $45,000 For A Good Cause 
A Record Number Of Participants 
Raise Money For Hospice St. John, 
And Follow It With Barbecue Dinner

Tuesday, July 30, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Kingston's Mayor Reese responds to council member's recent criticism &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As mayor of the Municipality of Kingston, I would like to take this
opportunity to respond to and correct misleading and/or erroneous information
in a recent letter to the editor by David A. Hines, a member of the town
council (July 22)In order for me to adequately address Mr. Hines's comments, I
would like to refer to several articles and sections of the Home Rule Charter
of the Municipality of Kingston. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A. Article II, Section 201 states, "The Legislative branch of the
government of the Municipality of Kingston shall consist of an elective
governing body which shall be known as the Municipal Council. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Section 205 states "Except as otherwise provided in this charter, the
council shall have and exercise all legislative powers and duties now or
hereafter conferred or imposed on said council, or not denied to it, by
applicable law." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 B. Article III, Section 301 states, "The executive power of the
municipality shall be vested in the mayor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Section 303 states, "The mayor shall be responsible for the supervision of
all departments of the municipal government, and shall have all executive and
administrative powers and duties of the municipality." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With this information in mind, I would now like to turn to Mr. Hines's
letter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 1. Mr. Hines stated that it was the administration of the municipality that
requested the Shade Tree Ordinance amendments requiring a $100 deposit for
removal of a shade tree. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In reality, this request was made by the Shade Tree Board, an independent
board established by the Home Rule Charter. While members are appointed by the
mayor and confirmed by the council, they are supposed to be independent of any
political influence for the length of their term. This amendment was brought
to council at the Shade Tree Board's instigation, not by my administration. I
stand by my veto of this ordinance on the basis that it imposes an unfair
burden on property owners in the municipality. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The "hundreds of dollars" that Mr. Hines refers to amounted to a total of
$75 for legal fees and advertising costs for this ordinance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 2. As noted above, the executive power of the municipal government rests
solely with the mayor and not council. It is well within the duties and
responsibilities of the mayor to negotiate with developers and others to
further the economic development of the municipality. While council must
approve all contracts and other agreements, the charter does not provide for
their involvement in the negotiating process. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The grant program referred to by Mr. Hines has resulted in several new
buildings going up in the municipality, the locating of several more
businesses in the community and the removal of neglected and dangerous
eyesores from our neighborhoods. While I am obviously upset that certain
members of the council have seen fit to attempt to de-rail the economic
development and well-being of Kingston, my veto of the Shade Tree Ordinance
amendment is in no way connected. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I would also like to note that the municipality already stands to receive
almost $8,000 in taxes and fees from the CVS Pharmacy project that some
members of council object to. This does not include the additional taxes and
fees the municipality will receive from the remodeling of the property, the
employment opportunities for our residents and accompanying earned income
taxes and occupational privilege taxes as well as the mercantile tax CVS will
be paying. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 3. Mr. Hines is reminded that the employee contracts he mentions include
bargaining units covered under Act 111, which provides for binding
arbitration, and Act 195, which provides for good faith bargaining between
public service employees and their employers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In addition, the benefits and other contract items that Mr. Hines takes
exception to were already in these contracts, having been negotiated by
previous administrations. As anyone familiar with contract negotiations --
especially public sector negotiations -- knows, it is very difficult to
negotiate out items already in such contracts, and very few arbitrators or
courts will rule in favor of municipalities and against employees in these
cases. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While Mr. Hines and some other members of the council may not appreciate
the efforts of the persons involved in the negotiations, these contracts
provide benefits to both the employees and the municipality and will enable
the municipality to budget these costs with certainty rather than year-to-year
guesswork. While it is true that some administrative employees were given a 6
percent salary increase for 1996 (for which Mr. Hines voted in favor when the
1996 budget was adopted), Mr. Hines neglected to inform you that these are
among the lowest paid employees of the municipality in terms of length of
service and did not receive any salary increase in 1995. In effect, the 6
percent increase was from their 1994 salaries and reflected a two-year salary
increase, not one year as Mr. Hines would have your believe. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 4. On at least three occasions since I took office, I have presented to the
town council suggestions on reducing the garbage fee and requested that they
move to do so. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yes, I do advocate a recycling fee separate from the per-bag fee of $1.75
currently charged. This separate recycling fee will allow the per-bag trash
disposal fee to be lowered to at least $1.25 and will ensure that everyone
pays for recycling, not just those residents who pay the $1.75 per-bag fee and
use municipal service. Those residents who currently use private trash haulers
receive the benefit of the municipal recycling service but do not pay for it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 5. Mr. Hines notes that the property tax millage rate in Kingston is 28
mills, and the earned income tax is 2.2 percent. What Mr. Hines does not say
is that the millage rate in Kingston prior to the mid 1980s was 25 mills and
was raised to the current level in 1994 only to help of offset the debt the
municipality found itself in. By way of comparison, the 28-mill rate of the
municipality is budgeted to raise $765,000 in 1996, while the Wyoming Valley
West School District's 203-millage rate will realize over $6 million in
property taxes from the municipality alone, not counting what the school
district will receive from the other eight communities within it's boundaries. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mr. Hines also neglects to clarify that Kingston receives 1.7 percent of
the earned income tax and Wyoming Valley West receives 0.5 percent of this
tax. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I could not agree more with Mr. Hines that communication and teamwork are
what Kingston needs, and I again ask all of the town council to join with me,
our residents, business owners and employees in working towards the continued
economic revitalization of the Municipality of Kingston. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gary R. Reese &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mayor &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kingston &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kingston's Mayor Reese Responds To Council Member's Recent Criticism 
As Mayor Of The Municipality Of Kingston, I Would Like To Take This 
Opportunity To Respond To And Correct Misleading And/or Erroneous Information 
In A Recent Letter To The Editor By David A. Hines, A Member Of The Town 
Council (july 22).