SHAMOKIN - The city treasurer said during a city workshop Wednesday that she will ignore council's vote to relocate her office if a security measure is not put in place.
There's a glass partition installed in the treasurer's office inside City Hall and Brenda Scandle wants it moved with her to a neighboring building - originally built as a tax office - citing security of taxpayer money and the safety of her and her deputy.
Mayor George Rozinskie Jr. balked during the work session, saying the partition doesn't fit in her current office and could easily be pushed over.
Moving the partition next door wouldn't help, he said, because it wouldn't fit that counter space, either.
A motion was approved by council in September to relocate the treasurer's office, allowing code enforcement its own space in City Hall but also incurring additional utility costs for operating another building. Additional costs so far included minor renovations and touch-ups and replacement of a toilet.
Scandle held firm Wednesday night in seeking the partition be moved, adding that the partition was installed with grant funding awarded specifically for the treasurer's office.
Council members R. Craig Rhoades, William Strausser and William Milbrand agreed that the security of the tax office was at issue, saying they saw no problem with having it moved and reinstalled in the treasurer's new office.
While Rhoades originally voted against relocating the office, he has volunteered to reinstall the partition in what he said is a cost-saving move. Rozinskie said Rhoades should expect the "union" to have a look at what work is being done.
"I don't care what you all do, but I'll only take the brunt for so long before I bite back," Rozinskie said, and with that, the discussion on the partition came to a close.
City finances
Scandle came under fire Wednesday from Rozinskie and City Clerk Steve Bartos for predictions she made last spring that Shamokin would fall short of meeting payroll in June.
That didn't happen and the mayor and clerk took her to task for her statements made during a public meeting while also criticizing Controller Gary Haddock and former City Clerk Dave Kinder.
However, Scandle remains reluctant to give the city a pass through the end of the year and still believes its finances are more than simply strained.
As of Thursday, the general fund stood at $38,243.30, but Scandle said the bank balance did not reflect what was on ledger and that the available amount of cash is less.
Bartos said during the meeting that Shamokin had $425,000 on its books. On Thursday, a balance sheet provided by Scandle showed the city actually had $439,058.33 in its bank accounts; however, there is little flexibility, she said.
Much of that funding is expressly earmarked for specific purposes and in the cases of debt service and recreation, can not be maneuvered to cover any year-end deficit, if one should occur.
"They receive bank statements on a monthly basis and have never asked me to explain anything," she wrote in a statement provided Thursday of Rozinskie and Bartos and the latter's suggestion that money can and will be moved to the city's general fund if needed.
Bartos maintained Thursday that money in the city coffers is maneuverable.
"I've talked to two professionals we have on service to the city, they maintained to me professionally ... that I'm correct," Bartos said while maintaining his sources anonymity since the discussions were meant to be kept internal.
"Her going on record to force this that the city's in dire straits is Chicken Little. It's all about drama," he said Thursday. "That's a huge mistake because we're all on the ship together."
As for her potentially losing administrator duties on the city's 18 bank accounts - council is expected to vote this month on transferring those duties to the city clerk - Scandle has no issue with the clerk's office assuming control of the accounts, except for the tax account.
"I am solely responsible for the taxpayer money, and by law I can only have rights to that account. I am audited on that account, alone," she wrote in the statement.
The account stood Thursday at $30,509.62, according to Scandle.
Leases
In other business during council's work session, a lease agreement between Shamokin Redevelopment Authority and Phoenix Rehabilitation for office space at Mill Road Square is set to expire at year's end and negotiations for a new lease are under way.
The entities along with city council are in negotiations for a 10-year agreement that would see Phoenix expand into neighboring office space that is currently vacant.
As part of the agreement, the city could be a guarantor for an approximate $59,000 loan by the authority to make necessary renovations at the complex. The loan would be repaid by a portion of the firm's monthly rental payments.
Council must first approve action on guaranteeing a loan before a contract is ratified.
The city's lease agreement for a new Ford Explorer for the police department was renegotiated, Bartos said during the meeting.
Instead of a annual payment estimated near $10,000, the city will pay approximately $708 a month over five years, if approved by council.