1  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  SCRANTON CITY COUNCIL REORGANIZATION MEETING  RECEIVED JAN 14 2016 OFFICE OF CITY COUNCIL/CITY CLERK  HELD:  Monday, January 4, 2016  LOCATION: Council Chambers Scranton City Hall 340 North Washington Avenue Scranton, Pennsylvania  CATHENE S. NARDOZZI, RPR - OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER    2  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  CITY OF SCRANTON COUNCIL: JOSEPH WECHSLER, PRESIDENT PATRICK ROGAN, VICE-PRESIDENT  WAYNE EVANS WILLIAM GAUGHAN TIM PERRY  LORI REED, CITY CLERK  KATHY CARRERA, ASSISTANT CITY CLERK JAMIE MARCIANO, ASSISTANT CITY CLERK  AMIL MINORA, SOLICITOR    3  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  (Invocation given by Father Patrick  Albert.)  MS. REED: In accordance with the  Home Rule Charter of Scranton designating the first Monday of January as the day for city council to reorganize I hereby call this 2016 reorganization meeting to order.  Rol7 call, please.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Wechsler. MR. WECHSLER: Here. MS. CARRERA: Mr. Rogan. MR. ROGAN: Here. MS. CARRERA: Mr. Evans. MR. EVANS: Here.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Gaughan. MR. GAUGHAN: Here. MS. CARRERA: Mr. Perry.  MS. REED: At this time, I ask that  as you are called to be sworn in with the judges and elected officials, please sign the documents when you are finished.  Ih have before me the certificate of  election for Mrs. Roseann Novembrino, city controller. Will the council adopt a motion to the effect that the certificate be    4  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  received and ordered filed and made a part  of the minutes?  MR. EVANS: So moved. MR. ROGAN: Second.  MS. REED: On the question? A11  those in favor signify by saying aye.  MR. PERRY: Aye. MR. EVANS: Aye. MR. GAUGHAN: Aye. MR. ROGAN: Aye. MR. WECHSLER: Aye.  MS. REED: Opposed? The ayes have  it and so moved. I will now ask the Honorable Judge Paul Ware to come forward and administer the oath of office to Mrs. Novembrino for the elected office of  City Controller.  (Ms. Roseann Novembrino was first  duly sworn into office.)  MS. NOVEMBRINO: Honorable Judges,  Mayor, Council, Reverend Father, I feel so privileged once again to be receiving a wealth of information and support from my wonderful family, friends, and the people of Scranton. Next to my love of God, my    5  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  family, and friends comes my love for me city. As controller, I will always continue to have an open door policy. I will always be available to the citizens of Scranton because my office belongs to you. I want to be part of a positive process. There are times when governmental bodies may disagree, but with common sense and common courtesy they should be resolved as soon as possible for the betterment of the people of  Scranton.  Keep our eyes on the builders and  the people who plan things in our city, and - have to mention Mr. John Basalyga who undertook the mall as his project and I am so proud of that young man in doing what he  is doing.  At this time, I would like to  congratulate. Councilman Tim Perry, and Councilman Wayne Evans. And a  congratulations always to my staff, they are number one. We must never forget Bob McGoff and his gentle soul. Thank you and God  bless you.  MS. REED: I have before me the    6  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  certificate of election for Wayne Evans and Tim Perry as city council persons. Will the council adopt a motion to the effect that the certificate be received and ordered filed and made a part of the minutes?  MR. GAUGHAN: So moved. MR. ROGAN: Second.  MS. REED: On the question? A1l  those in favor signify by saying aye.  MR. PERRY: Aye. MR. EVANS: Aye. MR. GAUGHAN: Aye. MR. ROGAN: Aye. MR. WECHSLER: Aye.  MS. REED: Opposed? The ayes have  it and sO moved. I will now ask the Honorable Judge Joanne Corbett to come forward and administer the oath of office to Wayne Evans for the elected office of city  council.  (Mr. Wayne Evans was first duly  sworn into office.)  MS. REED: I will now ask the  Honorable Judge Alyce Hailstone Farrell to come forward and administer the oath of    7  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  office of Tim Perry for the elected office  of city council.  (Mr. Tim Perry was first duly sworn  into office.)  MS. REED: I will now accept  nominations for temporary Chairperson, what  is your pleasure?  MR. EVANS: I nominate Mr. Joseph  Wechsler as president : sorry. I move that Bill Gaughan be appointed temporary  Chairperson.  MR. ROGAN: Second.  MS. REED: On the question? A17  those in favor signify by saying aye.  MR. PERRY: Aye. MR. EVANS: Aye. MR. GAUGHAN: Aye. MR. ROGAN: Aye. MR. WECHSLER: Aye.  MS. REED: Opposed? The ayes have  it and so moved. Mr. Gaughan, will you please take over as temporary chairperson.  MR. GAUGHAN: Thank you. I now call  for nomination of a permanent president of council for the ensuing two years.    8  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  MR. EVANS: I nominate Mr. Joseph  Wechsler as president of the Scranton City  Council.  MR. ROGAN: Second.  MR. GAUGHAN: On the question? Roll  call, please.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Wechsler. MR. WECHSLER: Yes. MS. CARRERA: Mr. Rogan. MR. ROGAN: Yes. MS. CARRERA: Mr. Evans. MR. EVANS: Yes.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Perry. MR. PERRY: Yes.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Gaughan. MR. GAUGHAN: Yes. The motion is  adopted and I declare Mr. Joseph Wechsler duly and legally elected President of City  Council.  now call for a nomination of vice  president of the council for the ensuing two  years.  MR. EVANS: I nominate Pat Rogan as  vice president of the city council.  MR. PERRY: Second.    9  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  MR. GAUGHAN: On the question? Roll  call, please.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Wechsler. MR. WECHSLER: Yes. MS. CARRERA: Mr. Rogan. MR. ROGAN: Yes.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Evans. MR. EVANS: Yes. MS. CARRERA: Mr. Perry. MR. PERRY: Yes.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Gaughan. MR. GAUGHAN: Yes. The motion is  adopted and I declare Pat Rogan duly and legally elected vice president of City  Council.  I now will ask for nominations for  City Clerk.  MR. EVANS: I nominate Lori Reed,  city clerk.  MR. ROGAN: Second.  MR. GAUGHAN: On the question? Roll  call, please.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Wechsler. MR. WECHSLER: Yes. MS. CARRERA: Mr. Rogan.    10  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  MR. ROGAN: Yes.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Evans. MR. EVANS: Yes.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Perry. MR. PERRY: Yes.  MS. CARRERA: Mr. Gaughan. MR. GAUGHAN: Yes. The motion is  adopted and I declare Lori Reed duly and  legally elected city clerk.  MR. EVANS: At this time I would  like to make a motion that City Council reappoint Attorney Amil Minora to the position of city council solicitor.  MR. GAUGHAN: There's a motion on  the there, is there a second?  MR. ROGAN: Second.  MR. GAUGHAN: A1l those in favor  signify by saying aye.  MR. PERRY: Aye. MR. EVANS: Aye. MR. WECHSLER: Aye. MR. ROGAN: Aye.  MR. GAUGHAN: Aye. Opposed? The  ayes have it and so moved.  Iw will now ask Councilman Joseph    11  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  Wechsler to come forth and be sworn in as Council President by the Honorable Judge  Joann Corbett.  (Mr. Joseph Wechsler was duly sworn  in as Council President.)  MR. GAUGHAN: I will ask Councilman  Pat Rogan to be sworn in as Council Vice President by the Honorable Judge Paul Ware.  (Mr. Pat Rogan was duly sworn in as  Council Vice President.)  MR. GAUGHAN: I ask that Lori Reed  come forward to be sworn in as City Clerk by  the Honorable Judge Paul Ware.  (Ms. Lori Reed was duly sworn in as  City Clerk.)  MR. GAUGHAN: I will now ask  Mr. Wechsler to take over as permanent Chairman and President of the Scranton City  Council.  MR. WECHSLER: We are now ready to  consider the Rules of Procedure by which this council will be governed during the next two years, what is your pleasure?  MR. EVANS: I move that the Rules of  Council be adopted by Resolution No. 1,    12  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  2016, as required by the Home Rule Charter.  MR. ROGAN: Second.  MR. WECHSLER: Mrs. Reed, would you  please read Resolution No. 1.  MS. REED: Resolution No. 1, 2016,  adopting the Rules and Order of Business of the City of Scranton Council, Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  MR. WECHSLER: On the question? A17  those in favor signify by saying aye.  MR. PERRY: Aye. MR. EVANS: Aye. MR. GAUGHAN: Aye. MR. ROGAN: Aye.  MR. WECHSLER: Aye. Opposed? The  ayes have it and sO moved.  The following will be the Committee  Chairpersons for the next two years. For the Committee on Rules, Joe Wechsler. For the Committee on Finance, Wayne Evans. For the Committee on Public Works, Bill Gaughan. For the Committee on Public Safety, Tim Perry. For the committee on Community  Development, Pat Rogan.  The Chairperson for the subcommittee    13  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  will be as follows: Pension Review and Administration, Joe Wechsler. Downtown Revitalization, Pat Rogan. Boards and Commissions, Tim Perry. Revenue and Taxes, Wayne Evans. intergovernmental Relations,  Bill Gaughan.  Iwill now call on each Council  member for a few brief remarks. Mr. Perry?  MR. PERRY: Thank you,  Mr. President. I - just want to be really brief. I just want to say thank you to my friends and family who put in as much hard work, if not harder, than what I did to get here. I'm very appreciative for everything  they have done and I'm also very  appreciative of the City of Scranton for putting their faith in me and electing me to the position. I promise to do this job to the very, very best of my ability. I'm a very open-door person, and I'm accessible any time, and I'm here to work for the City of Scranton and in the coming months and years I hope to do you guys proud. Thank  you.  MR. WECHSLER: Mr. Rogan?    14  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  MR. ROGAN: Yes, very briefly. I  would just like to welcome our new  colleague, Mr. Perry and congratulate him on his win in the election, and I would also like to congratulate Councilman Evans on his win, I believe the first Republican to win in the city in 15 to 20 years, which is certainly a major accomplishment. I've had the privilege of working with Mr. Evans for the last two years and I'm looking forward to working with Mr. Perry and I think we have a very good board here and we are going to get a lot of things done over the next two years of this term. Thank you.  MR. WECHSLER: Mr. Evans.  MR. EVANS: Thank you. I'd like to  thank everyone for being here today, especially my family who is with me today, and I would like to personally thank and welcome Tim to Scranton City Council. I look forward to working with you in 2016. And beyond and congratulations to vice president Pat Rogan and, of course,  congratulations to our new Council President Joe Wechsler, who I know will do a great job    15  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  for us. Thank you.  MR. WECHSLER: Thank you.  MR. GAUGHAN: Thank you. I'd like  to thank everyone for coming today as we begin 2016. I'd first like to congratulate Mrs. Novembrino on being elected once again as City Controller. She also does a fantastic job. I want to congratulate Councilman Perry on being the newest member to the Scranton City Council. I got to know Councilman Perry as we campaigned together a few years ago and he is a gentleman who comes from a great family. I look forward to working with him for the next two years.  I'd like to congratulate Councilman  Evans on his victory. I have enjoyed working with Councilman Evans the past year and a half and I'm looking forward to the next two years. Councilman Evans has had a very positive impact on our city with his ideas and steadfast commitment to changing the culture of the city government.  We are putting our faith in  Councilman Wechsler to lead us in the next two years and I know he will do a great job.    16  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  I'd like to congratulate him on becoming President of Scranton City Council.  I'd also like to congratulate  Councilman Rogan on being elected vice president of Scranton City Council.  Our city clerk, Lori Reed, has done  a - phenomenal job for the past two years. I can't thank her enough for all the behind the scenes work that goes into these meetings along with our staff Kathy and Jamie. I'd also like to thank our solicitor Amil Minora for his hard work over the past  two years.  I know that we will face some very  serious and challenging issues in 2016. I'm committed, just as I was when first elected to this office, to researching each issue,. listening to the taxpayers of this city and making not the political or popular decision but the right decision. It's my sincere hope that in the face of difficult decisions that we will have to make in the next two years this council has serious discussions dissent and debate. I look forward to working with the mayor and my colleagues to    17  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  make the right decisions for the taxpayers  of Scranton. Thank you.  MR. WECHSLER: It's odd to me to go  last, I used to going first, so I have to get used to this new position that I have here. I would like to thank my colleagues for their confidence in me by selecting me to be President of Scranton City Council. I look forward to continuing the good work that has been completed with Councilman Rogan, Gaughan and Evans. I also anticipate that Councilman Perry will be an excellent  addition to our team.  The next two years are going to be  the most important and challenging to Scranton in its 150-year history. The administration and city council must work together to put the city in a position to finally exit the distressed city designation that it has been under for two years. I look forward to working with the  administration, council, and employees and citizens to use the opportunity presented for the Scranton Parking Authority lease and the Scranton Sewer Authority sale to start    18  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  to turn the finances of the city around. The focus of those deals must be to use the proceeds to reduce debt, satisfy the Court award and stabilize the pension funds. Pension reform must be accomplished before any substantial amount of money is further invested into the funds. A1l involved parties must be committed to guarantee the situation. It must never be allowed to  happen again.  In the next two years I would also  like to see city council become more involved with working with the  administration and other community leaders with economic development. While it was necessary over the past two years, too much time has been spent deal with taxes and pensions. The investment made in the city by mall owner John Basalyga shows that the city has great potential. I'm committed to find ways to help other entrepreneurs to relocate or start their businesses in Scranton. We need to assist the small manufacturers that are in our town by helping them search for bid opportunities    19  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  and establishing job boards for people who  are looking for work.  I would also like to thank the other  members of the council team, City Clerk Lori Reed, Solicitor Amil Minora, Jamie Marciano and Kathy Carrera. Their day-to-day work is as important as any work done in city  government.  - want to thank my family and my  friends, especially my wife Cathy, and my children Drew and Amy for their continued support. It would be impossible to do their job without their love and understanding. So as we begin this new term, I'm ready to meet the challenges of the future with hard work and commitment to success. If we work with each other and only have Scranton's success as a goal we cannot fail. Thank  you.  - now ask Father Patrick Albert to  come forward once again to offer the  benediction.  (Benediction given by Father Patrick  Albert.)  MR. WECHSLER: If there is no    20  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  further business, I will entertain a motion  to adjourn.  MR. ROGAN: Motion to adjourn. MR. WECHSLER: Our next regularly  scheduled meeting will be held on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. There being no business at this time, this meeting is  adjourned.    21  1 2 3 4 5 6  CERTIFICATE  Ih hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the notes of testimony taken by me at the hearing of the above-captioned matter and that the foregoing is a true 7 and correct transcript of the same to the best of my  8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  ability.  CATHENE S. NARDOZZI, RPR OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER