Council Ignores Changes to March Meeting Minutes
Council voted to not include corrections to 14 sets of minutes dated November 24, 2014, February 16, 2015, June 8, 2015. July 13, 2015, August 10, 2015, September 28, 2015, November 9, 2015, November 23, 2015, December 3, 2015, December 14, 2015, December 30, 2015, February 8, 2016, February 15, 2016, and February 22, 2016.
by David Croyle
Councilwoman Kathy Bartuccio was the only one that voted “no” when it came time to approve March meeting minutes at last night’s Ford City Borough Council meeting.
Bartuccio had previously stated at the March meeting that she was not in favor of approving 14 sets of minutes dated as far back as November 24, 2014 because they contained errors. She requested that the March 14, 2016 minutes reflect her vote and reason so it could be part of the record since she was the only person serving on council during the 2014-2015 actual meetings that is still serving.
“I was told today when I asked why the corrections were not made by the secretary (Lisa Bittner) and she said she told the Council President Carol Fenyes about the corrections and they decided not to make the changes that I gave them.”
Bartuccio said she was concerned that the minutes did not accurately reflect the events at the meetings and was bothered that fellow council members were more concerned about rubber stamping the required documents rather than making an accurate representation - especially since they were not on council at the time.
When questioned last month, Council President Carol Fenyes said she tasked Secretary Lisa Bittner to prepare the final draft so they could be approved at the meeting last month.
“The minutes have been reviewed, read, either by Kathy Bartuccio or other members of Council or the administrative staff. The Borough Secretary has a statutory responsibility to rightfully reflect those things. So it’s Council’s choice,” Fenyes said.
Fenyes was not available for comment to give reason why she refused to let Bartuccio’s corrections become part of the record.
Ford City | David Croyle April 12, 2016
By suzkin33, April 12, 2016 @ 8:32 AM
I agree whole-heartedly that approving inaccurate minutes should never be ok. These are historical references that are used when important decisions are made. Having said that, I have to question why those minutes are not accurate and filed by now? Did she go on record about that?