Armstrong County hirings continue to reverberate

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

KITTANNING - A salary board meeting that extended over portions of two days last week, continued to reverberate through Armstrong County this week.
Randy Cloak of East Franklin Township resigned from his position as Armstrong County Republican Committee treasurer on Friday, saying that the county salary board's "hiring fiasco" was "deplorable" for going against campaign promises of an "open and honest government."
Cloak's resignation came Friday, the day after the county salary board, by a vote of 3-1, held firm to its creation of two new county jobs - a part-time public information director position and a full-time director of marketing position.
The positions were initially proposed at the salary board's first meeting of the year on Jan. 9, but tabled after the board's lone Democrat, commissioner Rich Fink, questioned if the county had the money in its budget for the new positions.
The salary board is comprised of Fink and fellow commissioners Dave Battaglia and Bob Bower, both Republicans, and county controller Myra Miller.
At the board's meeting on Jan. 18, Fink questioned the acknowledgment of the two new positions, which he said were created during a private meeting in Battaglia's office. He also criticized his fellow commissioners for not posting or advertising the new positions, but instead hiring friends and campaign supporters for the new jobs.

For the complete story, see the Jan. 25 issue of The Leader-Vindicator.