$10K in toy drive money prompts investigation in Allegheny Township

Allegheny Township is grappling with a $10,000 question: How did a check cut from township coffers end up in the hands of the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company?

In a 2-to-1 vote, supervisors opened an investigation this week to determine how the money left the township and whether the township is entitled to get it back. Supervisors Jamie Morabito and Jeff Pollick voted in favor of launching the probe, while Mike Korns opposed doing so.

Korns signed the check last August along with then-Supervisor John Rennick Steele and then-Township Manager Gregg Primm to transfer funds to the fire department for a Christmas toy drive.

Township Solicitor Craig Alexander said officials erred in releasing the money without a public vote.

“It was never placed on the agenda,” Alexander said. “It was never brought before the full board and subject to public comment. The political process should have occurred, and it just didn’t.”

Under state law, municipalities generally must meet and vote at a public meeting before spending or transferring money out of the municipality’s coffers.

Steele attributes any missteps during the process to well-meaning ignorance.

“Not a nickel of that money went to anybody it wasn’t supposed to,” Steele said. “None of us profited anything from this.”

Korns said Alexander may be incorrect because all checks are approved by supervisors at public meetings through the treasury report and financial statements.

It appears the money in question consists of donations to the toy drive and does not represent taxpayer money.

Nevertheless, Supervisors Jamie Morabito and Jeff Pollick want the money to be returned. Morabito described the move to transfer the money as a backroom deal in which he was deliberately not consulted.

“The money should have never left Allegheny Township,” Morabito said.

Alexander said he is preparing a letter asking the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company to turn over the funds. If that’s unsuccessful, he said, the township could seek legal recourse.

Created in 2014, the Toys for Alle-Kiski initiative historically relied on donations from Kiski Area School District, local businesses, service organizations and residents.

The school district last year started its own toy drive, Kiski Area Toys for Cavs, specifically for district students. It withdrew from Toys for Alle-Kiski.

Morabito isn’t sure how the money from the toy drive landed in a township account. But, once it did, those funds became subject to requirements for public votes like any other public money, he said.

Last year, township officials approached the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company about taking over the toy drive. A majority of the fire company’s members voted in favor and the group accepted the check, according to D.J. Zelczak, fire company president.

“From that point, the moment any funds came to us to carry out that mission, there was strict accounting in place,” Zelczak said.

He said some funds were spent last Christmas, with the rest in an account designated for future drives. The account’s balance tops $10,000, thanks to additional donations.

The spirit of the drive also is a point of contention among current and former officials.

Korns and Zelczak said the money was meant for kids across three school districts: Kiski Area, Leechburg Area and Apollo-Ridge.

“It was never intended for only one of the communities, Allegheny Township, and the fact that there are supervisors attempting to snatch that money as if it’s their own is a disgrace,” Korns said.

Morabito, on the other hand, said around 90% of the gifts typically went to Kiski Area students, including in Allegheny Township.

The controversy has made Zelczak question whether it’s in his fire company’s best interests to run the drive, though he has no intention of turning over the funds at this point.

“There’s no smoke or any fire here,” Zelczak said. “There’s just accusations that have to be accounted for.”