Editorial: Kiski Township should let Sunshine Act clear up Bartolicius' departure

Residents of Kiski Township know one thing about the resignation of Lee Bartolicius from his position as police chief: Township supervisors accepted it.

Do they know why he resigned? No. Do they know if there were problems to be resolved? No. Do they know what he received in a severance package and how much it cost them? No.

But they should.

This kind of wall of silence regarding important municipal positions has become more than common. It is almost the default.

Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act does provide a government entity with a certain degree of cover for very specific topics. A real estate negotiation can be discussed in executive session because it is in the best interest of the people to keep certain details private before the deal is concluded. If the seller knows a county is willing to offer up to $2 million, for example, they won’t accept $1.5 million. Litigation enjoys similar protection.

So does the category of personnel, but is that being abused?

Employment is a touchy category. On one hand, employees have a right to a degree of protection in their information. If you left your job at a department store, even a prospective employer would have trouble getting specifics from your old boss. Should that be different because you work for a city? Arguably, yes.

Employees of a government work for the people. The people provide the money that pays them. The people are the ones to whom they are ultimately answerable. And the Sunshine Act should be protecting that. While certain personnel information should be guarded, that doesn’t apply to everything regarding the employee-employer relationship.

But with some municipalities, it does.

Kiski Supervisors Chairwoman Brittany Hilliard campaigned on transparency but was decidedly opaque regarding Bartolicius at a recent meeting, declining to entertain questions from residents and TribLive. Even the Armstrong County District Attorney’s Office has had difficulty getting answers. So has North Apollo Mayor June Kilgore, whose municipality pays Kiski $58,000 a year for police services.

There might be nothing wrong with anything about the way Bartolicius left. However, the way Kiski authorities are addressing — or failing to address — questions makes it look shadowy.

And the best way to take away the appearance of something shady is to let the Sunshine in.