[Editor’s Note]
The following statement was placed by the Gettysburg Borough Council into its public records last night.
The comments referred to in the statement from Gettysburg Times publisher Harry Hartman were published in that paper on August 22, 2020.
This Borough Council in a unanimous voice feel compelled to respond to the accusations and recriminations of the publisher of the Gettysburg Times, Harry Hartman. We offer our voices in full support of our borough manager, Charles Gable.
All of us came to these positions on council as volunteers, whether elected or appointed. The business of running a government, even a small one like Gettysburg’s, can be an alarmingly intricate task. We on council do our best to lend our wisdom and experience to the decision- making process. Anyone who has sat through one of our meetings can tell you they tend not to be the flashy back and forth debates we all have come to think of governance as is depicted in media representations. The real work of government at the local level is long, slow, and at times remarkably tedious. The Pennsylvania Borough Code, the system of laws under which we operate, is a dense and restrictive document. Those of us charged with upholding it rely on the experience and expertise of career professionals like a Borough Manager and our Solicitors, Department Heads, and rank and file employees. Without their invaluable input, the likelihood that we would misstep, violating the law or wasting the taxpayers’ time and money, goes up dramatically.
We have seen four consecutive years running where Mr. Gable and his team have put together fiscally responsible budgets. Each of these years yielded six-figure surpluses which enabled the Borough to both fully staff its departments while reducing taxes for the people of the borough. It is no secret that the COVID-19 global pandemic has carved a gaping hole in the finances of this municipality. We have made steep cuts in the budget that council adopted last year. The task of identifying and prioritizing what and where to cut has been laborious and difficult, each cut representing another way we are not able fill the needs of neighbors. The work performed in this has been the burden we as council placed on Mr. Gable and his team of dedicated professionals. We have seen voluntary furloughs from both uniformed and non-uniformed staff. We have cut positions, downsized through attrition, and reallocated resources, restructuring the Borough Office to increase efficiencies and cut payroll whenever and wherever we can. Again, this has been the hard work of Mr. Gable, and where there are tasks that are not getting done by employees we no longer have, he has picked up those responsibilities as well. While Mr. Hartman can assert that we can save money by firing Mr. Gable, he fails to take that thought process to the next logical conclusion; we would have to replace him. Fast. This government requires seasoned, passionate employees to steer it, and the role of the Borough Manager cannot go unfilled. Any potential cost savings Mr. Hartman sees is illusory.
Mr. Hartman’s reporting on the police officer situation is a perfect example. When the publisher contacted the borough seeking responses to the allegations of the Police local’s representative, Mr. Gable prepared a comprehensive narrative of the entire history of the Borough’s actions in one of the most unfortunate chapters in our Police Department’s recent history. Much of Mr. Hartman’s reporting on August 11th is based on the work Mr. Gable produced. The officer in question committed a felony. That is not in dispute. He violated the civil rights of another police officer. Rather than go to trial, he made a deal with the District Attorney and accepted the ARD and the stipulation that his actions can never be expunged from his record. Throughout the entire sordid story, Mr. Gable acted at the advice of our lawyers, and in so doing, took the bold stance that his responsibility to the tax payers of Gettysburg, of which he is one, was to not pay twelve thousand dollars to a felon. He did this with the council of the borough’s Solicitor, and our contracted labor attorneys. Mr. Gable’s actions on the behalf of the taxpayers were made in good faith.
We went to court. We lost. We did not handle the termination of this officer correctly. A contractually required arbitrator told us as much and laid out the terms of what we owe the plaintiff because of this. We owe him back wages less any wages he has earned through other employment since his termination. We have followed the court’s orders and come to the number $34,000. We are prepared to pay that, yet the union is rejecting this number, advocating for nearly $200,000, arguing that the police officer is entitled to compensation for overtime he never worked. What is striking and should be alarming to the people of Gettysburg and any other municipality that this police union represents, is the lengths this union will go to defend an officer who pleaded a felony. At a time when the nation’s eye is on police unions and their defense of individuals on their forces that operate outside the law, this union has doubled down. They will go to the mat for a former officer that broke the law. This should concern everyone.
We find ourselves here now with a growing financial burden. We will ultimately pay this person what the courts compel us to. Sadly that money has to come from somewhere. The police officer is currently back on our payroll, and as per the union contract, if he is taking one of our contractually obligated jobs, someone else has to go, and the Pennsylvania Civil Service stipulates that this decision will be made on the basis of seniority. This is simple math. The well is dry, and in order to facilitate the union’s defense of a felon, it will cost one of the union’s brothers their job. The union knows this, and every officer on our force knows this. Chief Glenny, who has done a remarkable job cleaning up a department that was in shambles, knows this.
Mr. Hartman’s opinion piece attempts to break down Mr. Gable and his standing in this community and to end his career. This compulsion has cost us amazing leaders already, and the voids their departure have left have yet to be filled. The only headline he should be chasing here is “Union Defends Felon, Tax Payers PAY.” Anything else is serving an agenda, and not the people of Gettysburg.
This Borough Council will not abide by this effort to denigrate Charles Gable who is the Borough Chief Executive Officer. He has the full faith and support of this council. Council respects and appreciates all the work of the Borough’s staff including the police department.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.