PITTSBURGH – McKeesport citizens are litigating against the city and its council, charging that the municipal entities have violated the state Sunshine Law in preventing them from observing and participating in city council meetings.
Valian Walker Montgomery, Courtney Thompkins, Tracey Jordan and Janina Riley filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on March 1 versus the City of McKeesport and the McKeesport City Council.
“On Dec. 20, a McKeesport police officer was allegedly shot by an individual in handcuffs. Upon information and belief, McKeesport police were joined by several other local, as well as state, county and federal law enforcement agencies, in searching McKeesport and surrounding areas to locate the suspected shooter,” the suit states.
“The resulting ‘manhunt’ led to complaints from concerned citizens and others of multiple civil rights abuses as law enforcement performed, according to the complaints, unconstitutional searches and seizures of individuals, their vehicles and their homes. As a result, a local community organization, Take Action Mon Valley (TAMV), issued a call to action encouraging residents to address the unlawful searches conducted during the manhunt at the Jan. 6, 2021 council meeting.”
Numerous citizens planned to take action and attend the Jan. 6 meeting, downloading the agenda for the meeting, noting the date and time, and that it was listed that citizens would be included in the audience. As of 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, the McKeesport City Council’s website and Facebook page indicated that the meeting was to be held in the council chambers.
However, the plaintiffs assert that they found the council chambers locked and closed to ‘in-person’ public participation…in light of COVID-19”, and the only mechanism for public comment provided for in the new COVID-19 procedures was an option for written submissions, the deadline for which was noon that same day, which had already passed.
“Although the pandemic has created difficulties for government bodies subject to the Sunshine Act across the Commonwealth, countless other government agencies, including those in McKeesport such as the McKeesport School Board, were able to provide at least electronic access through Zoom or other videoconferencing technology to fulfill transparency and participation requirements for citizens and the media,” the suit says.
On Jan. 22, 2021, the ACLU of Pennsylvania sent a letter on behalf of McKeesport residents requesting that the City honor their obligations under the Sunshine Act to provide a method for the citizens to participate in city council meetings, either in person using COVID-19 safety precautions or virtually by way of the Internet.
The plaintiffs say that despite the subsequent promise of Mayor Michael Cherepko and City Solicitor John Jason Elash to provide the ACLU with a plan for including the public at the next council meeting scheduled for Feb. 3, 2021, no plan was ever provided and instead, the council meeting was canceled on the grounds that the City supposedly had no business to discuss.
“Per the City Council website, the next City Council meeting was scheduled for 7 p.m., March 3, 2021, at Council Chambers. The website provides no indication that the public may attend and/or participate either in-person or virtually,” the suit says.
“Per the City Council website, ‘Any person who desires to present public comment to City Council for the March meeting are [sic] asked to submit a written statement [sic] to the Mayor’s Office, 500 Fifth Avenue, by noon on March 3, by dropping it off in person or via email to jen.vertullo@mckeesport-pa.gov.”
According to the plaintiffs, they have sent several emails to that address asking whether and how the local government will address the plaintiffs’ concerns that they would be denied access to observe and publicly comment at the March 3 meeting – and added the City Solicitor has neither acknowledged nor responded to these emails.
In an update, the March 3 meeting was postponed by the mayor’s office, which it said that it did until city officials find a safe way to include the public while following state-mandated pandemic restrictions.
For a count of violating the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, the plaintiffs are seeking judgment in their favor, attorney’s fees and such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
The plaintiffs are represented by Charles Kelly, Michael Joyce, Allison Burdette and John A. Marty of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, and Witold J. Walczak of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, all in Pittsburgh.
The defendants are represented by McKeesport City Solicitor John Jason Elash.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-21-001723
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com