Reynoldsville Council not done with hazard pay question

The Reynoldsville Borough Council will have to take up the hazard pay issue at its next regular meeting because of a vote caught on a recording.

The council made three attempts at its January 2 meeting to pass hazard pay for borough employees from the Covid relief funds it received. Councilmember Ralph August first proposed a bonus of $2,000 for the three employees, but that did not get enough votes. A second motion was made by August to set the figure at $1500 and a pro-rated amount for Councilmember and Code Enforcement Officer Nichole Walk, but that motion didn’t pass.

A third attempt was made, this time using the figures proposed at its December meeting, $1000 for the three full time employees and $800 for Walk. When the vote was taken, it was initially thought this motion also failed.

However, when listening to a recording of the vote made by Reynlow Community News, it is clear that August and Councilmembers John Chesnalavich and William Cebulskie voted in favor, while Councilmembers Kyle Gordon and Mike Popson voted no with Walk abstaining, making for a 3-2 vote approving the motion.

When asked about it by Reynlow Community News the following day, Cebulskie said there was some confusion because of Walk abstaining from the vote each time she was included in the hazard pay motion.

 After checking with Borough Solicitor Joe Ryan, he said a simple majority vote was all that was needed. He also texted the following the statement:

“We are going to clear up the confusion at the next meeting. Technically, it passed last month.”