Content about Susan Viscusi

04.22.11

Doesn't add up

I have never laid claim to being a math whiz, but sometimes it just comes down to common sense. Sometimes -- no matter how fast you talk -- things just don't add up.

The proposed Bellevue vacation policy is one of those things -- just doesn't add up.

Right now, if you get hired full-time by Bellevue Borough, you get two weeks of paid vacation after you have worked for a year. So if you are hired on June 1, 2011, on June 1, 2012 you can take off for two weeks.

10.14.11

Clerk hiring challenges council

Although it appeared that few people on Bellevue Council actually wanted to pay a new part-time office clerk $15 per hour, a resolution doing just that was approved by officials at Tuesday’s work session.

Miscues, misinformation, lack of preparation, bad acoustics and outright distrust factored into a series of events that ended with the hiring of a temporary office clerk at the same salary paid to the former assistant director of administrative services.

DAS Doug Sample defended the higher hourly pay rate, arguing that job would entail more than just clerical work.

09.30.11

No shows

The Sept. 27 regular meeting of Bellevue Council had to be canceled due to the lack of a quorum.

Only three members of council -- Linda Woshner, Jane Braunlich and Susan Viscusi -- appeared for the 7 p.m. meeting.

The six members of council who were absent were Lisa Blaney-Stewart, David Gillingham Jr., Mark Helbling, Kathy Coder, Mark Panichella and Jim Viscusi.

Woshner said that the business scheduled for Tuesday’s meeting likely would be placed on the agenda for the council work session to be held the second Tuesday in October.

04.15.11

Employees want early vacations

Bellevue Council is being asked to amend the borough’s personnel code to give newly-hired employees paid vacations before they have worked a full year.

Director of administrative services Doug Sample told council members at their Tuesday work session that the borough had hired three new full-time employees recently, all of whom “expressed displeasure” that they would not be able to take paid vacations this summer.

03.25.11

Green break

Bellevue officials are being asked to save money and paper by switching to netbooks for delivery of borough documents, but the move is making some officials a bit nervous.

The idea is to save the borough about $2,500 each year in paper, copier and staff costs by making documents available for download from a secure borough “sharepoint.”

02.25.11

Bellevue surcharge lowered

Bellevue property owners may pay a bit more this year in sewer surcharges, but it won't be as much as it could have been. With two members absent, a hotly divided Bellevue Council voted Tuesday to set a usage based surcharge at $2.25 per 1,000 gallons of water used at a property.

An ordinance adopted in December had set the fee at $3 per 1,000 gallons of water used, but that ordinance was vetoed by Mayor George Doscher shortly after it was approved. Doscher argued that it would be more "compassionate" to increase the fee in stages over a two-year period.

01.14.11

Veto vote delayed

Bellevue Council will have to wait until Jan. 25 to see if it can muster enough votes to override Mayor George Doscher’s veto of several key budget-related ordinances.

Council’s work session scheduled for this past Tuesday was canceled due to inclement weather.

That cancellation concerned some members of council, because at least two members -- Jim and Susan Viscusi -- will not be present at the Jan. 25 meeting. The concern arose from a mistaken belief that the override vote could be affected by the number of council members present.

01.07.11

Raises, sewer fee hinge on veto by mayor

Although Bellevue's 2011 budget remains intact, Mayor George Doscher has vetoed three supporting ordinances that have a tremendous impact on the coming year's spending plan.

Doscher notified Bellevue Council on Dec. 30 that he was vetoing the sewer surcharge ordinance, as well as the salary ordinance and the ordinance amending the borough's personnel code to add several new positions.

11.05.10

Arthur gets around

Not even the presence of a scary witch (Bellevue Council member Susan Viscusi) or AGH's Kathi Ferri could distract Arthur from the smell of hotdogs and hamburgers that filled the air at the Fall Festival held in Bayne Park last Saturday. Arthur had a wonderful time, meeting several small dogs (his favorite) and lots of kids who were enjoying the festivities. He would like to thank Bellevue Council member Jim Viscusi and the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Comapny for the excellent grilled treats.

10.31.10

COPS approval

Bellevue Council voted Tuesday to accept the grant that will put another police officer on borough streets for three years, but not without questions over why information on fourth-year funding was not provided.

10.02.10

Solicitor says hiring is legal

For the second time in recent months, Bellevue Council did not have the votes necessary to approve paying the borough’s bills due to concerns about the hiring of a new solicitor last December. That solicitor, however, says that his hiring was completely legal and no further action is necessary.

With three council members and the mayor absent from the Sept. 28 meeting, a motion to pay the borough’s bills failed in a tie vote. Voting in favor were council members Kathy Coder, mark Helbling and David Gillingham Jr. Opposed were Jane Braunlich, Linda Woshner and Susan Viscusi.

07.30.10

Tie vote

With Bellevue Council member Mark Panichella absent, Mayor George Doscher had to break a tie vote to authorize the borough to pay its bills.

Four members of council -- Linda Woshner, Jane Braunlich, and Jim and Susan Viscusi -- have been voting against payment of the bills since January because the bill list includes payment to solicitor Tom McDermott.

A lame duck council appointed McDermott last December, something prior solicitor Michael Georgalas warned was illegal and could result in individual council members being assessed for any borough funds spent to pay the new solicitor.

07.16.10

Park clean-up

Clean-up efforts in the cinder lot section of Bellevue's Memorial Park are continuing.

Bellevue received notice last year from Ross Township -- where the property is located -- that building materials and miscellaneous debris needed to be cleared from the lot, which borders a Ross residential area.

03.26.10

Bellevue personnel

Two new full-time employees were hired by Bellevue Council at its meeting Tuesday.

Council unanimously approved resolutions hiring Kathy Halligan as an administrative assistant at a pay rate of $12.50 per hour, and Diane Ross as assistant to the library director at a salary of $10 per hour.

03.26.10

Bellevue to try pool company

Bellevue will turn to a professional pool management company to cover the Memorial Park swimming pool this summer.

Council's parks and recreation committee held an emergency meeting last Saturday when officials realized that they had not received viable applications for the pool manager's position. According to committee chair Lisa Blaney-Stewart, the borough received proposals from only one individual, but two companies.The committee recommended entering into a contract with one of the companies, Swim America, owned by a Bellevue resident.

03.12.10

Meeting canceled

Business may have been left undone when Bellevue Council's parks and recreation committee canceled its last meeting -- with no notice to people scheduled to attend the meeting.

Committee chair Lisa Blaney-Stewart reported at council's workshop meeting Tuesday that the meeting had been canceled because there was "nothing on our agenda." In addition to Blaney-Stewart, the committee includes council president Kathy Coder and member Susan Viscusi. Neither Viscusi nor one borough employee was told in advance that the meeting had been canceled, according to Viscusi and other officials.

01.08.10

Bellevue blasts into new year

Bellevue Council started off the new year with a bang. With four officials not invited to take part in an early swearing-in ceremony, the night took a turn for the worse as council members got a few surprises before the evening ended with a plea from the mayor for everyone to check their egos at the door.

10.30.09

Bellevue to fill 5 council seats

With five council seats to be filled, the Nov. 3 general election is an important one for Bellevue. There are contests to be decided in each of the borough's three wards.

First Ward

Voters will choose two representatives from among four candidates running for council in the first ward. Incumbents Jane Braunlich (Democrat) and Kathleen Coder (Republican) are joined on their respective ballots by newcomers Susan Schafer and David Piet.