unbelievable borough employee salaries

1-26-08

January 26, 2008

Gennaro A. Marino P.E.

409 W, Main Street

Kutztown, Pa 19530

610-683-7977

Kutztown Mayor Sandy Green &

Kutztown Borough Council

Borough Hall

Kutztown, Pa 19530

Dear Elected Officials,

BOROUGH MANAGER\TREASURER VETTRAINO—SALARY $103,876.39

Please explain how Borough Manager\Treasure Jaymes Vettraino under whose leadership the Real Estate tax more than doubled, the electric rate almost doubled, water and sewer rates were increased, Hometown Utilicom loses about $1 million a year, has no Budget available to the public, falsifies the budget, publishes fraudulent reports and now will borrow $1.3 million to increase the Borough debt to about $15.3 million can command a salary of $103,876.39 a year plus a Borough vehicle and benefits,

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR—CARUSO SALARY $84,056.02

Please explain how Information Technology Director Frank Caruso who heads Hometown Utilicom that was funded with about $5 million and has lost about $1 million a year for the last 5 years a total of over $10 million, has failed miserably with Automatic Meter Reading and Wireless Internet command a salary $84,056.02 a year plus benefits.

POLICE CHIEF COLE SALARY $73,059.93

Please explain how Kutztown Police Chief Theodore R. Cole jr, who calls himself Randy, isn’t family oriented, has lied in the past and recently stated in the Reading Eagle that his Police Department is overwhelmed and at the breaking point with the behavior of the University students command a salary of $73,059.93.

Please explain why the Director of Community Development, who has unexplained duties and whose salary is $58,063.5o, earns more than Borough Secretary\Director of Human Resources Bonnie Bray. Salary $57,27.10 and Superintendent of Water and Waste Water Walter Hess. Salary $57,245.48.

Borough Employee salaries for 2008 from 12-18-07 Council Meeting minutes

Jaymes Vettraino Borough Manager\Treasurer $103,876.39

Frank Caruso Director of Information Technology $84,056.02

Randy Cole Police Chief $73,059.93

Bruce Follweiler Supt. of Electric and Telecom $68,503.73

Norm Milnes Supt. of Public Works $ 66,078.55

Dick Diehm Director of Planning and Zoning $60,583.04

Rachael Birchbickler Dir. of Community Develpmt. $58,063.50

Bonnie Bray Boro Secretary\Dir. of Hum. Relations $57,278.10

Walter Hess Supt. of Water and Waste Water $57,245.48

Russell Samilo Director of Finance\Asst. Treasurer $57,245.48

Gina Wiand Asst. Boro Secretary\Director of P.R. $41,554.72

Karen Howard Librarian $39,329.03

Please not the top three salaries are paid to Vettraino and Caruso, who head Hometown Utilicom which loses about $1 million a year, and the incompetent Police Chief Cole, who states his department is over whelmed by University Students. These three employees are paid about $350,000 a year with their benefits by the Borough. This is an excellent example of why the Borough is on the brink of bankruptcy.

FOR MORE INFO: PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE AT www.marinoreport.com

11-15-07 letter to the reading eagle

November 15, 2007

Gennaro A. Marino P.E.

409 W. Main St.

Kutztown, Pa 19530

610-683-7977

e-mail: kmayor@ptd.net

Editor of the Reading Eagle

The Reading Eagle

FAX # 610-371-5098

Dear Editor,

In 2002, after 14 years with the Borough of Kutztown, former Borough Manager\Treasurer Keith Hill resigned from the Borough and 2 days later went to work for the Borough’s Engineering firm Spotts, Stevens & McCoy. As Borough Manager, Mr. Hill had a very close relationship with Spotts, Stevens & McCoy. Before he resigned he filed charges against the Borough and Mayor Marino. He eventually, with the assistance of the Borough Council and some Borough employees, received an insurance settlement of about $162,000 and the Borough and the Mayor were not guilty of any wrongdoing. Also while Borough Manager and Treasurer he gave out a fiber optics contract for over $2 million to Atlantic Engineering without a public or competitive bid. Recently Mr. Hill left Spotts, Stevens and McCoy and is now affiliated with Atlantic Engineering. Thank you.

Gennaro A. Marino P.E.

Former Mayor of Kutztown

January 19, 2008 UPDATE

This letter to the editor was never published, but the facts of this letter were sent to the Borough Council and Borough Officials many times and I have never received any comment or reply because the facts are true.

Jerry Marino

october 2007 rate increases

October 26, 2007

Gennaro A. Marino P.E.

409 W. Main St.

Kutztown, Pa 10530

e-mail kmayor@ptd.net

610-683-7977

Michelle Park

Reporter of The Reading Eagle

Fax No. 610-371-5098

Dear Reporter Michelle,

Thank you for the very informative article about the Borough of Kutztown and the Kutztown Foundry in the October 25, 2007 copy of The Eagle. Borough Manager\Treasurer Vettraino neglected to state that the Borough raised the Electric, Trash and Real Estate Tax rates by 33%, 8.5% and 50% respectively about 5 months ago and recently he and the Borough Council announced that the Electric rate would be increased again because of the anticipated rate increase by our electricity provider. No mention of the Foundry was made at the time of that announcement even though it was known that the Foundry was going to lay off personnel because it was reported in the local newspapers about a month ago. Mr. Vettraino goes on to state that the Budget for 2007 was $17.4 million. $17.4 is the amount of the proposed Budget for 2007. He did not state the amount of the 2006 Budget because it has not been finalized and the mandatory Commonwealth Annual Audit of the 2006 Budget has never been performed.

Attached please find a letter addressed to the Kutztown Borough Officials dated October 11, 2007 which I hand delivered and have not received a reply. My letter basically states that the Borough is broke and deliberately withholding all reports of our Borough finances. This letter was written and delivered to the Borough 2 weeks prior to your article and it clearly demonstrates the Borough’s urgent need of revenue and the Borough’s desire to keep this information from the public. All my accusations and statements can be backed up with Borough Documents.

Please note because the Borough provides electricity Borough residents are required to purchase electricity from the Borough and can not shop for a better rate. I pay about 18 cents per kilowatt in my house and 22 cents a kilowatt on a second meter on my property when there are no tenants on the property. One Borough resident pays 10 cents a kilowatt to Met Ed and a Kutztown resident outside the Borough also pays 10 cents a kilowatt to Met Ed. My rate is already 80% and 120% more than the surrounding area, how much more can the Borough charge Borough residents? Most of the funds from the Electric Department are transferred into the Borough’s Fiber Optics business venture which by the last budget I saw loses about $ 1 million annually.

I will be more than happy to provide you with any additional information that you would like. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Gennaro A. Marino P.E.

no budget available in kutztown

The Borough of Kutztown continuously and deliberately avoids providing financial reports and records to the public. There is no Budget for 2006 and 2007 available at the Borough Hall. Tuesday January 15, 2007 I asked Director of Marketing Communications and Customer Relations\Assistant Secretary\Office Manager Gina Wiand to see the 2006 or 2007 Budget and she gave me a 2008 proposed Budget dated early December 2007. I then repeated my request for the 2006 or 2007 budget report and she stated they are not available. I told her the Borough Code states the Budget shall be made available to the public. She stated “I do what I am told” and then I asked her several additional questions and I received the same answer, “I do what I am told”.

The 2006 Budget should have been finalized by 12-31-06 and audited and published by (90 days) 3-30-07. It has not been published as of this writing. A couple of months ago Borough Manager\Treasurer Vettraino told me the Borough Council passed an Ordinance that there will be no Budget available at the Borough Hall and I stated that is a violation of the Borough Code and he stated he has to do what the Borough Council tells me to do.

It is a known fact that Hometown Utilicom loses $1 million a year and Borough Manager\Treasurer Vettraino and Information Technology Director Caruso, who heads HU, has never disagreed with this statement and has never published any type of financial report or audit on HU since its inception in 2002. The Borough has not had an internal audit for at least 12 years and does not employ an accountant or retain a CPA.

skating rink bid

I visited the Kutztown Borough Hall Tuesday January 15 to see the bid results and source of pavement for the paving of the skating rink. which I requested through the Right to Know Law. I did not receive either one. I received unit prices for some street work and no bid award. I also received a letter from the Borough Engineer GVC to Mr. Vettraino indicating that the Borough Council approved adding an extra to the Street Contract of $42,364 for the paving of the skating rink. This is illegal because all contracts 0f more than $10,000 must be bid publicly.

The Borough plans to pay for part of the skating rink contract with a State Recreation Grant which is not allowed. The Borough can not use Grant Funds to fund an illegal contract.

This is done often and routinely by Borough Manager\Treasurer Vettraino and approved by the Borough Council.

The public deserves an explanation for this practice.

letter to the editor --the reading eagle

here is a link to the letter

Advice to Kutztown Borough Council

I learned in sixth grade at P.S.14 Corona, Queens, N.Y.C. that Abraham Lincoln stated, "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. All my statements, accusations, criticisms, etc. are true and can be documented. I will respond to all comments that disagree with my facts as stated on this website or in my letters. I am anxious to hear from the Kutztown Borough Council, Mayor Green, Borough Manager\Treasurer Jaymes Vettraino and Information Technology Director Frank Caruso about my statements.
The Patriot of January 3, 2008 indicates that the proposed Total Borough Budget for 2008 is revenue $19.1 million and expenses are $17.5 million, that is $1.6 million excess.
The article also indicates that Telecom Revenue is $2.292 million and expenses are $1.4 million which means, using Borough figures, that Telecom will take in $890, 000 more than it will spend.
If the Borough Budget for 2008 has $1.6 million excess and Telecom has $890,000 in excess, why did you, the Borough Council, vote unanimously to borrow $1.3 million to fund Telecom? The article also states that the $1.3 million loan will be explained in detail in the first quarter of 2008. Why wasn't it explained to the Borough Council and the public before the vote?