This is awesome news!!! Welcome Richard Dwyer!!!

So we the taxpayers are now footing $5,500.00 a month for a "yes" man to the council and boro manager. He will carry a gun but have no arrest power. That is very strange for a Chief of Police. Does that mean Rizza will now get his badge? I also wonder what is Mr. Dwyer's relationship to whom on council?
And as far as "extordinarily bad leadership" Ms Lusardi, it is my personal opinion that title goes to you as the President of this dysfunctional and destructive council.
I would like to see a tally of the legal costs and expeditures of "created overtime" due to the disruption of the police department racked up by this boro manager and council vs the original overtime cost of the police department the council claims was catalyst of this hot mess in the first place. Just to compare.
This council and the boro managment reminds me of a Jr. Highschool civics class rum amok. It would be humorous were it not for the terrible waste and damage it has brough to our community.
It will be interesting to see how long Mr. Dwyer lasts in this climate but then again for $5,500.00 and being a non resident( I assume) and outsider of Dormont he probably doesnt care.

Will not have arrest powers? Why?

Great news! Welcome to the neighborhood Chief Dwyer! The community will rally around you.

He's not technically a police officer in Dormont so he can't have arrest powers. He's a hired gun (get the pun) to administratively put things back together after the king and his horses made a shambles of things.

If you've got questions then you should go to the upcoming Council meeting and ask them. From the sound of the article the new chief has the large task of bringing order back to the PD. I welcome that and wish him luck.

Why did the head of the Public Safety committee Joan Hodson not take part in the interviews? Joan if you read this fill us all in.

WOP2 - i'll ignore your sarcasim (at least I think it's sarcasim, hard to tell online). Look, you can't expect the council members to read the Patch and respond to every question. I've found that if you want answers you go face to face and confront them. I don't have a better answer, but I'm not afraid to go to the Council meeting and ask. You'd get a lot more answers if you did the same. Believe it or not, the Patch cannot answer your questions that you post here, and the answers you get from residents include a lot of speculation and unconfirmed facts. If you want your questions answered, go straight to the source. It's your right as a Dormont resident to go demand answers from your Council.

Reply to Dormonter con't.
would allow the mayor the courtesy of adhering to guidelines for local government, very likely Dormont would not be in its current pickle. Did you know that the Mt. Lebanon police refer to the Dormont PD as the "Border Patrol"? The reason should be obvious, but just in case someone might be too dense to figure it out, Dormont is the buffer zone between Mt. Lebanon and the City of Pittsburgh, and Mt. Lebanon PD relies on them to intercept the undesirables. It takes a very special police department, unfettered by nitwits who have never been a cop, nor know anything of police work, to effectively patrol Dormont. Bringing in a former Wilkinsburg cop may be an admission of a truly bad element moving into Dormont. The idea that he's coming on board to make nice with current PD is a fairy tale. Wake up and smell the roses. Dormont is changing, and damage control needs to start today. It can't with an interfering borough manager and a council laden with hacks and dummies.

So some on here are suggesting that if you have a question, then go to a council meeting and ask it?? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? Have you ever attended a meeting with this bunch and asked a half intelligent question. Well I HAVE, and guess what, I NEVER GOT AN ANSWER, NOT ONCE. They will however look at you with either a blank stare, a spitefull angry look, or president lassardi will yell and tell everyone to "shut up"!

I am embarassed and ashamed to have to say I live in Dormont right now. In case some are living under a rock, we ARE the laughing stock of the South Hills.

sooooooo....if this guy is doing "administrative things..what are Gino and Ian doing? I would like to see everyone's job description, just so I am aware of who is responsible for what.

My question is what happens if the civil service commission comes back and says the borough acted inappropriately in demoting Chief Ross and he is re-instated?

Lee wrote:
So what you are saying you are as old as dirt yourself???? (Yes I am, and I look like it, too.) Worry about your own community - we have enough problems here. (Hold the phone, Lee. I thought you didn't have any problems?) You won't be going to the meetings because you don't care about this community you just care to stir things up. (I won't be going to the meetings because I abhor a vacuum) What are you unemployed now??? (Nope, I'm a retired investor living on a fixed income.) You obviously haven't done any work today. (True, I do lead rather the life of leisure) The mayor needs to retire he is an instigator and after all this time he still does not even know Dormont's code!!! (Tom Lloyd is a personal friend, confidant, and a decent person.)Maybe you can run for mayor, Mr. Wayne.----(Look out, here it comes----

Oh no, the secret is out! Yes, Lee, its true. I'm Batman. )

Seems Mr Dwyer is a bit of a glutton for punishment. A quick Google search produced this:

"With Gerald Brewer resigning amid charges of theft in 2000, Mark Springer quitting in 2002 after only 10 months on the job and Richard Dwyer's forced resignation in April, Wilkinsburg has gone through three police chiefs in less than four years. "The biggest problem is council is micro-managing," he said. "The mayor is supposed to run the force, and until we have a mayor who sees this is a problem, we'll continue to have a problem."

Borough Councilwoman Sandra Roberts said both Springer and Dwyer complained to her about other council members and the mayor directing police department operations.

"We have council members asking for patrol cars to be sent to certain neighborhoods, and Dwyer told me the mayor would change the duty schedule if he didn't like it," she said. "It's my understanding that our job is to legislate and to let managers manage."
http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/new-pittsburgh-courier-city-edition/mi_8152/is_20040718/charges-micromanaging-police-chiefs-turnover/ai_n50487941/

Continued from the same article. Dwyer is expensive too.

In 2002, while serving as a Pittsburgh police lieutenant, Dwyer was sued in federal court by Officer Eunice D. Nelson, who charged Dwyer referred to her and other African-American officers as "Black gorillas" and used a particular anatomical expletive when referring to women.

Young said since Dwyer was hired as Wilkinsburg chief, subordinates filed at least 10 grievances against him and two more discrimination cases were filed--one by current acting Chief Michelle Krempasky, whose husband, Officer Thomas Proctor was at the center of Dwyer's resignation.

Young suspended Dwyer in March after the chief forwarded a molestation complaint against Proctor to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala without his approval. Young wanted it handled by the state police.

"Proctor gave a deposition a week before the charges criticizing the D.A.'s investigators and Wilkinsburg police in another case," said Young. "That's why I thought it would be better handled by the state police."

And although council agreed to pay $62,000 of Dwyer's remaining contract in exchange for his resignation, Young said that amount peanuts compared to what Springer cost the borough."

The last statement in that article is eerily prophetic:
"Though it would be easy to fault council for these hirings, Young said they have had to rely on qualification reports from police departments where the applicants worked, which--by law--cannot contain detrimental information. "The reality is you don't know someone until you hire them," he said."

Wow..in this case I think its not only easy to fault this council for THIS hiring but also the hiring of the boro manager. This is going to be another big expensive mistake for the taxpayers of Dormont yet again.

Hope everyone shows up at the boro bldg tomorrow at 7pm to support Sgt. Burke.

love the way some of our council members did their homework. Did they forget to do a background check?

One more thing, that Gamble fellow is a consultant. How much did he get paid?

Do you think they sleep well these days ? This Council neds to have a full investigation launched on their butts. It all smells very bad. The icing was the hiring of this nutball they failed to do a back ground check on. What a sad state of affairs. They should all be declared incompetent I once asked Council just how much revenue is generated form parking tickets both metered and permit parking. Their response is that they barely broke even and made no money what so ever. Now just think about all those tickets and add that thought to all the damn tickets generated from the street cleaner I know on my street at least 15 cars get tickets monthly. Why ? Because there is no where for them to move their cars the night before, parking is at a premium. So with this in mind does anyone feel confident going and asking Council any question and actually getting a straight and honest answer ? Any time I have made a honest and true suggestion on anything Councils reply is why dont you research that and let us know what you find ! No Council why dont you do your job and research it yourself and let us the people know what YOU find !

Yesterday I got deleted for violating the terms of the Patch. We (Dan at the Patch and I) exchanged e-mails, and I want to apologize for the veiled profanity I used. That said, the essence of this situation is Dormont, my home for 25 years, has a borough manager system of government. The duties of every member of council, the manager, and the mayor are delineated in Pennsylvania statute, and the Mayor is titular head of the Police Department. Now I read that you have hired a man who can carry a gun, but has no arrest authority. I can do that, too, in plain sight on the streets of Dormont, i.e. carry a gun openly and have no arrest authority. So, for all the apologists for council members, what have you gotten for your efforts to make Mayor Lloyd look foolish, and to sack Phil Ross and burn Jim Burke's deserved promotion to Sergeant? Karma can be very pleasant, or very nasty. Its my firm belief that you will be able to repave every street, tear down every eyesore, and stimulate Dormont into a wonderful bedroom community. Of course that was before you pay a couple jillion in lawsuits for defaming the character of good men. In short, council, the borough manager, and others unseen, have created a certified mess. If you think saving the pool (a good thing) was tough, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

I thought the mayor was elected by the citizens of Dormont to run our community along with the council that we elected but that he was the boss. from reading all of these bickering posts i get that council hired Gino Rizza as boro mgr and that alot of people haven't been too happy with that choice. Now if Boro Manager is the top dog (instead of the Mayor) that position should ALSO be elected into office and not hired . Who has the authority to fire the boro manager? He seems to have authority to hire and fire whoever he wants but who made him boss? I voted for the mayor to run our community NOT Gino Rizza

The council hires and fires the borough manager, not the mayor. Council is also in charge of the police department, not the mayor. The mayor is a figurehead with some responsibilities.

IV. Administrative Powers
Borough mayors retain only very limited administrative powers, chiefly centered around supervising the daily
operations of the police department. This situation is in direct contrast to large cities where mayors are actually
the chief executives, responsible for operation of the city governments. Under the Borough Code, council is
responsible for almost all administrative operations of the borough government. In boroughs where the office
of manager has been created, administrative responsibility can be delegated by council to the manager. The
mayor is also authorized to delegate any mayoral administrative duties to the manager with the approval of
council.1
General Administrative Powers
The Borough Code states the mayor is to preserve order in the borough, enforce the ordinances and resolutions,
remove nuisances, exact a faithful performance of the duties of the officers appointed and perform such other
duties assigned by law or ordinance.2 While this paragraph seems to give broadbrush authority to the mayor, it
is not backed up by any detailed powers elsewhere in the Borough Code outlining how these duties are to be
performed. Preservation of Order. The mayor’s responsibility to preserve order is implemented solely by the power to direct
the activities of the borough police force. Most ordinary problems connected with preservation of order
will be met by issuing directions to the police force.

Governor’s Center for Local Government Services
Department of Community and Economic Development
Commonwealth Keystone Building
400 North Street, 4th Floor
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120-0225
(717) 787-8158
1-888-223-6837
E-mail: ra-dcedclgs@state.pa.us

i looked up borough mayor's manual online the above is what i got from it

Question: What would have happened had Maggio won Mayor? Would council still be trying to revoke his elected power?

Check the borough code. It states

§ 48-16. Effect on Mayor's powers.
Subject only to the provisions set forth above, the duties of the Mayor to oversee the police
force as provided in the applicable sections of the Borough Code shall not be deemed
diminished.

Sounds like they all need to grow up and act like professional adults.

Good for him, he deserves the raise!!

On the agenda is Gino's raise. He feels he deserves it so it will be discussed tomorrow night. So will the hiring of the interim chief. And no Gino does not deserve it.

tsk tsk tsk The $5,500.00 a month "police chief" salary then a $10,000.00 a year raise for our boro mgr? Maybe council can top it all off with giving themselves a nice big raise too!! maybe fire a couple of police officers to save some money? just sayin.....

I'm still waiting to find out why Gino was not diciplined after the letter and complaints from all but one full-time boro employees. He does not deserve a raise the only thing he deserves is an escort out of the boro .

If Gino gets a 10,000 raise the Council better be prepared for me to RAISE the roof. I will not stand for it. I do not care if I have to hit every house in the boro with a petition, and I will have a second one prepared so every household in the Boro knows about this new Chief without any power to arrest anyone. For $5500 a month thats just plain assinine ! Council is so not acting in the best interest of it's residents. And Ms. Lusardi your at the helm of this ship wreck ! Must totally stink to be you right now !

Chris, I don't think Council believed the employees so why would they discipline him.

another question is why when Gino got arrested nothing was done to him BUT the arresting officer was put on administrated leave. That sounds really one sided. The residents of Dormont need to make their voices heard.

"dormonter
7:00pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Guess the boro won't be hiring any female officers anytime soon. Or African-Americans...."

Guess you have not been in Dormont all that long, They had an officer Tina was forced to quit "didn't fill out an accident report properly." Funny thing is She walked away from Dormont with a stack of cash. It seems the "goon squad" as they earned their name happened to be taking photos of officer Tina while she was changing in to and out of her uniform. I will not name the members of this "goon squad" some have retired some are still working for you.

Dormont council has been shady for many years, Dormont PD. has had many rotten apples employed since I started living there in 77, I have known Ross for a long time we haven't seen eye to eye But He is one of the few good ones up there, Ralph is probably next on their ppl to fire list, as seeing their hand picking the officers who go by the book.

What has Gino done to deserve a $10,000 raise?

The differance between Gino and average Joe Blow Dormont citizan is that if Joe Blow gets cited for something nobody gets a ultimatium to drop the charges or lose their job ! Joe Blow pays the fine or goes to court. We really need someone higher up in the media to cover this mess daily on the 6 P.M. news . They all need pulled out on the carpet for all of Dormont to see !

You know Lee, it doesn't really matter that i read "Agreement, Statement Resolve Some Police Issues in Dormont" Because I still feel, and I know from these posts that I am not the only one,that NO Civillian should enter the police station through that door as that room may be in use and or hold sensitive material. There is a perfectly good door on Glenmore Ave that boro residents may use to enter the police station.

Lee I believe that Rizza paying the ticket is an admission of guilt. If he felt he was not guilty he should of fought the ticket in court like anyone else. It is clear to everyone that Rizza was wrong. Giving Burk the ultimatium of dropping trespassing charges or be fired ???......well.......hmmmmm sounds like someone was on a power trip on that one ! Why should Gino be above the law ? Please enlighten me ! Ohhh and lee, you suddenly respect the privacy of Ross and Burke ? Really ???? Is Lee Gino's Mom , does anyone know?

Leah and Mary Beth- I think you both missed a big point. The PD's legal council acknowledged a mistake made by Burke and Mayor Lloyd. Blackmail is not legal, so if indeed it was "drop the trespassing charge or you are fired" the PD's legal council surely would have put and end to that. Both sides have acknowledged the PD was wrong here. What is difficult to understand there? Unless of course you believe that the PD lawyer did not act in their clients best interest. It doesn't really matter what was done in the past...it doesn't make it a law. The fact is he is borough manager and can therefore go wherever he wants. He isn't above the law, he simply isn't breaking any laws, as the PD acknowledged.

Like I said before Go Dormont, Gino cannot go anywhere he wants in the building. Or did you forget that he was told by the DA he can not go into their offices. Maybe you think he should go and do what he wants but there are people who do not want him around their office.

Go Dormont, I don't believe I am missing anything. In my above post I cited a direct quote from a statement given by "the borough" and asked a straight forward question. How does the borough manager know he is not walking in on an interview in progress or a minor in custody if he is just permitted to walk in through a back door of the police station unannounced any time he feels like it? And, what does "...may be prohibited" mean? Is it prohibited or is it not prohibited? Which is it? If he walks in and there happens to be a minor in custody, then what?

4 managers and 3 chiefs with this council in 3 1/2 years. Seem like a problem?

I find it odd that even though Dwyer has not been hired he was at Phil's hearing and also at last nights executive session along with the $165. an hour labor attorney.

Hey Leigh , was a raise even discussed for Gino last night ? I could not attend. Something came up. I will see you on july 5 th. i wont miss that one !

No amount was discussed. They were going to table it until Council could talk but it was decided after some prodding that they would have an executive session before the next meeting on July 5

Leah: I can't stretch an article out of speculation by anonymous people that Gino Rizza is getting a raise (at an agenda meeting, when voting can't take place.)
Sure Phil Ross' hearing got an article: He had said he expected to be fired afterward (well, that was said the week before, before the hearing was postponed for a scheduling conflict.) PG and Trib wrote articles, too, after the hearing. Nada about last night, so far, from them. And if they had a story I didn't, I'd point you to it.
Will Rizza get a raise? I don't know. I'm sure he wants one. Who doesn't? Wanting and getting are two different things. Whatever action happens will be reported.
I also didn't write that council is expected to vote on the Park/Dell stop sign or a bunch of other perfunctory stuff. Well, bulletproof vests aren't perfunctory. That one may be interesting.
BTW: I have inquired about the interim chief's insurance liability and intend, if it's answered, to report.

Thanks. I have a Google alert set up for Dormont and other keywords, but things slip through. {You didn't see a blog about being a fireman in the Trib. ;) } Also, I'd say, little in that article that's not been reported or posted on Patch already.

In other borough news, council approved giving Assistant Borough Manager Ian McMeans a raise to $41,000, starting in June. McMeans had earned $36,000. The vote was 5-2, with councilmen Eugene Barilla and John Maggio opposing.

“I think we can find somebody for less a price if we advertise it,” Barilla said.

Maggio said he thinks McMeans is doing a good job, but that 14 percent was too large a raise given the economy.

McMeans, who has a master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University, started with the borough last May.

Somehow this raise for the assistant boro manager got put through last month now this month they want to give the boro mgr a $10,000.00 raise. I guess they are trying to get the goods before next election because they know that their jobs may be in jeopardy

Gino's raise is probably what was in the budget, he just wants his money because he is doing such a great job. Who do you think put it on the agenda. It wasn't Kim.

OK this boro Council is loseing it. The go to boy gets a 5,000 raise when the boro is doing so poorly. Who are they kidding ? Well if Ian gets it I would lay a bet Gino will too . Dormont is paying the ticket for these ding dongs. I am mad as hell right now. There is something more going on here than they are telling us. I would love to be a fly on the wall at some of these meetings . The abuse of power in this boro should be a grave concern for all the residents. Leigh you should run for Council one day, I for one would vote for you my dear.