Lackawanna County Controller Gary DiBileo briefly delayed the mailing of a county newsletter to more than 63,000 households in Lackawanna County in a dispute between his office and the county commissioners office.
The newsletters could be on their way to residents as early as today after the administration Thursday afternoon provided Mr. DiBileo's office with the documentation he said he needed before approving the expenditure of $12,975 to mail the six-page fliers.
"As controller, I have a job to do and that is making sure the county is spending money properly," Mr. DiBileo said. "If it went according to county standards, they would not be waiting for an approval."
Administration officials insisted they followed the proper procedures, with the cost of preparing and printing the newsletters coming in well below the $18,500 threshold for mandatory bidding.
"Everything has been done appropriately and the controller's judgment is completely speculative here," chief financial officer Thomas Durkin said.
The kerfuffle started unfolding Wednesday when the administration notified Mr. DiBileo's office of the revival of the "Living Lackawanna" newsletter, last published in 2010.
Mr. DiBileo said Fran Pantuso, community outreach manager, indicated the commissioners wanted to resume issuing the newsletter four times annually. There was also an administration request for his office to "rush" approval of the $12,975 in postage costs.
Given that the cost of four newsletters would easily exceed $18,500 and require public bidding - a process the county followed for its newsletters in 2008, 2009 and 2010 - Mr. DiBileo said he informed the commissioners office he could not approve any cost of the project without more information.
He also raised concerns the administration might be "piecemealing" the newsletters to avoid competitive bidding, which would violate state law, he said.
Chief of staff Maria Elkins said the newsletter did not need to be bid because the cost did not warrant it, The county sought three quotes, all of which came under $18,500. The final production costs, expected to be about $10,250, will be paid from the county's hotel tax fund.
A city company, Scranton Printing on Penn Avenue, printed the newsletters Tuesday.
While the county budgeted $50,000 for newsletters in 2013, Ms. Elkins said the county would be "lucky" to issue a second this year, given the lateness of the first.
Mr. DiBileo warned that a second newsletter would be piecemealing.
"At this point, if this is all they are doing - one newsletter - we have no problem approving this," he said.
The controller also called the timing of the newsletter "curious," coming as voters prepare to decide five referendum questions with potentially broad implications for the future shape of county government in Tuesday's primary.
Ms. Pantuso said county officials had hoped to have the newsletter out earlier so members of the public could better prepare for the upcoming activities outlined in the publication.
"We feel badly it has not gotten out as quickly as we would have liked to keep them informed," she said.
Mr. Durkin called the timing purely coincidental.
"We don't stop working when there is an election coming," he said.
The newsletter can be viewed on the county website, www.lackawannacounty.org.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com