It appears as though Tom Riel may be able to participate in
executive sessions for Bradford City Council, despite a vote to the
contrary Tuesday by the other four council members.

On Wednesday, The Era pursued the matter with the Pennsylvania
Newspaper Association’s legal help line, and found that Third Class
City Code does not allow for council members to govern each
other.

“They are not responsible for internal governance,” said Melissa
Melewsky, media law attorney for the PNA. Under the Sunshine Law,
all members of the council must be notified of an executive
session.

“Members who fail to notify him are in violation of the Sunshine
Law and are subject to its penalties,” she added. Censuring a
fellow council member by banning him from executive sessions is not
permitted, Melewsky said.

“The City Code enumerates some powers and abilities and rights”
of the council, she said. “That is not one of them.

“The will of the people put him there, the will of the people
will keep him there until his term expires,” Melewsky said. He
answers to the voters, not the other council members, she
added.

“If this is not what the other members of the council want to
hear, too bad.”

And, she added, it is not specifically prohibited under the
Sunshine Law for Riel to talk about what happened in the executive
session, as Mayor Michele Corignani alleges he has done.

“If I were him, I would certainly make a point to attend every
executive session,” Melewsky said.

City Solicitor Mark Hollenbeck, who was present Tuesday when the
council members cast the votes banning Riel from the executive
sessions, had no comment Wednesday on Melewsky’s legal
opinions.

Riel, however, did comment.

“That nonsense (Tuesday) night will only make me stronger in my
resolve to shake up city government,” Riel said. “I was elected
because people want change.

“The other council members seemingly don’t want to change
anything. They are more concerned with turning these cat hearings
into the Nuremberg trials than trying to find ways to cut spending
so they don’t have to raise taxes,” he added, referring to the
ongoing hearings regarding appeals in Board of Health citations
against people for feeding and sheltering feral cats.

“I think it’s foolish to think just because I was elected I’m
going to completely change what I stand for. How can city council
be open and honest when members don’t even return phone calls or
think the public has a right to know what’s on council agendas or
even that a tax increase is looming?

“I don’t regret trying to inform the public about a tax increase
before it was voted on,” he said. And contrary to Corignani’s
accusations at the meeting, Riel says he has remained true to his
election platform of open access to information.

“They want everybody on city council to be in harmony. Well
guess what, I didn’t get elected to sing in the city hall choir.
Our town has got some serious problems – besides cat problems –
that need to be addressed.”

Calling the council’s onslaught against him a “mass public
personal lynching,” Riel said the voters can decide next year what
they want the makeup of council to be.

Ross Neidich, Dan Costello and Corignani’s seats will all be up
for election.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Riel was attacked by Neidich,
Costello, Corignani and Councilman Bob Onuffer for comments he made
to The Era in a previous article regarding money saving ideas for
the city budget. His ideas including fitness programs for city
employees, which was taken by the council members to be an attack
on the city fire department.

Also, the council members alleged that Riel has gone public with
information from executive sessions that should have remained
confidential, discussed a tax increase with the media before
council had approved it and discussed business with someone with
whom the city is involved in litigation.

They brought up the fact that Riel is still involved in
litigation over the city’s sign and Historic District laws, that
Riel’s wife opened a business in Foster Township instead of within
the city limits and that he co-owns a building on Mechanic Street
on which the taxes were not immediately paid.