Questions surround firing of Arnold city manager as council prepares to interview replacement

Questions surround the firing of Arnold City Manager Mario Bellavia, which happened only about a week after residents publicly applauded him for his work on behalf of the city.

Details surrounding Bellavia’s termination, including how it happened, when and why, were unclear Friday.

Bellavia did not return phone calls.

An Arnold native, Bellavia had worked for the city since June 2018. He was first hired as city clerk that year and was named the city’s administrator in February 2020.

Mayor Joe Bia II referred questions to city Solicitor Jaclyn Shaw. Shaw confirmed Bellavia had been terminated but said she did not know details. She said the city employs separate labor counsel.

Robert McTiernan, an attorney with Tucker Arensberg, said he has handled labor issues for the city, but said he was not familiar with the subject and was not involved in the decision making.

Shaw said council held an executive session for personnel matters Aug. 31 but said no action was taken during that private meeting. She said Bellavia was notified of his termination this week, possibly Wednesday.

“I am gathering information as to the circumstances,” she said.

Councilman Phil McKinley said he found out Thursday that Bellavia had been fired. According to him, Bia and Councilman George Hawdon walked into Bellavia’s office Wednesday and fired him.

Hawdon could not be reached for comment Friday.

McKinley said he attended the Aug. 31 meeting. He said others were complaining about what Bellavia was or wasn’t doing, such as collecting overdue sewage bills.

When Bellavia reported how much he had collected at council’s Sept. 12 meeting, residents applauded.

“The manager went over and above his duties to collect that, and they (other council members) were complaining,” McKinley said. “If we don’t collect that, the city will be bankrupt.”

McKinley said his position was that council should give Bellavia a written directive on what it wants him to do. McKinley said Bellavia’s contract states his supervisor is council as a whole, not any one person.

Firing Bellavia “wasn’t contemplated at that session,” and there was no other meeting that McKinley said he was invited to or aware of.

“My thing is: Who was the third vote? You need three people to do that,” McKinley said, referring to the city’s five-member council on which the mayor votes. “It wasn’t done in a public meeting. Did it really happen? I don’t believe so.

“At this point, I believe he’s still employed with the city. It wasn’t done properly. It should have been done at an open, public meeting to determine his employment with the city of Arnold.”

Under the state’s Sunshine Act, official action, such as firing an employee, only can be taken at a public meeting and only after the public has an opportunity to comment, according to Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

The employee involved also is required to be given advance notice and afforded the option for discussion of employment to take place in public, she said.

However, “nothing is invalidated on the Sunshine Act basis unless a court says so,” Melewsky said. “The employee, the public or a council member would have to bring a Sunshine Act lawsuit.”

Shaw said “everything that the city did as far as termination is concerned is in accordance with the law.”

“There are no council members that were not aware this was contemplated,” she said.

McKinley said council is scheduled to meet in a closed-door executive session at 6 p.m. Monday to conduct interviews for a new manager. While Melewsky said the law allows for that to be done privately, McKinley said they should be done in public.

Because the city has not advertised the position to seek applications, McKinley said, it’s clear to him three members of council have handpicked someone to replace him.

If a new manager is hired, McKinley said, his understanding is the current council can’t tie the hands of the new council in January.

Bia is expected to leave the mayor’s office after this November’s election. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by Shannon Santucci, who is unopposed for mayor.

Santucci said a resident told her about Bellavia’s termination Thursday afternoon. She ran in the primary on a slate with council candidates McKinley and Aaron Moore; Hawdon did not seek reelection.

“We were 110% looking forward to working with (Bellavia). He works hard, has good ideas and gets a lot of nice grants,” Santucci said. “Mario is a stand-up guy. I can’t imagine he did anything that he was not supposed to do in order for him to lose his job.”

Moore said he also heard about the firing Thursday.

“These folks do what they want to do despite the law. I think it’s unfair,” he said. “They let their personal feelings get in the way of what’s best for the community. That’s not how you’re supposed to lead.”

Despite apparently being unopposed, Moore said they are staying focused on the election.

“Mario’s been there for four years. Why all of a sudden, toward the end of their leadership, they fire him — unless there was some hidden agenda,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

McKinley said he would like to see Bellavia come back, if he’s willing.

“None of them chased grant money like he did. This is way extra work on his part,” McKinley said. “I don’t know how to do it; none of them know how to do it.

“That’s how we paved the streets.”