Latrobe loses finance director to former employer; council member resigns

Latrobe’s administrative team, already in transition with the recent departure of former City Manager Terry Carcella, has another unexpected twist to navigate with the resignation of Finance Director Timothy Pisula.

On board for only about three months in the newly designated position at Latrobe, Pisula has told city officials he’s planning to head back to his previous employer, Threshold, a Greensburg nonprofit that provides housing and rehabilitation services for behavioral health clients.

City Council this week approved Pisula’s resignation, effective Friday. He will be paid for five days of vacation benefits when his final paycheck is issued on June 27.

“The timing for us is bad,” said Mayor Eric Bartels. “It puts us in a bind.”

Council has been restructuring some staff positions and is looking to acquire new trucks and equipment as the city gears up to take over in-house collection of garbage and recyclable items next year. The city’s contract with hauler Republic Services comes to an end this year.

Council on Monday also provisionally approved new three-year contracts with police Chief Richard Bosco and public works Director Scott Wajdic. The contracts include provisions for the respective additional roles of interim city manager and stormwater manager that each has taken on since Carcella left on May 23 to begin work as borough manager in Springdale.

City officials withheld details of those contracts, as Mayor Eric Bartels said some language had to be tweaked.

Bosco has said day-to-day operations of the police department will be overseen by senior officers, including Capt. Rob Daerr, while he takes on management of the Latrobe office staff until a new city manager is brought on board.

Bartels said stormwater management will become a permanent addition to Wajdic’s duties.

Pisula, who did not immediately return a reporter’s message and did not attend Monday’s council meeting, was ill, according to Bosco.

Bosco read a statement from Pisula, indicating he “was recruited back to my former employer, Threshold, where my first love is.”

Bartels acknowledged the challenge of keeping city administrative needs covered.

“It’s obvious we’re dealing with a lot of personnel changes,” he said while praising remaining employees for handling added duties.

“It’s putting a lot of weight on our office staff,” Bartels said, adding that council members also are ” putting a lot of extra work in.

“We’re trying to get positions restructured. We believe it’s a good opportunity for us to really kind of get a new energy and move the city in a positive direction.”

Councilman resigns

In addition to seeking applicants to replace Pisula, the city is looking for residents who are interested in a temporary appointment to a vacant council seat.

William Yuhaniak stepped down from council, effective at the end of Monday’s meeting.

Yuhaniak, who served about two years as an appointed council member and is in the middle of an elected four-year term, told TribLive he is resigning because of personal and family health reasons.

“I can’t be away from the house for hours on end,” he said. “I might spend some time remodeling.”

A former custodian for Greater Latrobe School District, Yuhaniak retired in May 2024. He remains active as a lieutenant with the Latrobe Volunteer Fire Department.

“I‘ve learned a lot,” he said of his experience on council.

“We appreciate the input you’ve been able to provide,” Bartels told him.

Special meeting planned

Council is planning to hold a special June 23 meeting to consider appointing a replacement for Yuhaniak and possibly hiring a new finance director, if a recommended candidate for the paid position has been found.

Anyone who would like to be considered for the council position or the finance director job should email a letter of interest to Bosco at rbosco@cityoflatrobe.org.

The council appointee would serve until the end of the year, with city voters deciding in the Nov. 4 municipal election on a candidate to serve out the remaining two years of Yuhaniak’s term.

Three other council seats and the position of mayor also will be up for grabs in November. During the May 20 primary, Bartels won the Republican nomination for another term as mayor while Christine Marquis appeared to seize the Democratic nod with write-in votes.

Incumbent Ann Amatucci led the Republican nominations for council, joined by write-in candidates Eric Hauser and Sam Leach. On the Democratic ballot, Hauser led the write-in voting, followed by Amatucci and Anthony Novak.