Westmoreland commissioners walk out of public meeting after violation claim raised

Westmoreland County commissioners briefly walked out of their public meeting Thursday after an audience member accused them of violating the state’s open meeting law.

The voting session was recessed for about 30 minutes to meet requirements of Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Law, which was amended by state lawmakers last year to require public bodies to post meeting agendas online at least 24 hours prior to the session.

Thursday’s 16-page agenda was posted on the county website at 2:18 p.m. Wednesday for the meeting that was to start at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

“We just recessed and reconvened, waited for that 24-hour period to hit the mark, and came back,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.

Commissioners usually meet at 10 a.m. in the public meeting room at the courthouse. Thursday’s session was moved to an afternoon start and held in a room that normally functions as a makeshift fourth-floor courtroom used to conduct summary appeal hearings.

The time and location change was announced earlier this month when the public meeting room was expected to be in use for a state-ordered election recount.

As Kertes, the board’s chairman, called the meeting to order just after 1:30 p.m., an audience member sitting in the front row shouted out an objection, claiming commissioners violated the state’s open meeting law.

That objection went without an immediate acknowledgment as the Rev. Bob Ross at Heritage Baptist Church in Jeannette gave an invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance before commissioners awarded certificates of special recognition to three Controller’s Office staffers for their work the county’s financial reports.

Then, acting as the county’s Industrial Development Corp. board of directors, commissioners approved six business items before the general meeting was officially opened by Kertes. Commissioners briefly conferred with Solicitor Melissa Guiddy, then announced the recess before leaving.

They returned to the table at 2:18 p.m.

“We waited for 24 hours,” said Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher.