Council agreed to not lay off workers this year, thanks to a settlement with the Mon Valley Health and Welfare Authority.

Attorney Al Gaudio met with council behind closed doors prior to a Wednesday business meeting.

Gaudio told council the authority agreed to a plan that will end ongoing litigation….

Gaudio was hired after council voted to dissolve the authority and take over the Mon Valley Community Health Center properties and related assets….The authority has long owned and…operated the health center and annex.

The city sued to challenge severance packages for authority employees.

The package originally called for authority Executive Director Larry Bender and building Superintendent Tom Wilkinson to receive one year of salary and medical and dental coverage should the authority be dissolved.

Gaudio said…the settlement calls for a $128,058 combined payout for the employees, or half of…their combined annual salaries. The original severance package…called for a $256,000 combined payout.

Gaudio said he expects the deal to close the week of Dec. 1, at which time the city will be poised to take over the properties and the assets. The authority is losing $20,000 a month, Gaudio said.

Mayor Anthony Petaccia called the timing of the settlement a “miracle,” but warned that the financial situation is still “not out of the water.”

“We’re all praying this will work, but we still have tough decisions to make,” Petaccia said.

As council discussed the settlement, about 30…residents, including many police officers and streets and code enforcement employees, waited to hear news of layoffs.

The mayor had a motion for layoffs on the agenda.

Petaccia said council discussed behind closed doors how many employees to furlough.

“First it was seven, then five, then two, but we only had enough votes for two,” the mayor said. “If we did have the votes, it was for only one or two…employees. One or two…isn’t going to accomplish anything,…and your singling a couple individuals.”

The mayor did not rule out future furloughs.

Petaccia said that when council learned about the settlement, it…started working on alternative plans.

The mayor said the tentative plan is to shift some employees to the health center properties to handle maintenance. Petaccia and Councilman John Harhai hope to make plans to move city operations to the health center annex to reduce monthly expenses.

“I believe, now, we are a lot closer to moving to that building; at least I hope so,” Harhai said of the annex. “This all happened in the last 45 minutes, and we are very, very grateful, and I hope this is a step in the right direction.”

Councilman Josh Retos said Gaudio far exceeded expectations.

“We would unfortunately be in a situation where we would have to lay off employees,” Retos said. “He did come in and save us.”

Councilman Jeff Gagatko said council will meet with nonuniform employees union to discuss job shifts. He expressed hope the union will work with the city.

Gagatko commended his colleagues for working together.

“Often times this council is an example of what government is at its worst — when we are fighting and arguing,” he said. “This evening, we are an example of what government can be at its best, by coming together, putting our heads together, and doing…what’s best for the community, and in this case, our employees.

“I understand there is still a 5-mill tax increase that everyone in the community will have to deal with. But we are fortunate this evening to be able to prohibit the layoff of city employees, and for that, I have to credit my colleagues.”

Petaccia apologized to the employees for “stress” they endured over the past eight months as council mulled layoffs.

Police officer James Quattro thanked council for avoiding layoffs.

He said the past several months have been stressful as rumors circulated about who would be furloughed. Quattro said that if the future does include layoffs, he hopes council will consider the effect of cutting the police force.

“I’m not saying anyone’s job is less important, because I don’t want to see anyone lose their job. But we are down three police officers, and I think things need to be looked at a lot more in depth,” Quattro said.

Quattro asked council which two employees had been marked for layoffs, but Petaccia declined to identify the workers.

Steve Beck, president of the non-uniform employee union, thanked council.

Beck said he would meet with Councilman Wayne Doptis after the meeting to discuss why the bargaining unit has yet to sign off on its contract. The three-year pact was approved last November, but officials from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union have never signed the contract.

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