Christine Allen resigns from Sewickley Council weeks after manager was fired

May 26—Christine Allen said she could no longer be a Sewickley council member after her colleagues moved to fire the borough's manager.

"In light of everything, I just can't (stay)," Allen said. "As a Christian, I prayed on this a lot, and I cannot stay on this council."

She submitted her resignation "effective immediately" via email May 24 after an executive session. It came a little less than two weeks after Marla Marcinko was terminated as borough manager in a split vote. Allen voted against firing Marcinko.

"I did see the email wherein Christine Allen resigned her position on council, but am unaware of any reason given; nor do I have any reason to inquire as to one, if any," council vice president Todd Renner told the Sewickley Herald via email.

Allen was in the fourth year of her first term on council. It is set to expire at the end of this year and she did not intend to seek reelection.

"I appreciate the time she's put in and thank her for her service," council president Jeff Neff said. "I think it's difficult being a council member for many reasons. It's a thankless job. You don't get paid for it — it's volunteer. I wish her well."

Neff said they plan to formally accept Allen's resignation at council's June 8 meeting.

Council has 30 days after that to fill the vacancy before it could become a matter for an Allegheny County judge to decide.

Allen said that the internal dispute over manager's position, as well as a lack of interest in improving infrastructure, were the two major factors in her decision.

"Sewickley has roads and walls that have already failed for decades of neglect," Allen said. "As long as Marla was here, I thought this would get done. We don't have a strategic plan. That's your job, to have a strategic plan for doing business. I would like roads and walls to be a priority. What we do should mirror our agenda, and it didn't.

"I came into this wanting to do the right things the right way, and I feel like I've been put in a compromising position."

The vote was 5-4-1 to fire Marcinko on May 11 after a closed-door discussion in an executive session. The issue was not on that night's meeting agenda.

Mayor George Shannon cast the deciding vote following a split on council, 4-4-1.

Borough solicitor Richard Tucker was working a separation agreement. Marcinko is still listed as borough manager on Sewickley's website. Her final day has not been announced.

Neff and Renner, along with council members Sean Figley and Ed Green, voted to fire Marcinko. Council members Tom Rostek, Cynthia Mullins, Allen and Julie Barnes voted against firing her. Larry Rice abstained.

Rice said during the meeting that because he had been involved with Marcinko's performance reviews in 2019 and 2020, he did not want to vote on her future.

Allen voiced her objection to the move during the meeting as well as in further comments via email to the Sewickley Herald.

"There's no good reason to have fired her," Allen wrote. "The members who voted to fire her offered no good reasons to the rest of us. I was surprised the topic was raised. It wasn't on the executive session agenda. I dissented and protested the topic being raised because it wasn't on the agenda."

Marcinko began working as Sewickley's top administrator in April 2019. She previously lived in the borough and spent four years working as manager for Altoona.

Marcinko declined to comment, as did several council members.

Rostek said last week that he was surprised and disgusted at the move.

"Losing your borough manager in such a small community is quite devastating," he said. "It's not like we have an assistant borough manager or department heads of the same caliber that can just step in. When you lose the borough manager, you are losing a large percentage of your leadership."

Rostek declined to comment on Allen's departure or on any update to the manager's position.

Council had an executive session May 24. No one would confirm if the manager's position was discussed.

The president did note prior to that session that there was no criminal probe or investigation of any impropriety that led to the termination.

Closed-door firing questioned

The motion to terminate, as well as a couple of other motions made after the May 11 meeting break for executive session, were not opened for public comment prior to the vote.

Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said that could be considered a possible Sunshine Act issue.

"There must be an opportunity for public comment before all official action," Melewsky said. "There is no exception to that rule. If there were no members of the public present, the board should make that clear and reflect it in the minutes so that it's clear there was no one present to offer input, but the opportunity was there. Some agencies say something like 'seeing no members of the community here to offer public comment on the proposed action, all in favor.' "

Neff said no one besides council, the mayor and the solicitor was on the meeting call following the executive session, and no one requested to come back on. Sewickley meetings have been virtual due to the pandemic.

"If we're dealing with online meetings here, which typically don't allow real-time public participation like you would see in a regular face-t0-face meeting, the public is very limited in their ability to comment on issues that are new or not on the agenda provided in advance," Mewlewsky said. "The action stands unless someone challenges it in court."

Mewlewsky said employees also have certain rights under the Sunshine Act.

"When an agency has an executive session about a specific employee, that employee is allowed to request that discussion happen at a public meeting," she said. "Which means an employee has to be given notice and an opportunity to exercise their right before an executive session is held.

"If that didn't happen, that's a Sunshine issue the employee herself can pursue under the Act."

It is unclear if Marcinko was given that opportunity, though she did not participate in the May 11 meeting. She was in Arizona, following the death of her brother there on May 7.

Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@triblive.com or via Twitter .