‘Genuinely worried.’ Milesburg residents plead for help with local government in disarray

Milesburg Borough has had a tough start to 2024 — between the bulk of the borough staff leaving in January and two council members resigning in the months to follow, the borough has been facing an uphill battle trying to rebuild.

Most recently the borough’s planned special meeting on March 27 was canceled. The council last met on March 11, when the borough council president resigned and the meeting could not continue due to lack of quorum, with two members absent.

In recent months, many residents have spoken up at borough council meetings about transparency issues and concerns about how the local government is being run.

Milesburg resident Bryce Taylor recently spoke about the issues during a Centre County Commissioners meeting, saying that while he knows the commissioners can’t do much to help, getting the word out still helps.

“Things here have seemed to turn south pretty quickly,” Taylor told the CDT. “The borough has had two council members resign in as many months, we’ve got another two other council members who are abstaining from the meetings and because of those absences, a quorum can’t be held. When a quorum can’t be held, nothing gets done and that puts our borough in real jeopardy.”

The two council members absent from recent meetings — Greg Ritter and Pete DeLosa — did not respond to a request for comment.

“There’s nothing in our code that can make these two abstaining borough members attend the meetings and I fear that if something doesn’t change soon, we’re going to be witnessing Milesburg Borough fall apart in real time, right in front of our own eyes,” Taylor said.

Ruth Baird, a frequent attendee of the borough council meetings, shares his concerns.

“With all these resignations going on and all of the drama, it’s really hard to figure out who to trust,” Baird said. “It feels like there are a lot of shady dealings going on over the years and I’m genuinely worried about the future of this town. I’ve lived here my whole life and have never seen the borough like this — it’s sad and frustrating.”

There was even a petition started by borough resident Holly Smith, calling for the resignation of all borough council members to “restore trust in our local town.”

The borough’s solicitor, Tracey Benson, did not respond to a request for comment.

What can Milesburg residents do?

According to a spokesperson from the Pennsylvania Municipal League, while the situation is dire, there isn’t much that residents can do aside from making their voices heard.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot that just one resident can do to get these members to show up — especially if there’s nothing in their code enforcing it,” the spokesperson said. “However, there have been instances where enough public outcry has led to the eventual resignation of a local government leader.”

If the residents hope to spark change, they should attend the meetings and let their voices be heard, the PA Municipal League spokesperson said.

That’s Taylor’s goal, too.

“I’ve been in contact with a ton of different organizations to try and find something that we can do to alleviate this issue but there really isn’t a lot,” Taylor said. “I went to a (Centre County) commissioners meeting and was basically told the same thing. Now I’m trying to do all I can to get the word out about this to the other residents living here.”

He also said that while the borough is in disarray, it isn’t nearly to the point where higher governmental intervention is needed.

“On paper, this borough’s situation doesn’t look as bad as it really is, which is why Milesburg Borough isn’t high on the priority list of any government organization that could help us,” Taylor said.

The next scheduled borough meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Monday. If there’s no quorum and that meeting can’t be held, Taylor said he’ll next look to gather residents for a potential town hall meeting to discuss the future of the borough and what more citizens can do.

Regardless, Taylor is encouraging residents to attend the meeting and speak up about their frustrations.

“I highly recommend any Milesburg resident who is fed up with our council members to attend Monday’s meeting,” Taylor said. “Come to the meetings, speak up, stay engaged and see these things happen with your own eyes — the more eyes we have on this borough, the more likely it is that something is going to be done about these issues.”