Scranton to investigate issue of personnel files placed outside with recycling

SCRANTON — The city will have an outside investigation conducted into personnel files placed in recycling outside City Hall, where a resident found them, council President Gerald Smurl announced during council’s weekly meeting Tuesday.

The administration of Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti also is changing procedures in the shredding and disposing of confidential documents, Smurl said.

The announcement came in response to an issue raised April 30 by resident Tom Coyne, who on that night told council about finding on April 24 a box of confidential files left in the rear of City Hall on Dix Court for recycling.

Coyne on April 30 also said the city’s Law Department served him with a letter telling him he improperly accessed and photographed the confidential files without authorization; and demanding that he account for his actions, delete photographic images of the records he made and divulge whether he disseminated any of the information he saw in the box.

On May 1, the administration cited a “lapse of protocols” for putting out for recycling a box of files that were supposed to get retained and stored.

Smurl announced Tuesday the administration is “going to have a third-party investigation done on this, instead of having something internal.” The city also will now have documents shredded inside city offices, any office that does not have a shredder will get one one, and shredded materials will be taken by an employee to the recycling center, Smurl said.

Some residents defended Coyne and criticized the city for what they view as a ham-handed, wrong-headed approach regarding the incident.

“I’m still hot under the collar over the way Tom Coyne was treated last week and I think the city owes him a public written apology” for “accusing him of misconduct,” Joan Hodowanitz said.

Adding that Coyne showed her photos of the files, Hodowanitz said, “What the city needs is more people like Tom Coyne — intelligent, articulate. He does his homework, he knows how to research, his bearing up at the podium is always professional. Basically, they spit in his face.”

Coyne also had posted on YouTube a video he recorded April 24 of the open box of personnel files left out on Dix Court. The video did not show the files close-up.

Les Spindler said, “I agree with Joan. Tom is owed a big apology.”

Norma Jeffries added the administration was “very unfair” to Coyne.

Regarding the city’s plan to have various shredders placed inside offices, Coyne suggested the city instead have one secure receptacle where documents to be shredded go, and then have an outside firm shred and dispose and certify to the city the documents were handled properly. This approach is routine in the healthcare industry, he said.

Councilwoman Jessica Rothchild called for council to consider and review this approach.

“I appreciate Mr. Coyne and him trying very hard to get those papers secured and I think the city should have tried harder to do that themselves so that situation didn’t occur,” Rothchild said.

Council members Mark McAndrew and Bill King each offered their own apology to Coyne.

“It’s no secret we live in a world or climate where we’re advised that if we see something, we say something … Guess what? Mr. Coyne did and got ridiculed for it. It’s unacceptable. He’s made out to be the bad guy,” McAndrew said. “I apologize, Mr. Coyne, (for) the way you were treated.”

King said, “I apologize on behalf of the city … it seems to me like you were treated as if you were doing something wrong and, as far I’m concerned, you weren’t. You did the right thing.”

Contacted Wednesday by The Times-Tribune for details about who would conduct an outside investigation, its parameters, time-frame and cost, the city issued a statement saying: ‘The city will engage a third party to investigate the recycling incident two weeks ago. As a result of this incident, we have implemented changes in recycling procedures and are retraining employees on document storage and retention policies.”