The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

November 19, 2009

UPDATE: Judge settles on facts in right-to-know case

By Courtney L. Anderson

SHARON — It could be next year before a judge issues a ruling in the Right to Know case between the Sharon Sanitary Authority, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records and The Herald.

The Herald in June submitted a Right-to-Know request to the authority seeking to inspect delinquent sewer accounts.

The authority denied the request, claiming that doing so would violate the Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act, and The Herald appealed to the Office of Open Records.

The state agency ruled that the records are public and that the authority should provide the information to The Herald.

The authority appealed that decision to Mercer County Common Pleas Court and on Thursday Judge Christopher J. St. John filed “findings of fact” from an Oct. 8 hearing.

The document states the facts of the case brought out in court and documents.

They include that the authority and city of Sharon are owed a total of $980,000 in delinquent accounts and The Herald might write a story about debtors who owe large amounts, depending on what is found in the records.

At the hearing, Authority Manager Guy Cunningham said that individuals who pay their sewer bills are absorbing the costs created by lost revenue from the delinquencies.

Cunningham said he’d like to turn over the list to the newspaper, but they’re protecting city taxpayers from the possibility of having to foot the bill for a lawsuit, if one were filed.

The authority solicitor has 10 days to file a response and The Herald’s attorney has 10 days after that to issue one, as well. The judge does not have a time limit on making a decision.

In recent months, the authority has filed civil lawsuits against several landlords who owe more than $10,000 total in back bills. The authority also has filed municipal liens against a number of properties for failure to pay sewer fees.

Those filings are public record.

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