Judge Kagarise kept from voting at Blair County Salary Board meeting

Kagarise late to meeting due to court hearing; Kessling won’t budge on rules

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County President Judge Wade Kagarise was a few minutes late for Wednesday's salary board meeting where he wanted to weigh in and vote on two matters.

So as the salary board was on the brink of adjourning, Kagarise stood and asked for the matters to be reconsidered.

But the salary board, chaired by Commissioner Dave Kessling, showed minimal interest and Kessling described reconsiderations as inappropriate.

"We don't change our days ... our times," the commissioner said.

Before arriving at the salary board meeting, the judge was presiding over a post-conviction court hearing in a sexual assault and drug trafficking case. To leave, he called a recess.

Kessling pointed out to the judge that prior to his arrival, representatives on his behalf presented the two matters to the salary board.

But one of the matters -- assigning a pay grade for a fiscal administrator in the domestic relations office -- was presented with an incorrect grade as printed on the meeting agenda. Kagarise said that was supposed to be corrected and wasn't.

As a result, the salary board voted 4-0 to approve an incorrect grade, which made no change to the salary. The correct grading was expected to lead to a $3,100 increase.

Commissioner Laura Burke, who indicated that the fiscal administrator's salary and grading has been under review for months, showed interest in reconsidering that matter, out of fairness to the employee. But Kessling and fellow salary board members Amy Webster and Controller A.C. Stickel wouldn't take up the matter.

"If they represented you improperly, that's your problem," Kessling said later.

On the second matter, Chief Parole and Probation Officer Scott Bailey asked the salary board to increase the pool of part-time drug testers from eight to a maximum of 20, thereby providing greater flexibility in their scheduling. When Kessling asked for clarification on the amount of drug testers, Bailey said the pool will likely range from 10 to 12.

The agenda also indicated that the cost of adding testers, at $13.75 an hour, could be evenly covered by grant funding and the county's general fund. The agenda also indicated the positions weren't budgeted for 2026.

Bailey's presentation drew no support from any salary board member.

Had Kagarise been at the meeting, he could have made a motion because under the state's County Code, he is a voting member of the salary board when court matters are addressed.

Had the salary board agreed to reconsider the matters Kagarise identified, Kagarise could have offered his input and voted.

"I'm disappointed that I wasn't provided a chance to talk about these important issues," Kagarise said later Wednesday. "My hope was to have some dialogue about these issues that affect our operations and our community. These are people in jobs who affect daily lives."

As for the cost associated with increasing the pool of drug testers, Kagarise said this is a pool of part-time personnel, often with secondary employment, health issues and other obligations affecting how many hours each works.

"This proposal was to increase the amount of employees but stay within budget," the judge said. "It wasn't going to cost the taxpayers a thing."

Kagarise could return to the salary board during its October meeting and ask for the matters to be considered again.

"I'll take a second shot at things if I think there will be some discussion," the judge said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.