Lieberman quits - PittsburghLIVE.com Speaker of the House Rep. John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, will appoint Lieberman's replacement on the board, formally known as the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority.
Plus, I hate it when folks retire to spend more time with the family and the excuse is used as a smoke screen. Spending time with the family is a valid reason to not work. But, it is used by too many as a crutch and cover to save face. I expet we'll see Lieberman on the golf course -- but -- I'm not on the golf course as I'm spending time with my family. Oh well.
Suggestion to Perzel: Appoint Joe Weinroth for the open seat on the ICA. Weinroth is a Republican.
Suggestion to Perzel: Don't appoint someone who was a Democrat and helped with the downfall of the city in the past -- say like an ex-City Councilman or even Mike Diven. Here is another suggestion: Don't put a suburban Republican in the slot either.
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Head of city financial watchdog panel quits
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By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
William K. Lieberman ended his sometimes confrontational tenure as the head of Pittsburgh's state oversight board Tuesday.
Lieberman, of Squirrel Hill, has led the five-person board since it was created by Pennsylvania's Legislature in February 2004 to monitor the city's long-term financial recovery.
The board works in tandem with a separate financial overseer for the city called the Act 47 recovery team, which was created by Gov. Ed Rendell after he declared Pittsburgh a financially distressed municipality in December 2003. The team operates under a state act by the same name.
The relationship between those two financial overseers has been rocky at times.
In April, Lieberman led the charge as the oversight board sued the Act 47 team, the city and its firefighters over a new five-year contract that Lieberman said ran counter to the city's financial recovery plan. But following the suit, one of its supporters was replaced and another resigned from the board, leaving Lieberman alone in his desire to challenge the contract. The suit was dropped in August.
Lieberman did not attend yesterday's board meeting and could not be reached later for comment. Board officials said his resignation letter said he was leaving the board to spend more time with his insurance business and family.
"Bill had talked about this for at least a couple of months privately," said vice chairman John Murray, the chancellor at Duquesne University who was unanimously chosen as the board's new chairman. "This did not come as any surprise."
Murray, the only original member remaining on the board, said he'll continue to try improving relations between the oversight board and the Act 47 team.
Speaker of the House Rep. John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, will appoint Lieberman's replacement on the board, formally known as the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority.
In other actions, board member Barbara McNees was appointed vice chair; and the Rev. James Simms will named the authority's secretary-treasurer, a newly created position. Each of the three posts carries two-year terms.
The board also voted unanimously to accept an invitation from Court of Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick to participate in a lawsuit between Pittsburgh and City Controller Tom Flaherty.
Flaherty sued the city and Mayor Tom Murphy in January, claiming the city cut his office's budget too deeply. The suit seeks to restore $900,000 to the controller's budget and ignore the city's five-year financial recovery plan established in June 2004. Murray said his board and the Act 47 team will argue against Flaherty's suit in conjunction with the city.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7987.
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