$134,000 state fine hangs over Westmoreland communities involved in defunct economic development partnership

It’s unclear who will end up paying a $134,000 fine against a defunct consortium of northern Westmoreland County communities, but Allegheny Township won’t have to bear that cost alone, like some officials there initially feared.

The State Ethics Commission first notified the township in 2021 that the Westmoreland Economic Development Initiative for Growth, or WEDIG — comprising Allegheny Township, Lower Burrell, Upper Burrell, Arnold and New Kensington and possibly other communities — had failed to meet two provisions of Pennsylvania’s lobbying disclosure law.

Two penalties were issued: $118,500 for failing to register as a lobbying organization in 2019 and $15,500 for incomplete or improper expense reporting for the third quarter of that year.

Allegheny Township officials made this information public at their Oct. 14 meeting, along with claims they had been flagged by the state for failing to “close out,” or meet reporting requirements, for three grants between 2018 and 2021 totaling $150,000. A $15,000 award to the Markle Volunteer Fire Department also was said to be in jeopardy over similar issues.

Township Manager Dan Miller, who started in that position in July, conceded this array of financial issues was taking a toll on him.

“When I accepted this job, I knew it was a challenge,” he said. “And I will share with you also that there have been more frustrating than satisfactory days here, because I’m trying to continue to move the township forward with the support of the board, with the support of the community.”

He later added in an email the township will “explore our options” to reconcile the WEDIG issues.

Supervisor Jamie Morabito lamented the situation, blaming “a lack of accountability from our previous administration” that has given officials “a tough road to navigate so that we can apply for future grants and keep Allegheny Township moving in a positive direction.”

Yet, the township’s situation may not be as bad as first thought.

A spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development told TribLive there were no outstanding issues with the $150,000 in grants, and the fire department grant would be closed out once a particular document comes in.

The spokesperson added Allegheny Township has been in good standing for “some time” following problems a few years ago.

And according to the state Attorney General’s Office, which handles collection in these cases, officials are pursuing WEDIG, not Allegheny Township, for payment. WEDIG’s last known address, spokesperson Jennifer Crandall explained, just happened to be for the township building.

The State Ethics Commission did not return requests for comment.

It’s unclear how the state might go about extracting this money from a nonprofit that appears to have dissolved sometime in the mid-2010s.

Township Supervisor Mike Korns estimated the consortium shut down between 10 and 12 years ago.

WEDIG last reported financial information to the IRS — at least as a tax-exempt organization — in 2016.

A Facebook account for the group, however, went dark in 2022.

Corinne Coulson, a spokesperson for Penn State New Kensington, was able to shed some light on WEDIG’s origins. The organization got started in 2008 with help from the campus chancellor, but the group became a nonprofit in 2011 and has not been affiliated with the university since.

On its website, the Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County — which was at least at one time affiliated with Penn State Extension — describes WEDIG as a “multi-municipal collaboration to envision and create an action plan of prioritized projects for this cluster of Westmoreland communities.”

Ultimately, Allegheny Township officials have struggled to pin down the history of WEDIG and how these fines may have originated because many only started in their roles within the past few years.

Morabito and fellow township Supervisor Jeff Pollick took their seats in 2022 and 2024, respectively, and Miller has been the township’s first full-time manager since August 2023, when Greg Primm resigned from the role.

His departure was accompanied by that of two longtime administrative assistants and the director of public safety. Furthermore, payroll, bookkeeping and code enforcement recently have been outsourced, further eroding the government’s grasp on its past.

Primm, who serves as Lower Burrell manager, did not return a request for comment Friday.

Abe Amoros, deputy director of operations for the Pennsylvania Municipal League, said it’s common for communities to see high turnover, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be damaging, especially in dealings with higher levels of government.

“Institutional knowledge — there’s absolutely no substitute for that,” he said.

And there’s only so much of it to go around in Allegheny Township.

“There is very, very little institutional knowledge left here,” said Korns, who joined the board in 2020. “I’m kind of ‘it.’”