We have been following some of the ordinances and initiatives coming in front of Meadville city council, and the connection these items have to Joe Tompkins. We weren't however aware of just how much control he apparently has until we got ahold of some communications from the city. The two most significant things we have seen Joe involved in are the rental registration and inspection program and the anti-retaliation ordinance. That is where we intend to focus on this piece. Let's get to it, shall we?
Since the rental inspection program was enacted first, let's start there.
The rental inspection program discussions had started before Jaime and Gretchen were on council. In fact, it was something Larry and Autumn had campaigned on, but nothing concrete had come of it until the newest members of council were elected. From there, subcommittees were formed to move some initiatives forward. The first meeting of the housing and economic development subcommittee occurred on February 23, 2022. At this meeting, which was to only be members of council with occasional input from other agencies or individuals, Joe Tompkins was present in his capacity as an RDA member.
Just in case you doubted what we stated, this is from the city clerk regarding who can serve on the housing and economic development subcommittee;
The housing and economic development subcommittee met monthly, and Joe Tompkins was in attendance and actively participated in these meetings. In fact, it seems he did most of the work, as evidenced by the July 27, 2022 subcommittee meeting minutes;
At the next meeting of the subcommittee, which occurred on August 31, 2022, the subcommittee voted to pass the proposed program to city council for review and input.
This is where it gets interesting. As the subcommittee is now turning this over to city council and city staff to continue to work through this program, you would think outside input would at this point be minimal, if at all. You would be wrong in that thought process. After the September 7, 2022 meeting, here are some emails between Joe Tompkins and city staff. Notice how none of city council is copied on these emails;
A couple more back-and-forth emails occurred, and then a new draft was sent. Mind you, city council was not copied on these emails and the housing and economic development subcommittee was no longer meeting.
City Council met on October 3, 2022. Surely there would be something to report, even if just stating that a draft was working its way through staff, right?
Guess not.
Nevertheless, the back and forth with Joe and city staff continues.
Again, more back and forth occurred between Joe and the city staff, and Jaime and Autumn were finally provided a draft. There wasn't anything provided to us to indicate that Larry was provided a draft of this ordinance, but that's not to say that they just didn't include it. However, Larry has stated previously that he does not know how to utilize his city email and city staff login. Whether this is still the case, we don't know. We mentioned Larry, as he was the other member of the housing and economic development subcommittee.
City Council met again on October 19, 2022. Maybe they'll mention that a draft has been provided?
Still no.
Of more interest, however, is that the city manager is sharing emails with Joe from the city solicitor.
There's also an attachment labeled FINAL - Letter to Meadville City Council RE Registration Program (Meadville Landlords United) 9-2-2022.pdf. This letter was not mentioned at the September 7, 2022 council meeting under communications to council and no executive sessions were held, according to the meeting minutes.
At the October 3, 2022 meeting they mentioned executive sessions held on various dates to discuss personnel. Again, no mention was made of this letter.
Why then would anyone outside of city staff, city council, and the city solicitor be given access to or made aware of this information?
Before you say that just because it says the attachment was there, doesn't mean that Joe actually was provided access, we'll provide the following response from Joe's free attorney.
Likely she shared this email so Joe could ask for free legal advice from Bob Damewood.
To answer the question you likely have regarding who Bob Damewood is, we offer the following excerpt;
RHLS stands for Regional Housing Legal Services. Mr. Damewood is a Senior Staff Attorney based out of the Pittsburgh office.
There was more back and forth and discussion between Joe and city staff and then the following email;
Was there mention of this draft at the November 2, 2022 city council meeting?
Still no. But, it does finally show up on November 16, 2022.
Now we start to see some of city council being involved with the process. We also see Joe is still in the loop on these emails.
Then more back and forth with Joe, Autumn, and Bob before the next council meeting which occurred on December 7, 2022.
This ordinance was ultimately passed by city council on December 28, 2022. But, in January of 2023, some other emails of interest came up. Again demonstrating Joe's level of involvement in this program.
The highlighted line is interesting to us.
Continuing though, we now have the anti-retaliation ordinance to look at. The first mention of any retaliation brought to council and asking for their help occurred on January 18, 2023. A resident at Connect 55, a resident of Holland Towers, and Joe Tompkins all spoke about alleged retaliation that was occurring. Joe ended by asking if council was willing to provide protections for tenants. Gretchen and Autumn both replied in response to Joe that they support his thought. As a reminder, Gretchen and Autumn serve together on the community engagement subcommittee.
Notice the date of the Draft in the attachment section, January 16, 2023. The draft was done prior to the city council meeting on January 18, 2023.
February 1, 2023 council meets and the anti-retaliation ordinance was listed as discussion, but then after a vote of council, it was moved to a first and second reading. At the February 15, 2023 meeting the ordinance was tabled after a letter from Dornish Law offices was revived by city council. After such, we see a request from Joe to obtain this letter. After he assumably receives it, he begins to email Bob Damewood regarding the criticisms brought up by Dornish Law offices. After which, Joe updates Gretchen, and Jaime individually. Then he sends the following;
Then, another meeting hosted by Joe;
On March 1, 2023 city council had a first and second reading of the newest version of the anti-retaliation ordinance. The reason for starting the process over was due to updates that had been made since the prior meeting.
A special meeting of council was then held on March 8, 2023, to pass the anti-retaliation ordinance.
One may find more if they were to continue to look. Potentially asking for all communication between Joe Tompkins and the city staff or city council could result in some additional finds. However, we think these communications adequately establish Joe's involvement in the operations of the city of Meadville. One should now be asking, why is a non-elected individual working with city staff to develop ordinances? It begs the question, who really runs the show? What is the point of electing officials if Joe is really the one designing the agenda and running the show behind the scenes? Also, was this done in a way to prevent the public from participating in the discussion and decision-making process?
The sunshine act covers elected officials and asserts that they must meet publicly so the public can actively participate and be involved in the decision-making process. By Joe being the one pulling the strings and doing the legwork, they avoid the need to act publicly concerning the discussions and any new progress.
We do however want to draw attention to this pertinent section of the sunshine act;
These Zoom and Google meetings that Joe hosted with various council members may be in violation of the sunshine act.
Comments