On Monday, Pottsville City Councilman James T. Muldowney took the oath of office to become mayor and a retired city police captain stepped up to take Muldowney's place on the council.
"It's just another opportunity to serve the folks here in Pottsville. I lived here all my life," said Ronald J. Moser, 60, who, like all current council members, is a Democrat.
More than 75 people packed into council chambers on the second floor of City Hall for the scheduled reorganization meeting Monday morning.
Mayor John D.W. Reiley, 78, who served as mayor since 2000 and decided in January 2013 not to run for a fourth term, conducted his last official act as mayor by administering the oath of office to Pottsville's new mayor, Muldowney, 55.
Muldowney's wife, Judy, held the Bible. Reiley's brother, the Rev. Robert Reiley, was also present and offered a prayer, after which the outgoing mayor administered the oath.
The spectators who packed the room gave Muldowney a standing ovation.
Muldowney's two running mates in the November election, incumbent Mark J. Atkinson, 45, and newcomer Joseph J. Devine Jr., 58, were also sworn in.
On Nov. 11, Edward J. "Ned" Hampford, a Democrat who has been city controller since 1999, announced he would step down from his post to take a job as a senior representative with Primerica Life Insurance Co. Headquartered in Duluth, Ga., it has an office in Allentown near Fogelsville, Lehigh County.
On Dec. 30, the city council unanimously hired Brett Clark, Pottsville, to fill Hampford's term, to expire Dec. 31, 2015, at an annual salary of $2,600 a year.
Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, a first cousin to Mayor Reiley, administered the oath to Clark.
Clark, 32, is a 1999 graduate of Pottsville Area High School. He earned a degree in accounting from Bloomsburg University in 2004. Since 2009, he's been fiscal director for Service Access Management Inc., Pottsville. Clark said he's a Democrat.
"I'm happy to help out the city and I'll pick up where Mr. Hampford left off," Clark said.
The first resolution the city council voted on at the meeting was the appointment of Moser to take Muldowney's council seat, with a term to expire Dec. 31, 2015, and an annual salary of $2,600 per year.
Councilman Michael P. Halcovage made the motion. It was seconded by Atkinson and carried unanimously with votes from Devine and Mayor Muldowney, who is president of the council.
Moser was immediately sworn in by Judge Reiley.
Born in Pottsville, Moser graduated from Pottsville Area High School in 1971. He served in the Marines from 1972 to 1979 and earned the rank of sergeant. He trained at Hershey Police Academy in 1982 and gained experience working for police departments in the Borough of Pine Grove and Manheim Township, Lancaster County. In 1985, he was hired as a full-time patrolman for the City of Pottsville. He became police captain in 2003 and retired in December 2011. Today, he said he works as a full-time courier for a medical lab.
His family includes his wife, Debbie, and their children, Joshua, Jennifer, Jessica and Jason.
Other actions the council took at the meeting include the following:
- Named the following city officials as directors of the following departments: Muldowney, public affairs; Halcovage, accounts and finance; Atkinson, public safety; Moser, streets and public improvements; and Devine, parks and public property.
As mayor, Muldowney is also in charge of the city police.
- Retained the following taxes for 2014: business privilege tax, real estate transfer tax, per capita tax, mechanical amusement device tax, earned income tax, occupation assessment tax, residence tax and municipal services tax.
- Designated the following banks as the designated depositories for the following city funds: Riverview Bank, general fund, tax account, payroll account, city earned income tax, municipal and emergency services account, state liquid fuels tax fund, solid waste account, intermodal fund, line of credit for the intermodal project, Pottsville Police Drug Unit and sinking fund for tax anticipation note; M&T Bank, private donation account; Santander Bank, community development funds; and Wells Fargo Bank, custodial funds for police and non-uniform pension funds.
- Reappointed Julie D. Rescorla as city clerk for a four-year term.
- Reappointed Thomas J. "Tim" Pellish as solicitor for a four-year term.
At the close of the 15-minute meeting, Muldowney thanked the public and the council for their support.
"I'm going to miss somebody, but I want to thank everybody," he said, referring to Mayor Reiley.
The city council will have its first regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at city hall council chambers.