Commissioners To Appeal Tourism File Denial

Washington County Commissioners delivered a split decision on whether to appeal a decision from the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records that determined that the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency is an independent corporation and not subject to county government control. After several minutes of debate between Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman and Commissioner Larry Maggi, the board voted 2-1 to retain Peacock Keller as special counsel to appeal the decision. Sherman has repeatedly requested records from the agency with regards to salaries, and consulting fees. WCTPA President Jeff Kotula has provided documentation of his agency’s spending including 20 years worth of financial audits. Sherman maintains that the documents do not satisfy his questions about salaries and consultant fees. Maggi characterized the lawsuit as a waste of taxpayer money. Sherman says he is protecting taxpayer money. The County funds the WCTPA about $2.5 million dollars annually.