Mr. Nilsen has been working basically for free as a DPW director for months now... Before Debbie, he was out [at a] stormwater drain at 6 o'clock in the morning, cleaning it out.”

Noelle Mundy

A vacant seat

Nilsen's new position as DPW director will require him to step down as a member of the Honesdale Borough Council.

The borough council has 30 days to appoint a replacement for Nilsen. While the council set his first day of employment on Tuesday, October 15, the 30-day window won't start until the council accepts his letter of resignation at a public meeting, according to borough secretary Judith Poltanis.

Once the council accepts the letter of recommendation, it will advertise the position and invite applicants to submit letters of interest, said Poltanis.

HONESDALE, PA — The Honesdale Borough Council voted on Monday, September 30 to appoint current borough council member David Nilsen as director of the Department of Public Works (DPW), ending months of uncertainty about who will occupy the role. 

The position has been vacant since former director Joe Ruis resigned in March, with the rest of the DPW workers following just after and resigning in April. 

The fact that Nilsen is a member of the borough council, combined with the high salary of the position, attracted criticism from councilor James Hamill and some members of the public. 

Lifelong Honesdale resident Bill Fisch questioned "hiring a DPW director at $75,000 a year when the average income in Honesdale is $23,000 and the last director made just under $23 an hour, where the new director will be making $36 an hour."

Members of the borough's personnel committee acknowledged the skepticism but maintained Nilsen was the best candidate for the role. 

"I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my fellow council members for entrusting me with this very important responsibility," Nilsen said. "It is a privilege to serve in a greater capacity for a community I hold so dear."

The case for the candidate

In choosing a new DPW Director, the borough started with seven candidates, who were winnowed down to three by consulting firm KMS. 

The borough's personnel committee interviewed the three remaining candidates and recommend Nilsen for the position. Nilsen normally serves as a member of the personnel committee but was not involved in this decision. 

Councilors Noelle Mundy and Tiffany Rogers, the other two members of the personnel committee, said they carefully considered the choice and defended Nilsen as their recommendation. 

Having been "in and around" borough meetings for years, Mundy has seen a "revolving door" of DPW directors, she said. She added the last director, Ruis, was "with us a very short time, and frankly, was nowhere near as competent." 

"Although on paper, there was some experience from the other candidates that Mr. Nilsen maybe didn't have, Mr. Nilsen has been working basically for free as a DPW director for months now, months," she said. "Before Debbie, he was out [at a] stormwater drain at 6 o'clock in the morning, cleaning it out."

Mayor Derek Williams said that he trusted councilors Mundy and Rogers, and praised Nilsen for the choice to go for the role over continuing his service on the council. 

"To effectively give up that privileged role of representing all of you in service of doing what you think is a way to give back more to the community is something I see as a kind of a nice gesture," he said. 

A dissenting voice

The motion to appoint Nilsen passed with four votes for, one against (Councilor James Hamill) and two abstaining (Councillors David Nilsen and William McAllister). 

James Hamill addresses the Honesdale Borough Council during a Monday, September 30 meeting.

Hamill expressed significant reservations about the choice of Nilsen. "I would have a hard time appointing somebody who just doesn't have what I believe to be the requisite qualifications for that job, and to have the compensation be at such a high dollar amount compared to what we've paid in the past, let alone what average is for these individuals in boroughs in Northeastern Pennsylvania," he said.

According to Hamill, the $75,000 proposed for Nilsen's salary was around the statewide average for DPW director positions — however, the average was $53,000 for those positions in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 

"If Mr. Nilsen becomes the DPW director, I fully support his success in that role, because it is our shared success," he said. 

However, he added, it was "troubling" the way the selection process had played out, and that it "creates some doubt in how ethically we do our business here in the borough" in the eyes of the public. 

Public sentiment

Honesdale residents who addressed the council after the decision had been made focused their questions on the services the DPW would provide. 

One resident, Pat Jennings, asked if the DPW would continue, under "the new regime," to pick up leaves at her property the way it had for the past 30 years. 

Nilsen said they could discuss it: "I'd like to see it," he said, referring to Jennings' property.