The Reader Beat: County Council Notes from May 5, 2026

Following our notes taken during the County Council meeting on May 5.

I attended the County Council meeting on May 5 at 6 p.m. Council members Terry Scutella and Chris Drexel were not present. Constituents came to speak about  Erie County Re-entry Services and Support Alliance (ECRSSA) being disbanded and reinstated under the Adult Probation Department. It is unlikely that the program will keep the same structure or case managers that it once had. One of these case managers includes Allen Brown, who served 47 years in prison for accidentally killing a peer when he was 16. He would not be able to be rehired at the future county-run reentry program due to his criminal record. "I have a great sadness that you could be so emotionally calloused in your hasty decisions," Brown said. "Society decided hastily that I wasn't worthy of a chance. That at 16 years old, a child should be thrown away forever. Well, I proved them wrong, I was worthy of a chance. I have touched so many lives that I cannot feel bad about anything I've been able to accomplish." Councilman Wertz made a commitment during his report to work to resolve some of the concerns constituents had about the program being under County Probation which "might ultimately force folks back into the system."

Attendees also defended Councilman Jim Wertz following his removal as Erie County Board of Elections Chair by a vote of 4-3 due to alleged conflict of interest by associating with the Election Truth Alliance. Some constituents, including Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Sam Talarico called for Wertz to be reinstated as Chair. "The Election Board claims that their votes were cast to protect the credibility of the board, but your actions had the exact opposite effect. So if your concern really is credibility, this body must reverse its decision," Talarico said.  Others pointed out the hypocrisy present in the board, as Election Board member Charlie Bayle questioned the validity of the 2020 presidential election in 2021. Bayle wrote: "Anyone in this country with an ounce of common sense knows the left cheated to some extent," according to a Rolling Stone article. No official action was taken at that time within the Board of Elections. Wertz addressed the alleged conflict of interest, saying that he had conversations with County Solicitor Tom Talarico about recusing himself from a possible future vote, "which would be appropriate to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest." Copeland also defended his colleague and raised suspicion about the legality of the Special Board of Election Meeting under the Sunshine Law. These issues include Wertz not being notified of the request for a special meeting and the official action of ousting Wertz not being included on the agenda, which obscures the meeting for the public. "This is not just a violation of the Sunshine Act of a specific statute, book, chapter, verse. It's not just a violation of the spirit of the Sunshine Law. This is the entire reason the Sunshine Law was created," Copeland said. The councilman also exposed that in an executive session, "there was no privileged information that was discussed," that had reason to be confidential and that council only discussed the vote on whether or not to remove Wertz. 

After the meeting adjourned, Solicitor Talarico confronted Copeland for speaking publicly about the executive session, claiming he broke trust with the rest of council. Talarico punctuated his confrontation with profanity, asking rhetorically: "You think I need this job?" Although it is considered bad practice to break the executive session, it is not considered illegal if the information is not confidential or privileged. 

"There's a decorum issue in the solicitor understanding his role in serving council rather than directing it," Copeland said. 

The meeting addressed the following ordinances: 

• An ordinance appropriating $38,344 from the Second 2026 Public Health Fund Budget and creating new line items for Great Lakes Restorative Initiative Funding passed unanimously. 
• An ordinance appropriating $105,692 from the Third 2026 Public Health Fund Budget and creating new line items for the Pennsylvania Department of Health Funding for Wastewater Surveillance passed unanimously. 
• An ordinance approving a waiver of bid requirements under the purchasing code to contract with Highway Safety Network Inc. passed unanimously. 
• An ordinance revising expenditures of $345,000 under the 2026 Children and Youth Services Fund Budget for creation of expense line items for court ordered placements had its first reading and was not voted on.
• An ordinance appropriating $346,454 for additional revenue in 2026 from the first 2026 Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities Fund Budget had its first reading and was not voted on. 
• An ordinance appropriating $105,000 from the first 2026 Planning Fund Budget for creation of a new bureau and line items for CDBG Program Grant to Union City for curb cuts was moved to a second reading and passed unanimously. Copeland explained that although he believes concerns about bypassing first read ordinances are warranted, the money for this project was budgeted in 2025 and the construction is already completed. 
• The possible sale of a parcel from the Repository for Unsold Property passed unanimously.