The Reader Beat Recap: July 2026

The Reader Beat aims to cover city and county council meetings as well as other important government and community-related meetings. The following is a summary of each meeting for the month of June.

County Council June 2: Nearly all of the comments by constituents touched on the disbanding of Erie County Re-entry Services and Support Alliance (ECRSSA) that council passed without a second reading on Feb. 26. Constituent Cyndi Treiber stated her concerns about the lack of ironclad reasoning for disbanding the program and reinstating it under the Adult Probation Department. For example, Treiber said, there have been claims that ECRSSA did not have any intensive care resources. "Four hundred and fifty of 600 clients in 2025 were in intensive care management receiving human services assistance like drug and alcohol therapies, mental health treatment, and obtaining birth certificates," she said. Constituent Jen Paulson encouraged council to take action to build back public trust. "Halt the transfer pending a public review, release all meeting records and financial documents, open a proper procurement process, and commission an independent audit of the program's finances," Paulson said. Paul Gambill, a reentry specialist for over 20 years, was involved in the early stages of ECRSSA and expressed his confidence in the team of people who came to run the program later. "You listened to other folks about why the programs weren't working. No one at this table called me. You didn't ask other folks like me who actually know," Gambill said.

An ordinance for a 2026 Appointed Official Salary for a Full-Time Assistant Public Defender was motioned to a second reading by Councilwoman Schauerman. Councilman Wertz discussed the importance of the public defender's office. "They're currently sitting on thousands of cases that they're trying to work through," Wertz said. However Drexel and Copeland hesitated moving the ordinance to a second reading. They encouraged giving the public time to comment and review the ordinance, reflecting on the vote to reinstate ECRSSA under the probation department. "Sometimes you make mistakes; make a judgment. You think people are bringing you information that is 100 percent true," Drexel said. "I have a definite problem with it being under probation; that makes zero sense whatsoever to me." The motion passed 5-2 with Drexel and Copeland voting no. The ordinance also passed, with Drexel voting no. 

Some constituents also discussed cellphone usage at meetings, as the courthouse does not allow people to access their phones. However, constituents claimed that preventing people from accessing their phones during a public meeting violates the Sunshine Act. A resolution to direct the county executive to hold a meeting to discuss this issue to allow accommodations was on the agenda.

Council discussed the resolution directing the county executive to convene relevant parties to develop reasonable accommodations for the use of mobile devices at public meetings held within the courthouse. Bayle and Schauerman argued that the council should not be directing the county executive. Copeland disagreed, saying that the resolution is a good step forward to ensure a meeting is held. "This really is a conversation that requires convening to make sure all of the elected officials are on the same page," Copeland said. Ultimately, the resolution failed 4-3 with Bayle, Schauerman, Winarski, and Scutella voting no.

City Council June 3: The City Council meeting held on June 3 at 9 a.m. included a presentation by ECRSSA Program Managers Sheila Silman and Bob Hess on the new Erie County Re-entry Services and Support Alliance (ECRSSA) that was reinstated under the Erie County Probation Department on May 8. Among other reasons for the shift in management, the presenters claimed that data had not been recorded since 2023 under the YMCA's management. Hess stated that the program is now fully up and running under the county, with three case workers and a client advocate. Hess also mentioned that the program will maintain the privacy of their clients and will not share information with probation officers unless the client requests it. "The ECRSSA is not being run by Adult Probation. We are completely separate entities and have different purposes and completely separate staff," he said. One case worker described her reason for joining the program, saying that her father and uncle were incarcerated for most of her life. "They were good people who were very institutionalized and didn't know how to reenter society and live."

Constituent Michelle Dovishaw said the information presented about the ECRSSA program under the YMCA was inaccurate, as the data was from when the program began in 2016. "In a decade a program changes," she said. Michael Keys expressed concerns about the county program's ability to support BIPOC clients. "It's not just about the program, it's whether the people you have hired are culturally competent to manage the people that they're supposed to manage," he said. "We know representation matters." Executive Director of Erie Together Mary Bula stated that ECRSSA under the YMCA focused primarily on job placement and it was difficult to quantify the impact of the program due to lack of data. "We knew where there were job placements but what about the rest of it? It is a holistic approach that we needed to be following and we weren't seeing that," Bula said. Consistuent Erin Mizner highlighted issues she has with the new ECRSSA and the claim that focusing on job placement is not enough. "If you have a job, all of the other stuff falls into place. Everything else is better if you can afford to live," Mizner expressed. Director at PA Department of Corrections Ebony Frith disagreed about job placement being enough to keep recidivism rate low. "What we were looking for is maybe services that can help with the transition, not just getting a job that a lot of people can't necessarily keep. There's drug and alcohol and mental health issues and if those things aren't addressed, you don't maintain a job," Frith said. Previous Senior Case Manager Allen Brown remarked that no one on council reached out to him about the status of reentry. "This wasn't some useless agency," he said. "We didn't send people to BPS Staffing where they get an $8 or $9 hourly wage. We got them sustainable wages at every place we sent them and it was always Erie's biggest industries that accepted them."

City Council June 17: During the City Council meeting on June 17 at 6:30, many community members filled the council chambers to speak out against a transphobic comment made by Councilman Ed Brzezinski to Council President Tyler Titus during a special meeting on June 9. After a brief disagreement and an exchange between Brzezinski and Councilman Horton, Titus asked for decorum and respect between council members. Brzezinski responded by misgendering Titus, saying: "Yes, ma'am."

During Wednesday's meeting, constituents demanded professionalism and respect between council members. "Whether an individual personally agrees with a person's identity, that's not the issue here today. The issue is whether elected officials can demonstrate basic professional courtesy and respect while conducting the public's business," Michelle Dovishaw said. Speaking as a nonbinary person, Rie Witherow stated that Brzezinski's comment did not appear to be an innocuous mistake. "It is easy for those outside of any marginalized community to not understand the dangers of microaggression," they said. "But the occurrence of a microaggression is what paves the path for macroaggression and violence. Every day, our nation's trans and queer lives are assaulted, targeted, and ended." According to the ACLU, 530 anti-LGBTQ bills have been presented in 2026 alone. Witherow and a handful of other speakers called for Brzezinski's resignation, censure, or removal from committee assignments. Speakers also requested a fully realized decorum policy in council to ensure there are guidelines for how to handle any future incidents.

Constituent Mimi O'Conner spoke in tribute to a young queer person in her life that she lost to suicide in 2013. "The very bottom line is, we all have the right to feel respected. We have a right to feel safe – because words have power." According to a meta-analysis of nearly 1 million people, transgender individuals were consistently more at risk of suicide and suicidal ideation than their cisgender peers. Constituent Josh Jagger spoke of the Erie community's potential for kindness in the face of adversity. "We're a city of people who dig each other out of the snow and check on each other when the power goes out. We do not agree on everything; Lord knows we never have. But we do not get to throw away basic human dignity the second a fight turns ugly," Jagger said.

During reports, Brzezinski did not address his comment or the constituents. President Titus spoke about their thoughts and their actions going forward. "There is something deeply degrading about having your identity, your body, and your existence treated as a subject for public debate," they began. However, after days of reflection and support from the community, Titus said they remain positive about the work that city council can do. "I remain committed to working alongside my colleagues to strengthen this body. That includes reviewing our council rules, procedures, and ordinances, and making necessary changes to ensure that they reflect the values of our city. Healing does not happen by pretending harm did not occur, healing happens when we tell the truth about what happened."

According to Titus, Brzezinski has since been removed from his committee and liaison assignments, including Information Technologies, the Airport Authority, and the Convention Center.

Landlords and members of the Apartment Association also came to share their concerns about two rental-related ordinances on the agenda. These ordinances had their first reading and were not yet voted on by council. Constituent Natalie Miller disagreed with the city taking over all rental inspections. "In light of the $12 million deficit and cutting six positions, is now the right time to hire five new positions?" Miller asked. Randy Harris, a board member of the Apartment Association of NWPA, encouraged council to find a solution with BIU Pennsylvania instead of creating a city department to inspect rental properties. "If the city needs better access to data, let's negotiate better reporting requirements for BIU," Harris said. "I would encourage council to slow down and ask a few important questions before moving forward."

County Council June 22: Constituents continued to discuss the ECRSSA transfer to the county under the Adult Probation Department. Constituent Cyndi Treiber said that she attended a Department of Human Services meeting to discuss how the transfer has gone thus far: "Everybody in that room admitted readily that there have been gaps in services, that it was probably not done right, that they are struggling to make it run right." Constituent David Uhlig spoke about the council needing to commit to transparency. "I'm waiting for this council to revisit the ECRSSA decision as three of you have expressed regret about your apparently ill-informed decision. At the very least, you owe it to your constituents to fully examine the decision."

County Executive Vogel announced that Erie County Community College has received Title IV funding to administer Pell grants to eligible students. "That's all dollars that are going to go to help people train for better jobs. And any money that they get in excess of what would pay for tuition goes back to the students," Vogel said.

An ordinance appropriating $614,508 for additional revenue received from the PA Department of Drug and Alcohol passed unanimously.

Coming up this month:

City Council: July 1 at 9 a.m.

City Council: July 15 at 6:30 p.m.

County Council: July 21 at 6 p.m.