Late last month, when Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez ended a contract with Barnsdale Associates to accept debris from City-owned property after discovering that Business Administrator David Brong is part owner of the company. He also directed his Solicitor, Bill Leeson, to investigate whether Brong had any knowledge or role in this contract.
Brong told me he is one of six owners in Barnsdale Associates, which was started by his father-in-law in the '80s. He denied any involvement in their day-to-day business, which consist at this time of the operation of an old quarry once owned by Bethlehem Steel. That is their sole remaining asset. He also denied knowing about the contract.
Today, Mayor Donchez cleared Brong of any wrongdoing in these conflict of interest allegations after receipt of a 15-pager investigate report from Solicitor Leeson.
"I am pleased to hear the conclusion of this review. Mr. Brong brings a wealth of operations and budgeting knowledge to City Hall. I am glad to continue working with Dave in serving the citizens of the City of Bethlehem”, stated Donchez. The Mayor also noted that “I have used this opportunity to remind my department heads that my Administration will operate in a transparent manner, always putting the interest of our residents first.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.