Chambersburg Borough Council gives 2 cents over penny-paying firestorm

(Chambersburg) — Borough Council pushed the door shut on a recent firestorm over the use of pennies to pay Chambersburg borough debts Monday evening by approving the purchase of a $4,800 coin-counting machine.

The decision came with parting shots from Council President Allen Coffman, Councilwoman Elaine Swartz and Councilman William McLaughlin.

Coffman and Swartz railed against the Shippensburg handyman who ignited the furor with his attempt to use 2,500 pennies to pay his $25 fine and then reported his dissatisfaction to the Public Opinion.

McLaughlin vented his ire on the Public Opinion for helping the handyman launch “the biggest media-induced farce that I can remember.”

In discussion of the coin-counting machine that Borough Manager Jeffrey Stonehill recommended, Swartz said she supported the purchase, but questioned the timing, suggesting that the penny-paying handyman was forcing development of additional policies in addition to the purchase of the machine.

“It bothers me that some guy who throws a temper tantrum after he breaks a state law forces this response,” Swartz said. “We’ll now need policies that say ‘no wrapped coins’ and that people must wait while the coins are counted.”

She said the publicity generated by “this dumb botchagaloop” opens the door for future abuse from the public.

“Next we’ll have someone bring in a bag of coins rolled in wrappers, locked in a box and stuffed in a suitcase,” she said, “We’ll need a policy for that.”

Stonehill assured Swartz and the rest of council that the situation is well in hand and that the coin machine should be in the borough’s inventory in 4-6 weeks and that training is straightforward. He described the purchase as a “smart move” since the borough also handles a significant volume of coins generated by its parking meters.

McLaughlin followed up on Swartz’ remarks with his criticism of the newspaper.

“It’s a shame that such an inconsequential matter can blow up into an incident that makes our local government a target of mockery,” he said. “Too bad that the P.O. wastes so much ink on the ridiculous and doesn’t concentrate its focus on the significant.”

President Coffman, with a wry smile, asked, “Anyone else want to vent?” before leveling his criticism of the penny-toting handyman.

“The gentleman violated the law by parking against traffic,” Coffman remarked. “I invite the gentleman to come back to Chambersburg and violate state law again, and would hope our traffic enforcement people witness it. I have no soft spot in my heart for people who park against traffic.”

The penny controversy stems from a traffic ticket issued to Justin Greene earlier this month after the Shippensburg handyman parked facing traffic while picking up tools from a Sixth Street residence where he had worked.

Irked by the citation, he went to the Chambersburg borough office with 50 rolls of pennies to pay his fine. Borough officials cited an outdated federal provision in rejecting Greene’s coinage, setting his publicity campaign in motion.

Stonehill quickly announced the borough’s error and set the policy change in motion.

Dale Heberlig can be reached at 717-262-4811.

---

This article comes to us through a partnership between Public Opinion Online and WITF.