Leetsdale Council recently hired Mayor Sandra Ford’s husband, Bob Ford, as its new part-time code enforcement officer.
The vote was 6-0 on April 9. Councilman Scott Zahner was absent.
The employment is for up to four hours a week at $30 per hour.
Council President Maria Napolitano said the borough had been looking to resume in-house code enforcement for years, and Ford’s services will be cheaper and more effective than the current provider, Harshman CE Group.
She said Harshman charges $52 per hour for code enforcement and also charges for travel time, court time, mileage and overtime.
Monthly bills routinely exceed $1,000 and are even greater in the spring and summer.
“We aim to shift the focus from court action to personalized community education to achieve better community compliance and better use of community resources to assist neighbors in need,” Napolitano said. “We expect that our bills for code enforcement will be cut in half or more, with better results.”
Council members said they spoke with several former code enforcement officers before settling on Ford. The position was never formally posted.
Councilman James DeGori, chair of the street department/borough property committee, said the mayor had no influence on their decision to hire her husband.
“We are going to be saving a substantial amount of money for the taxpayers,” DeGori said. “The mayor never asked any of us to hire her husband.”
DeGori cited Ford’s experience as a reason to hire him.
Bob Ford served as an Aleppo police officer for about 17 years.
Even though he was not an official code enforcement officer, he handled multiple township code cases and had overseen even more as the local district judge for more than 18 years.
His last term as district judge expired at the end of 2024. Ford stayed on as senior judge for several months handling cases in other districts and night court.
Ford said he saw the opportunity to become the code enforcement officer as a way to give back to his community and not to profit from it.
“I know from going to the meetings they’ve been looking for somebody in-house for the last two or three years,” Ford said April 13. “They weren’t happy with the job that was being done.”
Ford said he was enjoying retirement and his wife was not pushing him to get back to work.
“It’s just about trying to make a difference in Leetsdale,” Ford said. “I think I could be successful in a little amount of time.”
Some question the hiring
Several residents were not buying council’s reasoning. They would have liked it if the borough had posted the position and actively took resumes instead of allegedly speaking to a handful of people.
“Where the hell am I?” said resident Debbie Canney. “This isn’t ‘Ford country.’ ”
Resident John Linko said he believes money was a factor in council’s decision, but the optics don’t look very good.
“I believe council’s assertion that the costs associated with handling code enforcement issues will likely be reduced drastically by having an in-house officer instead of paying Harshman,” Linko said. “Unfortunately, the process used to identify and select a qualified candidate — with no apparent public notice until the agenda for the meeting was published — is questionable.
“That, and the selection of a relative of the mayor to fill the position, do not lend themselves to supporting the principles of ‘transparency, integrity, community’ that the mayor and some council members have campaigned on.”
Harshman will continue to handle zoning and building permits/inspections for the borough.
Ford’s official start date has not been set.
Napolitano said she expects the new code enforcement officer to get to work by the end of the month after Harshman receives notice to its change in borough services.
Not the only Ford on payroll
Canney questioned why Bobby Ford Jr., the son of the mayor and Bob Ford, was promoted to public works foreman with a pay increase to more than $29 per hour, and former foreman Mike Herman was demoted to laborer to start the year.
Napolitano said she could not comment on the personnel move.
DeGori said Herman’s position changed but his compensation remained the same. He declined further comment.
Leetsdale’s street commissioner is Douglas Ford, who is no relation to the mayor.