Northumberland, Sunbury food inspection statistics now available

Food inspection reviews for Sunbury and neighboring Northumberland have, in the end, been uploaded to a national internet site after almost 12 months — or longer in Northumberland’s case — because of a “glitch,” metropolis officers stated Thursday.

Hard copies of the reviews are stored in Northumberland, in keeping with borough supervisor Jan Bowman, but in Sunbury Inspector Mary Sue Smith’s reports do not usually make it to the office to be viewed via the public, in keeping with Councilman Ric Reichner.

As of June 6, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s public internet site confirmed no reports from Sunbury because July 2018 and from Northumberland on account that September 2017

On Friday, nation Department of Agriculture spokesperson Shannon Powers said there was a difficulty with Smith’s computer.

“She (Smith) was out conducting the inspections; however, there was a difficulty together with her laptop, and it turned into no longer getting the bureaucracy uploaded immediately to our website online,” she said.

Powers also stated the hassle turned into an observed final week at the identical time the state turned into going through an upgrade to its internet site, so the bureaucracy had been held lower back some greater days.

Reichner, who oversees the city’s code department, wants to hold the information inside the code branch workplace for public view.

City Administrator Jody Ocker stated the reports were carried out.

“We observed a glitch, and that prevented them from being uploaded,” Ocker said. “I even have spoken to Mary Sue (Smith), and we are known as the kingdom, and these reviews might be published as quickly as possible.”

Reichner recently asked approximately the reports. He stated he observed the town had very few to no documents.

Following a Daily Item assessment of food inspections in 2017, Smith vowed to offer copies for the general public to view if they did now not have to get entry to a pc. Ocker stated she wants to keep the records out of City Hall, and people can view them online.

Ocker believes it’s for a lot of extra power to upload the files than maintain hard copies in city hall, she stated Thursday.

Reichner disagreed and said the town ought to have hard copies of the document.

Smith, who’s paid $4,000 by using Sunbury, is also the element-time food inspector in Northumberland Borough in which she is paid $850 in step with 12 months.

Reichner stated Smith is a component-time city employee and a reduced in size worker with Northumberland.

“We also are going to investigate the hiring arrangements. The council became now not aware of any hiring of a part-time fitness officer,” Reichner stated.

Reichner stated Smith does no longer file to the metropolis or have any timeslips on a report that he’s privy to.

Smith inspects among 60 and 70 residences in Sunbury and 17 establishments in Northumberland.

Smith stated she stored the domestic data because it became easier for her to study them if she had to cross on a call again to an establishment. She does file reviews from all of her investigations to the kingdom; however, due to the fact they’re from a non-public inspector, they don’t appear inside the database as speedy as reviews from the country’s agents, she said.

As in step with 1/3-elegance city code, Sunbury must have a fitness inspector, Reichner stated. According to the Department of Agriculture — the kingdom body in the price of health inspections — personal inspectors aren’t required to file inspection outcomes, but it is advocated. By country law, the Department of Agriculture calls for all ingesting and consuming establishments to be inspected as soon as according to year, however inspectors can pass back numerous greater instances in that year if lawsuits are acquired, or if the preliminary inspection became not surpassed, according to the department’s website.

Smith said $one hundred is paid to the city for every one of her inspections. If Smith desires to go back and take a look at minor violations, there’s no rate. If the visit requires a 3rd inspection, there is an additional $a hundred charge.

Ocker said the metropolis and Northumberland percentage the cost of a laptop for Smith to paintings on, but Reichner said he turned into unaware the town paid any money towards it.

“There is a lot I did not recognize about what turned into going on here,” he said. “Now we are going to ensure this gets modified.”