Westmoreland County controller evicted from Salem home
Westmoreland County's elected fiscal watchdog — Controller Jeffrey Balzer — was ordered evicted from his longtime Salem residence this month because he was behind on his rent, according to court records.
When contacted Thursday, Balzer said, “I've already moved out.”
On April 14, senior District Judge Bernice A. McCutcheon ordered Balzer, 50, evicted from the home on Butterfly Lane near New Alexandria, where he has lived since 2002, records show. She ordered him to pay $2,704 in back rent, costs and attorneys fees from this year, according to documents.
McCutcheon sided with Balzer's landlord, Perrone Family Limited Partnership of Pittsburgh, after reviewing evidence during a hearing.
Balzer had until April 25 to leave or be forcibly evicted under the court order, records indicate.
“This (eviction) proceeding is part of a longstanding situation between my landlord and me. ... We've had a tenuous relationship at best recently,” Balzer said.
“I will say that this is all just an attempt to embarrass me, but it's not going to work. I am not embarrassed and I am planning to appeal that (eviction) order,” he said.
Perrone attorney Hobart J. Webster of Pittsburgh defended the partnership's legal efforts to force Balzer to pay.
“We're very pleased the judge, after reviewing all the evidence, found in our favor. And we look forward to pursuing the other issues now pending in civil court,” Webster said Thursday.
“It's unfortunate that this matter has gone on so long and had to result in litigation,” he added.
Balzer, a Republican, earns $66,614 a year and was re-elected to a second four-year term last year.
The landlord-tenant dispute is not Balzer's first personal finance issue.
In 2014, the Internal Revenue Service filed a claim in Common Pleas Court for $22,300 in unpaid taxes from 2010-11, records show. That claim has not been paid, according to court documents.
Balzer said his IRS problems stem from taxes on income he earned as a self-employed public insurance adjuster before his election as controller in 2012. He said he hopes to pay the tax bill this year.
The Perrone partnership has a separate civil suit pending against Balzer in Westmoreland Common Pleas Court seeking more than $10,000 in unpaid rent, costs and attorneys fees. The suit stems from an 11-month period during which partnership officials allege Balzer failed to pay $850 a month in rent between July 2014 and May 2015, according to court records.
Balzer said he has filed a counterclaim in the civil suit, contending he didn't pay rent during that period because ongoing problems with the home required him to pay for numerous repairs and upgrades, including tree removal and a furnace replacement, according to documents.
“Basically, what I'm challenging is the habitability of the home. Don't get me wrong, I loved living in that area. ... I enjoy hunting and fishing and that is really a nice area, but this is a longstanding issue,” Balzer said,
He said he recently moved to another home in the township.
Paul Peirce is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. Reach him at 724-850-2860 or ppeirce@tribweb.com.
