Pottsville Mayor’s Letter Nearly Y2K’d City Hall, Council and Officials Say

On March 7, Pottsville Mayor Mark Atkinson sent a Certified letter to American Computer Associates, a Frackville company, terminating the city’s long-standing IT contract with the firm.

That month-to-month contract had been in place since the late 1990s. In place of it, Garland Communication Systems was picked to be Pottsville’s replacement IT firm.

The letter – acquired through a Right to Know Act filing – read:

“The City of Pottsville has had a longstanding relationship with your company, however over the course of the past two years, I have received numerous complaints from our staff regarding the quality of service performed by American Computer. Mr. Palamar & I met with Dan Bro on the matter however nothing materialized in terms of improvement. Our growth and success is greatly dependent on quality technology support services. I regret to inform you that the City of Pottsville is terminating our relationship with American Computer effective March 31, 2025.”

The letter – which was partially redacted for release – also included several assets American Computer Associates was to submit to Pottsville as part of the termination of services.

It was signed solely by Atkinson.

The problem: Atkinson, according to his fellow council members, informed no one else in City government he was taking this action, including the termination of the existing contract and the selection of a new contractor.

There was no public discussion among City Council members prior to this Certified Letter being sent. There was no vote to put the new contract out for bid or to seek a Request for Proposal.

And there was no contact prior to that letter being sent to anyone else in City Hall or other locations around Pottsville where the termination of this contract could have had an impact.

New to the job at the time, City Administrator Ian Mahal says he was informed of this intent to bring in a new IT services firm on March 21, his tenth day on the job, when he received an email from Atkinson. He said he immediately tried to put a halt to it.

Mahal says he contacted American Computer Associates and asked them to disregard the letter they’d just received.

And for now, the original IT contract with the Frackville company is restored.

In a statement released by American Computer Associates to The Canary, the company says, “We received a termination letter from the mayor, not city council. We met with the City Administrator and City Clerk. The relationship was restored.”

The company did not wish to comment any further.

Atkinson, for his part, explained in a conversation with The Canary, why he took the action and why he felt it was necessary.

But some council members are speaking out about the Mayor’s action and others in City government are saying what could have happened if Atkinson’s letter had been followed.

Basically, if that had happened, based on the reactions from some of his fellow council members and others who would have been affected, Atkinson’s decision could have Y2K’d the city government, they say.

The Best Interest of Pottsville

Following his resignation as Mayor on May 12, Atkinson spoke with The Canary to explain why he sent the termination letter to American Computer Associates. Generally, he says his action was done in the best interest of the City of Pottsville.

“I did it because we have issues with the service here,” he says. “At the end of the day, the City needs to run and run properly. There’s been a myriad of problems throughout all of the departments and that’s a well-known fact.”

That was something, that Pottsville was growing increasingly frustrated with the Frackville company, no council person denied.

Knowing that, it would seem no one would have denied Atkinson’s proposal to change IT services contractors had he brought it to his fellow council members.

Atkinson explains that at the time he took the action to send the letter and terminate the contract with American Computer Associates, “there was just a lot going on” in City government, specifically the resignation of longtime City Administrator Tom Palamar.

“There was just a whole lot going on. We had talked about it. That’s it. That’s what happened. It wasn’t like I did something that was not in the best interest of this city. I never did anything that was not in the best interest of the City,” Atkinson says.

He did acknowledge that maybe some weren’t completely on board with his plan, however.

“There were some different opinions and conversations I had with people but, I mean, it happened. It’s done. It’s over,” he says. “I did something that was ultimately in the best interest of the City. If there was a wrong way about it, I apologize.”

“They were ready”

Atkinson says Garland Communication Systems was prepared to take over as the City’s IT services provider.

“Oh yeah, they had been here. They looked at everything. They indicated that they were ready to go,” he says, even pinpointing the problem that the City purportedly had with its existing IT services company.

He says the City discovered that it was on a shared firewall and they had no knowledge of that prior.

“If we weren’t on a shared firewall, you wouldn’t even be having this conversation with me,” Atkinson says.

He says Garland discovered this at the “last minute” in its transition to becoming the provider and “that’s where it went wrong.”

Although the City eventually did not change IT services providers, Atkinson insists it’s still necessary.

“The City still needs to do it because we’re still on a shared firewall,” he says. “We’re sharing a firewall with somebody else. We don’t even know who. That’s a cyber concern.”

Later, he explained how dire he believes the City’s situation is currently.

“If the other entity that occupies that firewall with us gets hacked, they potentially are in our system.

Gone “Rogue”

City Council members say they were aware of perceived issues with the service they’d been receiving with American Computer Associates. Based on conversations with City officials, Pottsville met with the Frackville company last year to discuss concerns they had with its service.

“Was it a surprise that we were unhappy with American computer, no,” Councilman Andy Wollyung tells The Canary.

There were hints that the City could go with another contractor. But no action was taken then and the issue was not brought back up until Atkinson was appointed Mayor in late 2024.

“When Mark became Mayor, that’s when it came up more,” Councilwoman Dottie Botto says.

But all those discussions were obviously held outside the public’s view because the City’s IT service was never mentioned during any public meeting since Atkinson took over as Mayor.

The letter being sent to American Computer Associates was a shock to Botto and other council members.

Botto hints this action on the City’s IT services contract may not be isolated. She says, “Mark went rogue on us when he became Mayor. There’s been gaps in the communication.”

Atkinson believes the claim that he went rogue as Mayor is “a little harsh.” He again cited the fact that there was a massive transition happening at City Hall with Palamar’s resignation.

“There was a lot going on all in one shot,” he says. “It was a crazy time. It really was. Tom leaving was the last thing I wanted to have happen.”

Regarding this incident alone, Wollyung says he and his fellow board members didn’t know Atkinson sent the letter until they were informed by Mahal.

“I didn’t know about it until Ian Mahal informed us that Mark Atkinson sent the letter terminating the contract with American Computer,” Wollyung says.

No other councilperson indicated they had any idea the letter was being sent. Botto and Councilman Bill Messaros did say that IT was Atkinson’s bailiwick but no one indicated that they were aware any official action was going to happen.

Councilman Tom Wood, appointed in November, tells The Canary he was still new to the position when the letter was sent but adds that he didn’t know it was going to be sent.

“He did this without my knowledge or council’s. If it wasn’t for Ian Mahal, we would have been stuck back in the Stone Age,” Wollyung adds.

Wollyung adds that since IT is Atkinson’s forte, he should have known his action of sending that letter abruptly could have consequences.

“For a guy that does this for a living … not good,” Wollyung says.

Atkinson admits that had his plan had gone forward, the current contractor would have pulled out and the replacement he chose would have come in but unprepared at that time.

“It would have been a big problem,” Atkinson says, but counters by adding, “It will be a big problem if that firewall gets hacked. There’s still very much a need to migrate to a new system. We’re sharing our firewall with somebody. That’s a huge problem.”

“The Stone Age”

Atkinson claims the contractor he chose was initially ready to take over IT services but others say differently.

Mahal says the company Atkinson chose to replace American Computer Associates, Garland, expressed to him its concern with the timeline of the changeover.

He says the company called the proposed timeline “seriously alarming” and said they’d need another full month to effectively make the transition.

To hear City and other officials explain it, that’s close to what would have happened at City Hall, the City Garage, and Union Station, if American Computer Associates chose not to ignore the letter Atkinson sent them.

Wollyung says, “As director of public safety, I was like whoa, hold on a second. We are about to lose communications. This would have been detrimental. This was bad. We were close to being in trouble.”

Pottsville Police Chief John Morrow expressed similar concerns. He tells The Canary that his department would have lost access to key software and databases that officers use on a daily basis.

“We would have been in dire straits,” Morrow says.

Had City Hall lost its IT support, access to things like queries through Pennsylvania Justice Network (JNET), a public safety and criminal justice information portal, and a PFA database would have been cut off completely, Morrow says. Police would not have been able to complete state reportable accidents. Other reporting sites would have been inaccessible, too.

The problems with losing IT support would have extended beyond City Hall, too.

Mahal says he received a letter co-signed by the presidents of Schuylkill Economic Development Corp. (Frank Zukas) and Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce (Bob Carl), whose offices are located at Union Station downtown.

In that letter, they express concerns with the abrupt switch to another IT services provider. They say it would have impacted not only their offices but other tenants at Union Station and caused “significant disruptions.”

As of now, American Computer Associates remains as the City’s IT services provider.

Mahal says now, “I can state that since evaluating the City’s IT and formally meeting with American Computers, I see them as a trusted and willing partner to move forward to improve the City’s IT infrastructure and policies and procedures.”

Atkinson concluded the conversation saying, “If they get hacked and take us down, then people will be coming back and saying, Atkinson should have gone through with it.”

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