Butler residents will remember former City Councilman Pete Zissi for his dedication to public service at a time when fewer and fewer people were willing to expend their time and energies in an elected role.

Zissi, who died Wednesday after a long illness, was a councilman for 20 consecutive years before leaving office at the end of last year. He opted for retirement, hoping that a younger resident would step forward with the goal of moving the city forward.

Those who worked with and for Zissi in his public-service position voiced praise for how he conducted himself and oversaw his responsibilities over the years. Some public officials at the municipal level cannot be labeled "hands on" in terms of their duties because they don't approach them with an every-day attitude. However, that cannot be said about Zissi's service.

Ralph Graham, city Streets Department foreman, recalled Zissi's 12-year tenure as the department's director, when Zissi would call at the end of each workday to learn what work had been done that day and to find out whether any complaints had been received.

When Zissi became the council's fire department director about nine years ago, he became a great advocate on behalf of the department's needs. Don Acquaviva, retired city fire chief, said Zissi was always willing "to go to bat for us with the city council. He knew, as he said more than once, that the most important thing is the safety of the citizens."

Zissi's potential for accomplishments was limited to a degree by the exodus of businesses to suburban municipalities - a problem most metropolitan areas of Butler's size have experienced in recent decades. Also posing difficulty was declining tax revenues stemming from that exodus, as well as other financial pressures that imposed tremendous challenges for Zissi and his colleagues and which will continue to dog the city indefinitely.

But those issues did not undermine the diligence and dedication Zissi exercised in the conduct of city business.

He loved the city and recognized its potential, if it were able to overcome the obstacles facing it.

Maybe the best overall description of Zissi's city service came from Mayor Leonard Pintell, who said the former councilman "offered real stability, common sense and reality to the council and the city."

All of those things are ongoing necessities for Butler and its government. It is important that the spirit that Zissi represented is carried on in this community without interruption.

- J.R.K.