Barron Charges Secret Plan to Sell Gracedale

Northampton County's full-time Controller, Steve Barron, is supposed to audit County departments, followed by recommendations to improve their efficiency and strengthen internal controls. Barron, who has no background in accounting, has never performed a single audit. But he does lots of other things, Mostly, he causes trouble. Yesterday, he was at the top of his game.

Barron is the union organizer who, along with then Allentown City Council Prez Michael D'Amore, decided to march on T-Mobile. When its national VP refused to see him without an appointment, Barron engaged in what can only be called a veiled threat.

"Please remind him [T-Mobile VP Brueckman] that if he needs anything from Northampton or Lehigh County, we're going to remember this day and we'll make sure that it will be part of the negotiations."

Instead of asking Northampton or Lehigh County for anything, T-Mobile decided to close shop here in the Lehigh Valley.

That little stunt earned Barron both an Express Times turkey and a County Council condemnation.

In addition to his union activities, Barron is an asbestos whistle blower. He reported the County to the state DEP for violations that occurred about twenty years ago. Never mind that the Stoffa administration has spent over $1 million in remediation and removal. The result was an investigation and certain fines until the EPA investigator himself passed away.

That got Barron another Express Times turkey.

Barron is also a junior detective. Instead of auditing the DA's office, Barron acts as an expert witness for white collar crime. Except he's no expert. In a recent prosecution of Easton's NAACP Prez, the defense objected to Barron's qualifications. He was reduced to acting as a summary witness. Aside from numerous lunch breaks, he still spent a week in the courtroom instead of doing the job he is paid $65,000 a year to perform.

Barron was awarded no Express Times turkey. Instead, the Defendant was awarded a NOT GUILTY verdict.

Now, on top of his many other skills, Barron apparently is also a nursing home administrator.

Yesterday's finance committee reviewed the County's independent audit. But Barron had no time for that minor exercise. He chose instead to focus on a "mistake of catastrophic proportion," the disbanding of Gracedale's wound team.

Although Gracedale's administrator already explained what was happening at a Council meeting a few weeks ago, he forgot to clear it with Barron. Barron told Council the County was opening itself up to lawsuit. "The vultures are already circling," he warned.

Reading from a consultant's letter, Barron told Council he was "appalled" that the consultant was not brought into the "decision-making process."

Some Council members were appalled that Barron would question Gracedale's administrator without giving him an opportunity to respond.

Then Barron told Council what is really going on. "It's an attack, and it's an end-around to try to sell the place again," he charged.

Council President John Cusick was a bit incredulous. He pointed to the massive GESA project for capital improvements. He reminded Barron that Council established an advisory board, too, and even adopted an Ordinance that prevents the administration from moving money out of the nursing home. Later tht evening, the County discussed $1.5 million in computer upgrades at the nursing home.

Strange way to try to make something fail, don't you think?

Council member Bruce Gilbert rejected Barron's theory.

"We have to be careful with what we say. There's no one sitting around at the poker table deciding on how to sell Gracedale. 'Hey, I know how we can get rid of this thing. Let's self destruct.' ... you're going to self-perpetuaute failure just to help thse who want to sell Gracedale, sell Gracedale. Why would you say that?'

"It's my opinion," responded union organizer, asbestos whistle blower, junior detective Barron.

"You should make that clear," said Gilbert, who is only a member of Council.

Barron went on to complain that Premier, the administrator, has taken its time hiring a nurse to market Gracedale at local hospitals.

Gilbert told Barron he could ask them. "I'm sure those folks would have answers for you. and those answers wouldn't include the conjecture of  'there's people plotting to sell Gracedale.' There's no need to do that."

Council member Scott Parsons questioned Barron's thinking, too. "If this organization thinks they can keep that quality of care, I think we have to give them that chance. That's what we hired them to do."

Parsons stated he wants no jobs sacrificed, nor does he want a decrease in quality of care. But "somewhere along the line, you gotta' give somebody a chance."

Council member Bob Werner, who stated he might ultimately decide that a wound treatment team is necessary, agreed that we "need to give the people in control a chance to speak. That's only fair."

Barron is also investigating Stoffa for the supposed misappropriation of county monies to pay a law firm to help me in my Gracedale ballot challenge.

He claimed to be in discussions with their "chief counsel."

"But I don't know how it's gonna' go, so I don't want to comment any further on that."

Top secret.

Maybe Barron should do a little less talking and a little more of the job he was elected to perform.

Barron Blasted For Politicizing Controller's Office

At yesterday's Finance Committee meeting, presided over by John Cusick, I came out firing. I've had enough of the insinuations concerning taxpayer funding of my Gracedale litigation, and wanted to make it very clear that at no time was any taxpayer money used to finance that litigation. I also wanted to make clear that my litigation was my own work product, not the result of collaboration with County lawyers.

The person who's been making these insinuations, Northampton County Controller Steve Barron, was there. So I demanded that, instead of doing his audits by newspaper, he tell Council, the Administration, and me exactly what we are supposed to have done that is wrong.

I was so angry, I can't tell you accurately what I said. Sarah Cassi's Express Times' account, which is much more objective than mine, is here. But I can tell you about a few others.

Director of Administration John Conklin: "Why wouldn't you come to us and ask the question before going to the newspapers? That suggests impropriety of a professional administration that's here, conducting the business."

Barron had no answer.

When Angle pressed him about going to the press first, Barron claimed that Jenna Portnoy, who is about 3' tall, "cornered" him and forced him to tell her everything.

"The day before I looked through the bill, I was pandering, I mean pondering ....

Angle: "You had that right. You were pandering."

Barron claimed there were witnesses to this vicious ambush.

Angle: "Would you agree, Mr. Barron, that your job as County Controller should be a very nonpolitical job?"

"Generally, yes. I do run for office."

Angle: "Well, that's pretty evident. This year, you're running for office and I see it in the newspaper about twice a week. ...

Angle: "Would you call it nonpolitical to be over at Verizon, making threats to the people who manage Verizon? Would you say that's nonpolitical?"

Barron: "Verizon?"

Angle: "T-Mobile. You can play dumb if you want. It comes natural."

Barron: "You know - um - ah"

Angle: "Was that nonpolitical?" OK. You were over at Gracedale pandering to the union people. Was that nonpolitical? At every event the Gracedale unions have, you're at every one of their events. Is that nonpolitical?"

Barron: "I'm friends with those people and I see them at Gracedale -"

Angle: "You're lifelong friends with all the union people at Gracedale. I understand. ... When you first took this job, I remember you at this podium telling us that you would make this your full time job, that it was a sizable pay increase from your previous job, and you'd be on the job full time.

Barron: "I did."

Angle: "How many hours a week do you work in your office?"

Barron: "Hard to say."

Angle: "Hard to say? If I were to tell you that people who are very familiar with your office tell me you may work 15 to 17 hours per week, actually in that office or in these buildings, auditing, would they be correct?"

Barron: "I - you know, Ron - you see me in the courthouse, I'm everywhere."

Angle: "A simple question, Mr. Barron. My question was simple. How many hours a week are you in that office across the street or in her auditing stuff."

Barron: "I'm done."

Barron then walked away from the podium, without answering Angle.

As Barron walked to his seat in the rear, Angle stated, "Your specialty is gutter-sniping, dealing with these people behind the scenes."

Angle: "You got a Solicitor, Mr. Barron, Timothy Brennan. Can you tell me how much money Mr. Brennan has donated to your campaign since you've been in office?"

Barron (from his seat in the peanut gallery): "I dunno."

Angle: "Does he routinely send money to you every so many months?"

Barron: "He's my friend."

Angle: "Oh, he's your friend. Does he have a County political job as a Solicitor for you and he's on the County payroll? He routinely pays you ... Your Solicitor on a routine business day pays you for that job. You want to bad mouth Mr. Stoffa? I never seen him take a nickel from anybody he shouldn't take a nickel from. But you take that money and you want to make comments to the newspapers that there's something wrong because Eckert Seamans made four telephone calls to me, to update me on the sale? Are you saying that was wrong?"

Barron had no answer.

Angle: "You know what, Mr. Barron. You are a political hack of the highest order. You're over at T-Mobile, pandering to unions. You're over at Gracedale, pandering to the unions. You are a gutless individual who spends 15 hours or less per week in that office. You tell the other people you're doing work at home when, in reality, you're catering to the unions, Mr. Barron. So don't tell me about the wonderful job. ... ."

"I wish you success in your election with the unions because if there's anything I've learned, there's a lot of people who don't belong to unions who also vote, Mr. Barron.

"Many people may vote against me because of Gracedale because I'm making a decision, solely based on I believe it's the only decision I can make under the circumstances. I won't pander or cater to anybody and I don't give a damn if you run my ass out of office next year. So be it. I can leave here saying every decision I made here was the right decision. I don't pander over at T-Mobile. I don't pander over at Gracedale, I don't go to all of these events. I don't bad mouth other people on stuff that there's no truth.

"Four calls from Eckert Seamans, they called me. Yet you got to the newspapers and told them a big story and they loved it. They made front page news out of those stories. There wasn't an ounce of truth in any of it, Mr. Barron. But let the record show when you draw u the minutes that Mr. Barron retreated to his seat in the audience and refused to talk."

After that, Barron ran the hell out of there.

Northampton County's "Full Time" Controller Plays Hooky ... At School

Barron making his way to class

Executive John Stoffa has asked District Attorney John Morganelli to investigate Northampton County Controller Steve Barron.  This request follows a report that Barron, a full-time Controller, is teaching at Northampton Community College during County business hours.

In 2006, Steve Barron was among six candidates seeking an appointment as Bethlehem's Controller. He told City Council he is "very inspiring," "very trustworthy," and would "give 110%". They were uninspired. In fact, Barron didn't receive a single vote. But a year later, he got 16,357 of them, when Northampton County voters elected him Northampton County Controller. They picked him over 12-year incumbent John Schimmel. Making the most of an embarrassing embezzlement in the Criminal Division, Barron pledged he'd be a full-time fiscal watchdog, unlike Schimmel. But Barron appears to have broken his bond with the workers. Worse, he may have violated recently enacted provisions of the Home Rule Charter, requiring him to be full time.

In 2008, the year after Barron's election, voters overwhelmingly approved a change to the Charter. This not only requires the Controller to be full time, but prohibits him from doing anything else.  "During his term of office the County Controller shall devote full time to the office, and shall not actively engage in any other business or occupation," commands this new provision, which became effective in 2012.

"I'm for it. I'm very for it. I think it's a good thing," Barron told The Express Times. At that time, he was supplementing his $39,000 salary by teaching at Northampton Community College. But the College's Right-to-Know Officer, Helene Whitaker, revealed that Barron stopped teaching in 2012, when the Controller became full time. Thanks to an ordinance approving a salary increase, Barron was also making $65,000 as the County's fiscal watchdog.

Controller's open office with financial records

Despite the clear language of the Charter and a significant raise, Barron is teaching at Northampton Community College again.

As an Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Barron teaches two classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They start at Noon and go until 1:50 pm, with a half hour to meet students before and after each class. This amounts to twelve hours every week, including commuting time, away from the courthouse. Instead of evening classes, they are in the middle of the day, when most employees have access to the county's purse strings.

On Friday, October 4, Barron was confronted in a college hallway as he made his way to his Local and State Government class, dressed in shorts and T-shirt. He was asked to explain why the County's full time Controller is actively engaged in another profession.

"I'm doing this on my lunch hour," he explained.

"A four hour lunch hour?"

"I go to County Council meetings after hours."

Barron never returned to his office after class. The door was wide open, with the County's finances spread out over an unattended desk in an unlocked office. Inquiries to staffers reveal that Barron was not at his office at all on Friday.

According to The Home Rule Charter, an elected official who knowingly and willfully violates any of its provisions, has forfeited his office. That determination would have to be made in quo warranto proceedings.
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Council President John Cusick is part of the Council which recommended the Charter change.  He authored the increase in Barron's salary. "I am disappointed to hear these allegations," stated Cusick. "If they are true, I believe that Mr. Barron would be in violation of the charter amendment. My understanding of the language and intent of the amendment when I voted to place it on the ballot and later to increase the salary was that the office holder would be a full time employee. If he is teaching during county business hours, clearly that is not the case."

Bob Werner, who was elected to Council after the Charter amendment and pay hike, has suggested that this warrants an investigation by the appropriate officials.

Executive John Stoffa said that "[i}f these allegations are true, Mr. Barron is double dipping." Calling on Barron to return any funds paid by the college, Stoffa claimed the Controller "owes the public an apology. He broke his oath of office. Amazing that the office he holds is tasked with finding people who transgress the law as apparently he has. How can the public have confidence in him?”

Republicans Blame Barron For Tax Hike

Seth Vaughn: J'accuse"

For the third time in four years, Controller Steve Barron is in the doghouse with Northampton County Council.

In 2010, he was caught on tape, accompanying a bunch of union organizers, to give the strong arm at T-Mobile's Allentown call center. He identified himself as the Northampton County Controller, but a company VP still refused to meet him. Barron responded with this threat.

"Please remind him that if he needs anything from Northampton or Lehigh County, we're going to remember this day and we'll make sure that it will be part of the negotiations."

Council condemned his remarks by formal resolution. T-Mobile eventually left the Lehigh Valley, taking 600 jobs with them.

Mat Benol does not want Barron sharing info with press

Last year, Barron was called on the carpet again. This time, he was caught by yours truly, teaching two classes three days a week, during the middle of the day. He spent twelve hours every week, including commuting time, away from the courthouse, at a time when most employees have access to the county's purse strings. This was a violation of the Home Rule Charter requirement that he be a full-time Controller.

He resigned his teaching position the next day, and Council took no action.

Now Barron is in hot water again. This time, it's mostly for doing his job.

Barron has had a contentious relationship with Executive John Brown. Barron sued over Brown's public relations contract with Sahl Communications. He also has been critical of other no-bid contracts and has questioned what real savings will be realized by Brown's unilateral decision to reduce health benefits. Just earlier this week, he called on both the Executive and Deputy Director of Administration to reimburse the County about $1,500 in what appear to be inappropriate travel expenses. He has also established an online fraud tip center for employees.

He has made some remarks in mass emails to employees that are unprofessional.

Barron called "political hack"

The Executive removed the fraud tip report form, and even blocked Barron's access to mass email, but restored both when it was pointed out that Barron is an independently elected official, not a County employee who is accountable to the Executive.    

After Council adopted its budget last night, Republicans launched an attack.

Mat Benol was the lead off hitter, "I'm not a fan of receiving emails that include the media on it,." he complained, preferring government in the dark. "I don't think that your position warrants you crying 'Wolf!' every other week."

Ken Kraft asked Benol,"Was that a campaign speech? Are you running for Controller?"

Seth Vaughn followed Benol with an interrogation.  "I won't hold you up too much," he sarcastically stated. "I know you're very busy."

Vaughn correctly took Barron to task for some unprofessional comments in his mass emails, which would be more appropriate here. In one email, Barron refers to Brown as "Dear Leader" That actually is a name coined by yours truly. Vaughn claimed that Barron also told employees that the Brown administration is an "ignorant administration which delivers needless beatings to the employees of Northampton County."

Vaughn pointed out that Barron's comments are a violation of the County's electronic resource policy, though that is unenforceable against Barron as an independently elected official

"We don't pay you for your opinion," thundered a visibly angry Vaughn. "We pay you to be a nonpartisan office."

Actually, Council is not the boss of him!

Then Vaughn blamed Barron for the tax hike.

"Your lack of oversight has led to this conversation about us having a tax increase. You've been sitting here for seven years, and you've watched this fund balance go down."

"You're a political hack," Vaughn concluded, much the same way that Barron concluded that Brown is Dear Leader.

The #3 hitter was Hayden Phillips. He read a resolution about 20 pages long, calling on Barron to resign and move to Easton. He did stop short of calling Barron an illegal alien

Glenn Geissinger suggested the matter be tabled, especially since he was aware that ailing Peg Ferraro, who had participated in the budget process by phone, had already hung up.

"I don't want to table," stated Phillips.

Then Lamont McClure explained. "He wants to table it. He thinks his numbers are better [if he waits for Peg]. He can count."

And tabled it was, with McClure and Kraft voting No.

Barron has not made Brown look bad, which is what really is bothering Republican council members. The person who makes John Brown look bad is John Brown.

John Brown has been the Democrats' best friend. And because of his lack of leadership and unwillingness to face reality, Republican Council members will take the heat for a tax hike while he can say, "It wasn't me." With friends like that ...

Has Cranial Rectosis Hit John Brown?

Cranial rectosis is common among elected officials

I've been supplementing a story that first broke in Friday's Express Times. It concerns a bizarre week of unprecedented abuses of power by Northampton County Executive John Brown. He removed a link for online fraud reports that Controller Steve Barron wanted posted on the county webpage. Then when Barron sent out an email concerning that fraud tool and other matters, Brown actually blocked all group emails from an independently elected official, outside of his own office staff.  Brown also lashed out at Council in a statement he robotically read to the press, using goofy words like "craven".  Then, he strangely walked out of his own office without answering questions. He posted armed guards outside his office, to keep both the public and members of Council away during his news conference. Brown reportedly reversed course on Monday, but I happen to know he hasn't learned a thing.

Brown had a minor surgical procedure on Friday. According to some of my readers, he was suffering from cranial rectosis, a very common ailment among elected officials.

He needs to have the procedure repeated before his health plan reductions go into effect.

Though he reversed course, Brown is telling his supporters that Barron should thank his lucky stars. Brown claims that Barron's Friday mass email was illegal. What really is illegal is obstructing a governmental function. That is what Brown did. He interfered with an independently elected official. It's true that part of Barron's email was nutty, but Brown has no right to censor another elected official. Also, IT operator Al Jordan works for Brown, but he also works for Barron, the DA and the courts. He needs to listen to them all.

Brown reportedly is also considering attacking Barron because our full-time controller does some part-time work as a referee.

The Exec really must have a bad case of cranial rectosis. His head is so far up there that his voice echoes.

Let me tell you about Barron and Lamont McClure. I know them better than most.

Barron von Footinmouth

The transformation of Barron and McClure   

If you ever have a chance, ask Barron who has been his harshest critic over the years.

C'est moi.

I have nailed him repeatedly as a political Controller. Instead of acting as a fiscal watchdog, he's been more of a union agent.  I hammered his extortion at T-Mobile and his witch hunts. I happen to be the person who broke the story that he was spending a good 12 hours every week, during the work week, away from his office. I even won an investigative journalism award for that report.

I've also been somewhat mean. Though I did not invent the name "Barron von Footinmouth", I sure as hell ran with it. I even snapped and published a photo of him outside a yogurt shop this summer, which drove him nuts.

It's been fun.

But John Brown is ruining everything,

Same thing with Lamont McClure. I've been hammering him since I started blogging. But thanks to Brown, McClure has transformed from a lazy and mean-sprited partisan to an indefatigable advocate for both fiscal sanity (he spoke against these consultant contracts) and the downtrodden worker. An asbestos lawyer whose most noteworthy contribution to council has been his record absences, has changed from contrarian to a powerful voice for those who have none. He's even calling in at committee hearings. 

This really pisses me off.

Brown has been such a disaster as County Executive that he has made two of my usual targets look good by comparison. He may have guaranteed theur victory at the polls next year.

Was Barron's Mass Email Illegal?

Without question, Barron's Friday email was a bit over the top. That's because, in addition to discussing his fraud link, he went on to gossip about incoming employee Nancy L. Jones, disclosing what her job would be and how much she would be paid. This was an outrage to a secretive Executive. But is it illegal?

Of course not. While his Jones' comments certainly had nothing to do with the Controller function, Barron only revealed information that already was in the public domain.  Jones herself made her new job known when she notified Bangor's Mayor and council of her new job. Her salary and job classification are public information.

In fact, Brown should probably announce hires like these instead of trying to keep everything hushed up. The public does have a right to know who is working for us and how much they are paid.

He may not like that kind of exposure, but as one of his consultants says, "Nobody subpoenaed you to work here."

Barron von Footinmouth, Referee 

An angry Brown has reportedly told insiders that they're going to come after Barron because, though he's our full-time Controller, he also works as a referee. This is something I wrote about last year. It did not bother me then and does not bother me now.

Barron, who is paid $65,000 a year, is bound by the County's Home Rule Charter.  It clearly states that the Controller "shall devote full time to the office, and shall not actively engage in any other business or occupation."

I seriously doubt anyone but a rank partisan would consider a part-time job as a ref on weekends the active pursuit of another business or occupation.

Neither Barron Nor Council Work For Brown

The message Brown needs to learn is that the Council, Controller, DA and Judges are all separate branches of county government. None of them work for him. In fact, Brown's HR Director and IT Director work for them.

NorCo Blocks Barron's Access To Financial Data

Barron was at Lamont McClure's side when
he announced for Exec on Thursday. 

NorCo Controller Steve Barron's access to financial data has been cut off by the Brown administration. Barron is the county official who confirmed that Sara Packer, the ex-adoption supervisor accused of murdering her own adopted daughter was a NorCo employee. At a time when the rest of the county was stonewalling or providing misleading information to reporters, Barron told the truth. And now he appears to be paying the price.

A letter from HR Director Amy Trapp dated Thursday but not delivered until Friday accuses Barron of "intentionally" disclosing the social security number of a county employee to the press.

Though Barron denies deliberately furnishing a social security numbers to anyone, a WFMZ-TV video of Barron at his computer, published on January 10, did reveal reveal Packer's social security number for under a second. There was nothing to identify that number as Packer's social security number or even as a social security number. When Barron became aware of this unintentional disclosure on Friday, he contacted WFMZ-TV69, and the station immediately removed the video.

Brown or Trapp, if they really cared about the privacy of county employees, could and should have done this themselves, as soon as either were aware of this matter. They instead allowed this private information to remain in the public domain for over a week so that they could retaliate. Brown did so at Council's Thursday night meeting, right after Barron said that Brown owes CYF workers an apology for hanging them out to dry. Trapp retaliated when she cut off Barron's access to a menu in the county's system that enables both Barron andhis staff to review payroll.

"This adjustment will in no manner impair your office's or your ability to discharge your duties," Trapp claims. But Baron, who is an independently elected official charged with responsibility for monitoring county finances, disagrees. He said that without the menu, he would never have noticed that employees were being awarded raises without Council approval,or that Brown and Administrator Cathy Allen were improperly seeking reimbursements for expenses.

This is the second time Brown has actively interfered with Barron's access to county systems. In 2014, Barron was briefly barred from blanket emails to county employees that inappropriately referred to Brown as "Dear Leader." Barron's access was subsequently restored.

Barron has asked for a meeting with county officials.

Barron Goes Into The Gutter In Debate at Slate

Moderator Tells Barron His Behavior "Inappropriate"

The undercard at last night's Debate as the Slate was the County Controller position being sought by long-time Hanover Township Steve Salvesen and incumbent Steve Barron. Although Barron was way ahead on substance, he ended up losing the debate when he decided, unnecessarily to go dark on Salvesen. It actually reached the point that the moderator had to step in and tell him his behavior was "inappropriate."

What's this all about?

Steve Salvesen, although retired from Ingersoll Rand, decided to own and operate two gas stations. It's tough for a little guy to compete against juggernauts like WaWa and Scheetz, and Salvesen soon found that both businesses were in trouble and sold them. As you might have guessed, there were some judgments.

Without even attempting to get Salvesen's side of the story, Jonathan Geeting took information supplied to hm by Democratic operatives and proceeded to do a hatchet job on Patch. In one of the poorest journalistic efforts I've ever seen, until he did the same thing to Simao, Geeting plastered Salvesen's financial woes on the Internet with absoltely no attempt to determine if the information was even true.

Amazingly, Patch paid him to do it, with unchecked information supplied by Democratic operatives.

Last night, Barron was ahead on substance. He's the incumbent, and knows how that office functions a little better than Salvesen. But when Salvesen mentioned Barron's "veiled threat" to T-Mobile, a nonunion company, Barron must have been irritated.

On top of that, Salvesen was ahead on style. He is urbane, well-spoken, and has a deep baritone voice that commands attention.

Now that may be unimportant to you, but the debate was a little too close for Barron. So he decided to muddy him up with the same information that had been provided to Geeting, and accused Salvesen of being unable to balance his own checkbook. But unlike what happened on Patch, this time Salvesen was allowed to answer the charges, and he did.

"I'm not sure, but I've heard rumblings that Mr. Barron is out to get me. He's done a lot of research and through that research, he's found out some personal information. I'm sure that will be in a flyer at everybody's doorstep before Election Day.

"One of the things is that I declared bankruptcy in 2000. What a blog has said is that it's a neat way to avoid paying what's due. But the blogger [Geeting] didn't say, and probably what Mr. Barron doesn't know, is that I didn't proceed with the bankruptcy. I paid all of my debts.

"When you have a business, and I don't know if Mr. Barron has ever had a private business, it sometimes gets very sticky. I owned two gas stations. Not a good time to own gas stations when all the big guys are moving in - WaWa, Scheetz, etc., etc. It was time for me to get out.

"I owed taxes to the IRS. I owed taxes to the state. They were all paid, in full.

"I owe no money to anyone, other than current taxes that are due at the end of this year.

"I'm not sure what he means by my checkbook. I don't have any bounced checks.

"That's my answer."

Unsatisfied with Salvesen's explanation, Barron proceeded to insist that Salvesen did have a bounced check to Jaspar Transmissions for $1,600. "I called Jaspar and they still say you owe them money," accused Barron.

At this point, the moderator stopped the debate.

"I'm going to interject here, Mr. Barron. ... I'm in private business also, and I know there can be a lot of reasons why bills may not be aid because of performance issues on one side or the other. ... I really don't think that was appropriate here because we don't know."

Although the moderator had just told him he was out of line, Barron offered to show his documentation to everyone after the debate.

"I have the documentation if anyone would like to look at it."

After the debate, Salvesen told me that the Jaspar check was fraudulently written by an emplyee, who then tried to cover it up by promising to make the payments. He never authorized the check, and no judgment was ever entered against him. In fact, it's a 2001 lawsuit that was never pursued. In other words, it's a bullshit charge.

Another distinguished person who Barron attempted to smear is County Executive John Stoffa. According to Barron, the Executive told him at lunch one day to stay mum on the asbestos problem because it might have an impact on the sale of Gracedale.

Unfortunately, Stoffa was not at the debate. But his first concern has always been the safety and welfare of the people who work for the County, so I find this accusation highly improbable.

Barron Threatens Government Retaliation Against Nonunion T-Mobile

If you're an elected official, the last thing you should do is shake down some local business. And if you're gonna' do it anyway, you should at least be sneaky about it, like Vince Fumo. Northampton County Controller Steve Barron and Allentown City Council Prez Michael D'Amore have been caught on tape, giving T-Mobile the strong arm. They're actually proud of it. You can see the video above.

CWA, a union, is trying to organize at T-Mobile's Allentown Call Center. A few weeks ago, on August 10 (a Tuesday), organizers tried to enter the building and meet with a VP who was conducting a "town hall" with employees. They had no appointment.

Northampton County Controller Steve Barron and Allentown City Council Prez Michael D'Amore decided to inject themselves in this affair. Now D'Amore is only a part-time City Council member. He strongly believes in unions. I have no problem with his pro-union activity, so long as he makes no attempt to play on his official position as President of Allentown City Council.

Barron's another story. He claims to be a full-time Controller. On a Tuesday, instead of traipsing around in Allentown, he could have been auditing some office somewhere. He's also involving himself in policy matters, something he's been warned about in the past. Still, he's entitled to show his pro-union ardor, as long as he makes no attempt to act officially.

I suppose it's a good way to get campaign contributions.

This is where things get weird. Both of them play on their official titles in an attempt to get their foot in the door. D'Amore points to his City ID, and Barron mentions several times that he's the Controller, damn it!

Elected officials or not, T-Mobile's Group VP had no interest in listening to them sing, "Look for the union label." For one thing, he was there to talk to employees, not them. For another, they had no appointment. If I dropped in on D'Amore uninvited, I'm pretty sure I'd get the bum's rush, too.

This is where Barron really blows it. Instead of just walking away after having made his point, Barron actually threatens retaliation. Not by the union. That's normal. No, he claims it will come from the government itself. Here are his exact words.

"Please remind him [T-Mobile VP Brueckman] that if he needs anything from Northampton or Lehigh County, we're going to remember this day and we'll make sure that it will be part of the negotiations."

Can you say Hobbs Act extortion?

Barron threatens government retaliation so he can wrongfully obtain preferential treatment for CWA. It makes no difference whether Barron himself benefits personally. He is clearly attempting to benefit a third party. If T-Mobile submits a bid for cell phone service to either County, Barron is hinting it will be rejected unless it plays ball with CWA.

Barron's ignorant remark has also exposed both Counties to liability. They are both open to a lawsuit claiming retaliation if they ever refuse to do business with T-Mobile, no matter how legitimate the reason.

Thanks, Steve. At the very least, he should resign.

I have no problem with unions, but I do have a problem with elected officials use their office to bully a business into union negotiations.

This story, along with several incriminating videos, first appeared in DailyKos and Lowering the Bar, On these blogs, Barron is actually complimented for his threat of government retaliation. I guess it's OK to rig bids if you do it to penalize businesses that have no unions.

Locally, LVCI and Molovinsky both picked up on this yesterday. They are far less charitable, and I tend to agree with them.

Once their blogs published, and throughout the day, some of these videos began to go "poof." So I downloaded a video myself, made a few annotations of my own so I can claim it is an original, and uploaded it to YouTube myself. If the union has a problem with this, tough. Let 'em sue.

People have a right to know when their public servants abuse their office.

For Barron, this is the second time. A few weeks ago, he was pandering union votes at a County Council meeting concerning Gracedale, using bogus figures. "I'd rather stand with the people behind me than the person in front of me," he told Angle, to thunderous applause from AFSCME. He had previously told me he'd stay out of that controversy because, in his own words, he'd "just be pandering."

I guess the temptation was just too much for him.

Barron may be standing in front of Angle again this Thursday. The Bulldog is considering asking Council to censor him.

Updated 1:00 AM, This Can't Be Good. - The Morning Call's Jarrett Renshaw has picked up on this story.
Updated 10:40 AM: Council Will Be Asked to Censure Barron. - I have emailed Barron to notify him of my intention to request that Northampton County Council censure him. I will also request they adopt a resolution to notify T-Mobile that Controller Steve Barron's had no authority from the County for his August 10 threat.
Updated 1:00 PM: In a second public video (you can see it here), Controller Barron tells T-Mobile VP Brueckner, "I'd also like you to think about why you didn't meet with one of the local elected officials here in the Lehigh Valley, and how that can benefit your company. And when you do that, I'd like you to give me a call - my numer is [redacted] - and discuss it with you."

The Steve Barron Witch Hunt

Last night, Northampton County Council had a very light agenda and a 20-minute meeting. Last night was a perfect opportunity for Council to have asked Children, Youth and Families (CYF) Director Kevin Dolan or Human Services Director Allison Frantz to reassure the public about the services they provide. Two weeks ago, Council looked like a a deer caught in the headlights when NBC-10 reporter Deanna Durante sought answers. They were clueless, and so was Executive John Brown when she asked him in a hallway why he had ignored her calls for three weeks. Having been publicly embarrassed, Council took no time to evaluate how to do better as representatives of the people. Instead, they chose to take the low road. They lashed out at Controller Steve Barron and attempted to make him the scapegoat for their own inadequacies. .

Let's review. In July of last year, 15 year-old Grace Packer was raped, murdered and dismembered  Her adoptive mother, Sara Packer, has been charged. She was not only a NorCo employee, but worked in Children, Youth and Families (CYF) between 2003 and 2007. She was actually the adoption supervisor at the time of her termination in 2007. She fostered over 30 children, including a child from NorCo.

Before there was an arrest, Durante discovered that Packer may very well have been a county employee. But wherever she called, she was stonewalled or actively misled. She would either receive no answers at all or would be told that Packer is not a current employee.

In addition to calling numerous administrators, she also called all members of Council  Ken Kraft said he would be unable to get that information if he tried himself, and suggested that she seek help from the Controller, Steve Barron.

Barron, who started his career in human services at group homes, immediately provided the correct information to Durante. He was deeply concerned whether Packer may have abused any children in her care while she was employed at Northampton County. He was especially concerned when he learned that she had been terminated, and that this termination appeared to be related to sexual abuse of children occurring within her home. Barron approached county officials and warned them this would eventually become a major issue. He warned them they needed to get out in front of the matter to reassure the public and defend the staff within CYF.

He was ignored.

In addition to speaking to Durante, Barron also provided the same information to WFMZ-TV69. A news camera closed in on computer records showing what appears to be a social security number for Sara packer, although it is not identified as such. The shot lasted under a second, and Barron may have unintentionally disclosed Packer's security number.

County Administrator Cathy Allen latched onto this piece of information. Rather than notifying WFMZ-TV69, she tucked it away and shared it with Brown.

When County Council and Brown were properly taken to task for circling the wagons about Packer, Brown petulantly replied that Barron has disclosed Packer's social security number. The next day, the Controller's access to computer data was shut off, making it impossible for his auditors to do their jobs. Barron has since met with county officials, who are supposed to restore Barron's access soon. But County Council, who should be embarrassed over their own failures, tried their best last night to tar and feather Barron.

Hayden Phillips started the ball rolling by seeking an opinion from the Council solicitor. Phil Lauer correctly advised that there are criminal sanctions for intentionally disclosing a social security number. He added that Packer may have a civil cause of action if she has been harmed by the accidental disclosure, but not Council.Phillips wanted Lauer to forward his opinion to the District Attorney, but Lauer responded that if there is any crime, it would be a federal crime.

There is no evidence that Barron acted intentionally or that Packer has been harmed in any way. But there is evidence that Allen and Brown acted intentionally. They were aware of the disclosure and made no effort to contact WFMZ-TV69 and ask that the number be blurred. That's the first thing Barron did when he became aware that the had accidentally provided a social security number, even though it is never identified as such.

This failure on their part was very intentional. They had no interest in protecting the privacy of county employees. They wanted to get Barron for refusing to circle the wagons like they did.

Once Lauer gave his opinion, Peg Ferraro attempted to change the subject. Ken Kraft attempted to defend Barron, but Hayden Phillips was unwilling to "bury my head in the sand." He was completely willing to do just that when it came to Packer and the CYF workforce. .

Bob Werner threw Barron under the bus, essentially accusing him of being unethical because the poor bastard was worried that we had employed an adoption supervisor who now stands accused of killing and then dismembering her adopted daughter.

Benol, who like Werner and Phillips, had clammed up two weeks ago when confronted by Durante, called Barron's disclosure "a political stunt." If anything was a political stunt, it was their own pathetic attempt to shift attention from their stonewalling, which continues to this day. If any crime was committed, the investigation should start with John Brown and Cathy Allen, who were aware of the disclosure and took no action until it suited them.

Barron and the Banks

Last week, Northampton County Controller Steve Barron did what he does best - spread manure. He does it from his mouth. In fact, he's so good at it that Upper Mount Bethel's new sludge facility should hire him. Let me give you the details.

Barron, who failed the bar exam, wants the County to sue a bank. Hey, who likes evil banks? So he's identified a target hated by one and all, except bankers. He claims that Mortgage Electronic Registry Systems (MERS), which tracks mortgages, has stiffed the County $6.81 million since 2004. In addition to firing off a memo to County Council, County Solicitor and Executive John Stoffa, he alerted the press to his very significant findings. Then he took it upon himself to appear at Council's Finance Committee hearing on Thursday and accuse MERS of fraud.

"The fraud exists," claims Barron, who should know that's a pretty serious accusation.

When you take out a mortgage with a bank, it is often sold (we call them assignments) to another bank. Not always. According to Barron, MERS refuses to record these assignments so it can avoid paying the recording fee, of which $30 goes to the County.

But looking at his own math, he's wrong.

Our numbers guy excels at self-promotion. Math, not so much.

In memos and news conferences, Barron claims that there have been 49,770 MERS mortgages since 2004. I'll agree because he got this information from the Recorder, instead of coming up with it himself. Now let's assume that every stinkin' one of these MERS mortgages was sold, but this holding company refuses to record the assignment. That would mean lost revenue to the County totaling $1.49 million over a period of 8 years. That's well below the $6.81 million figure Barron was using.

Let's assume that every one of these mortgages was sold twice. That's still only $2.98 million, not even close to Barron's figure.

For Barron's figure to be correct, every one of these mortgages would have to have been sold five times.

That's just nuts.

Barron claims he was turned on to this because his mortgage has been sold five times. But guess what? His holding company is not MERS. Moreover, Barron should know, after his T-Mobile experience, that using the power of his office to pursue a personal vendetta is, at the least, unprofessional. It makes one wonder about little things like extortion.

Barron points to Montgomery County, which is supposedly considering a class action lawsuit. But I've seen no action filed, just election year rhetoric.

Although MERS can be an annoyance, I've seen no groundswell of protest among title agents in Northampton or Lehigh County. They would know if there's a problem, not Barron. Mortgages are still being satisfied when they are paid off, at least in Northampton County. In fact, I'm unsure whether MERS even has a legal obligation to record an assignment every time a mortgage is sold. I mentioned all of this to Barron, right down to his bogus figures, right before he put on his little show last week. He agreed with me. Then went on to make the same claims, knowing he is fill of shit.

And he talks about fraud?

Do I think this should be investigated? Yes. Will it result in a $6.81 million windfall to the County? No. Has there been fraud, or anything remotely approaching fraud? No.

Does Barron know what he's talking about? I'll let you answer that one yourself.

Take Your Pick - Bonusgate or Political Witch Hunt?

Controller Steve Barron

UPDATED 11:30 AM: To Democrats on Northampton County Council and Controller Steve Barron, it's Bonusgate all over again. To Republicans, it's a "political witch hunt." To Executive John Brown, it's "an 'opinion' of a minority with an ax to grind." Those are the widely varying conclusions concerning a series of emails between Brown and his public relations consultant, Kim Plyler of Bethlehem-based Sahl Communications. They made for a rancorous County Council meeting on August 8.

Plyler's Sahl Communications  first signed with the County on February 8, 2014 in a controversial no-bid contract. All four Democrats on Council opposed it, and Controller Steve Barron sued to have the contract declared invalid, arguing that the contract should have been bid..

In response to Barron's lawsuit, filed on April 3, Brown relented, ended the contract and decided to seek bids for his public relations work. On July 3, he issued an Executive Order awarding the contract to Sahl again. This time, it is a one-year, $75,500, contract.

Because it's under $100,000, he needs no approval from Council.

Barron sued again. The controversial emails were produced as a result of discovery requests.

Barron presented them during the public comment portion of the meeting, going well beyond the five-minute time limit.

The Emails

The Controller was disturbed by email exchanges between Plyler and Brown, sent to his county email address, concerning "today's fundraising meeting"  Plyler also sent copies of this email to Matt Deibert and Lucy Lennon, two of Brown's political advisors. The email refers to notes from "today's fundraising meeting". Plyler requests an appointment at the courthouse to review those fundraising notes, and Brown sets up a noon meeting in his courthouse office.

"It is clear that Ms. Plyler is engaged in some sort of political fundraising while she's being paid by the County," observed Barron.

In an April 4, 2014 email exchange between Brown and Plyler, the Exec uses his county email address to discuss an upcoming Corbett fundraiser. Plyler jokes about the $500 per person price tag, saying it must be a Republican event. This email exchange occurred after Brown had ended his first contract with Plyler, but he's using his county email address. Plyler's contract had been suspended at that point, but she was paid for this month.

Barron also complained about Brown's fundraising involvement with Matt Deibert. He told Council that Deibert has had "disturbing interactions with county vendors" and "has made it very clear that if certain things are not done there will be consequences." He declined to name any of these vendors.

Bonusgate v. Political Witch Hunt

Council member Lamont McClure, a Democrat, called on Brown to end the Sahl contract that night. "This may be Bonusgate," he warned. "We clearly have evidence that public resources were being utilized for public purposes." He later added, "We don't need to use public money to set up a re-election campaign."

But Council member Mat Benol, a Republican, dismissed Barron's complaint as a "political with hunt" and "smoke and mirrors". He added that Barron himself had last year violated the Home Ruler Charter by teaching several classes in the middle of the day instead of working as a full-time Controller.

Defending himself, Barron stated he would be "derelict in my duty" if he failed to speak out.

"There should be concrete proof," Benol complained.

"You're holding it in your hand," retorted to McClure, referring to a copy of one of the emails.

Brown Calls Allegations Unfounded, Absurd

The usually subdued Brown mounted a vigorous defense of the Sahl contract and challenged the real motives of his accusers. "Sahl Communication has not and is not acting in any political support role on behalf of the Executive Office," he flatly stated, calling the accusations "without merit." He argued he has an obligation as Executive to meet with elected officials on all levels and to reach out to the business community.

Brown then lashed out at Council Democrats, as well as Barron.

He called the Controller's lawsuit a "baseless," "unfounded" and "absurd" waste of tens of thousands of dollars. He criticized Democrats on Council and Barron for promoting personal political agendas, disrupting his own initiatives and distracting the public from a very real financial crisis facing the County.

In Brown's eyes, the real problem is that revenue is only increasing $961,000 per year, while personnel costs alone are increasing by $3.9 million and the reserve fund is dry. In this environment, he insists that communication and understanding are critical.

"It is troubling that allegations are being made, while simultaneously the accusers acknowledge there is no supporting evidence," he maintained.

After he finished speaking, McClure asked Brown to just end the Sahl contract. But Brown responded he already said all he intends to say and would take no questions.

Benol Seeks Barron Emails, Phone Records

Benol has responded to the Barron disclosures about Brown with a "Right-to-Know" request seeking all emails between Barron and any members of Council over the past two years, as well as personal and County cell phone records.

Secrecy May Help Business, But It's Bad In Government

Northampton County Executive John Brown tells everyone that he's a product of the corporate world, and that he's bringing what he learned there to County government. It's the old "Let's run government like a business" mantra. That has a lot of popular appeal because, as we all know, government is very inefficient. But instead of bringing government efficiency to Northampton County, he's brought the very worst corporate practices to government. In a word, it's secrecy.

A Brown media event consists of reading a statement
and then walking out, with armed guards to protect him. 

Thanks to whatever Brown brought in from the business world, Northampton County is in the worst shape it has been since the inception of the Home Rule Charter. Morale is a real crisis. He refuses to listen to employees who are upset at reduced medical benefits. He instead pours salt into a gaping wound, adding that there will be no raises and that other benefits are being rolled back. Department heads have been instructed not to speak to the press, and may have been told to stay away from other elected officials as well. Some employees have been instructed to stay away from Council meetings. Consultant contracts have been piece-mealed to avoid Council scrutiny. Elected officials were barred from attending a routine news conference a few weeks ago. Then Brown posted armed guards at a subsequent media event last week, not to protect him from a credible threat, but from the people's own representatives on County Council. His latest move, according to The Express Times, is to block email blasts that Controller Steve Barron sent to County employees last week. He has even removed a link that enables employees to report suspected fraud. .

Control freaks may do quite well in corporate America. But in government, they are called totalitarians.

I have obtained copies of Barron's emails, and they are published below, in two separate posts.

The Online Fraud Link

The first email makes workers aware of a new online fraud reporting tool, Employees can remain anonymous. This protects them from repercussions against whistle blowers. These tools are common in local government, and exist in numerous Pennsylvania counties. This email and the online fraud link were entirely appropriate and well within Barron's role as Controller.

Aside from Barron's own time, no taxpayer resources were used.

Barron received this email from the County's IT person, Al Jordan, who actually works for Xerox and not the County.

Mr. Barron,

At the request of the administration the link has been removed from the web page. If you wish to discuss this matter please contact Cathy Allen or John Brown.

Thank you,

Al

To date, neither Brown nor Allen has responded to a telephone call from Barron, asking them to explain what authority they have to interfere with the business of an independently elected official.

Barron's Friday Mass Email

Barron's second email to the workforce appears to be the result of the link removal. He assures workers that the online reporting tool still works, though it was removed from his web page. Then he goes on to discuss a personnel matter. In fact, it's the same one I discussed here on Friday. That's fine on a blog, but likely has no place in a Controller's email.

Barron also repeats his argument that OT is less frequent when positions are fully staffed. This matter was the subject of an audit, and relates directly to his function as Controller.

Brown blocked this email. In fact, Barron apparently can no longer use the county email to contact anyone other than employees within his own office.

Mr. Barron,

At the request of the administration you access to send email to distribution groups outside of your office is being removed.

Sincerely,

Albert B. Jordan Jr.
Account Manager
Americas Local Government
Xerox State & Local Solutions, Inc.

Brown's actions were improper. There is no question that, in removing the fraud link, Brown interfered with the actions of an independently elected official. He actively interfered in the Controller's job duties. As for the second email , Barron did get involved in matters unrelated to his function, Nevertheless, Brown has no right to interfere with an independently elected office.

If this is countenanced, it is only a matter of time before he begins to interfere with the District Attorney and the Courts.

I won't speak for the business world, but government operates best when it's transparent. You don't have that when you block communications by independently elected officials, or post armed guards outside of what you call media events. Over the years, I have at times been highly critical of Barron. But he is the Controller, not me or Brown. He has the right to run his office as he sees fit.

Brown has abused his power. .

As our own legislature has stated, "[S]ecrecy in public affairs undermines the faith of the public in government and the public's effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society."

I have posted the link to the online fraud reporting tool on my left sidebar.

NorCo Controller Stonewalls RTKL Request

May 23, 2011: I file a Right to Know Law request with Controller Steve Barron, asking for copies of all correspondence, including emails, concerning unions, Gracedale and his latest crusade over asbestos. Although he is an independently elected official, he has no designated RTKL officer, nor is one identified on the County web page, as required by law.

May 26, 2011: Barron von Footinmouth's Solicitor, Tim Brennan, writes to tell me he is the open records officer. He immediately invokes the 30-day extension permitted by law.

June 24, 2011, 7:36 PM: Barronn refuses to produce the following:

- A 2/10 email from Barron to Gracedale Initiative Committee lawyer Larry Otter, in which Barron spills his guts and gives expert opinions and everything.

- A 3/7 email exchange between Barron and his Solicitor concerning the legal bills for Gracedale.

- A 3/31 email exchange between Barron and Council member Lamont McClure concerning their Gracedale strategy, and in which Barron apparently leaks information from his office.

- A 4/15 email exchange involving Barron, McClure, Gracedale lawyer Larry Otter and Solicitor Tim Brennan, concerning their Gracedale strategy, in which more information is leaked.

- A 4/16 continuation of the email exchange involving Barron, McClure and Otter, in which Barron is now leaking worse than my Jeep's gas tank.

- A 5/5 email exchange with Gracedale lawyer Larry Otter, in which Barron is apparently leaking his own investigation.

- He refuses to produce his email exchanges with union officials, County Council members as well as members of the Gracedale initiative committee. He claims they are really just mass emails. So what? I see no exception for that in the RTKL.

Barron does supply me with a few little juicy tidbits, here and there. It's pretty clearly that County Council President John Cusick and member Tom Dietrich were intent on embarrassing Ron Angle, and attempted to recruit Barron to come to a Dietrich committee and mouth off about Angle when he was absent.

Naturally, I intend to appeal this to the Office of Open Records. Also, since some of this information is discoverable and the Gracedale suit is still open, I'll just subpoena the email exchanges specific to Gracedale.

Maybe that's what I should have done in the first place.

Fox Calls Benol Out For Hypocrisy

Controller Steve Barron has suggest tighter internal controls over travel by county staffers. He also noted that the amount of money spent on "training" in Human Resources has skyrocketed. It's about ten times what it was before Brown took office. In what seems like a choreographed response to Barron, Executive John Brown used most of Council's Thursday night meeting to bash Barron. First, he had Trapp take the podium to explain that he's saved a million dollars in workers compensation costs, although the truth is that those savings actually began under Executive John Stoffa. Then he had Corrections Director Dan Keen come up and talk about active shooters and other problems that can happen at jails,even though Barron never questioned the money spent on training in Corrections. Finally, Mat Benol unleashed a vicious personal attack on Barron, claiming the position should be defunded. He even called Barron "corrupt," based on his incorrect assumption that Barron had personally profited from the use of an autodialer in John Morganelli's AG race.

Slate Belt resident Jeff Fox is a conservative who backed Hayden Phillips in the Controller's race against Barron. I doubt that he sees eye-to-eye with Barron on many things. But he saw through the nonsense spewed on Thursday night, and sent the letter below to Benol,with copies to every Council member.

Matt Benol,

After reading and viewing the meeting of 5/4/17, I do have a few comments.

In my humble opinion, it seems that you are the one being extremely partisan. Your role on council, once elected, should be about issues and policies which serve the county and its' citizens, taxpayers, well. You work for all. Not just R's. Saving money is saving money. The controller position is an important one, especially for the taxpaying citizens of Northampton County. Defunding this position, even if legal, is not even a reasonable suggestion. The controller is doing his job. Council, including you, should do theirs.

According to the article posted on Lehigh Valley Live by John Best, you said..."... Barron should have sat down with the HR department and discussed how the money was spent before sending a memo out with accusations of abuse and overspending."... Did you sit down with Mr. Barron to discuss these issues as you suggested Mr. Barron should have done? Do as I say not as I do? You publicly attacked Mr. Barron for doing his job. Did you speak to him, man to man, before you did so publicly? Who is politically motivated? Enough with the politics! Grow up and remember for whom you work. This is just one example of many which have prompted me to leave the republican party after 30+ years. Too much petty party partisan politics which interfere with what is in the best interest of We the People!

Jeffrey Fox

In Defense of Trips to Las Vegas

Last month, Controller Steve Barron submitted a troubling memo to Northampton County Council, suggesting that stronger internal controls are needed over the amount of money spent on travel and related expenses. What bothered him were trips to New Orleans and Las Vegas by Human Resources staffers, as well as a staggering jump in training for Human Resources (HR), where spending increased from $5,749.35 in 2015 to $56,758.15 in 2016. He never even got into HR Director Amy Trapp's decision to blow $800 on a popcorn machine, or thousands of dollars spent on Target gift cards with no accountability. At a Council meeting later that week, Mat Benol dismissed Barron's report as "one of those knee-jerk things that our Controller has done to try to make the Executive look bad. I'm just getting tired of it." Amy Trapp herself was unavailable, but was at last night's meeting to explain why all this spending was so necessary. Though Barron never criticized the money spent on training by Corrections Director Dan Keen, he was called forth to explain how the training at the jail saves lives. And Benol renewed his attacks on Barron. Instead of responding to the message, he attacked the messenger. He wants to defund the Controller.

Trapp justified the conferences in Las Vegas and New Orleans. She indicated the trip to Las Vegas was to learn how to use a software system, and that is the only place where the training is done.

Her justification for the New Orleans trip for workers compensation was that it had been recommended by the third party administrator and saved the County money. She noted that the County spent $1.4 million on workers compensation claims in 2015, but only $595,000 in 2016. She implied that the County saved all this money on workers compensation because of that New Orleans trip.

That is a flawed argument because the New Orleans trip was in the end of 2016, between November 29 and December 2. That trip could have only affected workers compensation matters after December 2.

She also claimed that the money spent on training reduced turnover by about five per cent. Turnover may have been reduced in 2016 over 2015, but no evidence linked reduced turnover with the increased training.Moreover, she herself indicated that the county's turnover rate last year was 15% and that the average in the public sector is 10-12%.

It's unclear whether anyone aside from Benol or Seth Vaughn was persuaded by her spiel.

Matt Dietz asked her whether she shopped around for the best hotel rates. Trapp attempted to justify paying more at the Mirage Hotel. Dietz stated that his job requires him to travel and his company shops for the best rates. He noted that there are workers comp classes in Pennsylvania.

Bob Werner pointed out that Trapp is in charge of the policies for travel and meals. She admitted she scheduled the trip. He pointed that the policy requires government employees who travel o get discounted and low rates. Then Trapp said that someone else scheduled the trip "This was absolutely in your area of expertise," Werner told her. "I don't think this was done as well as it could have been done." He also noted that Trapp is using savings in 2016 to justify a trip at the end of 2016.

"There are questions here that should have been reviewed before the trip," he said.

Seth Vaughn then said he was encouraged by Trapp for "seizing these opportunities." He believed that a trip to New Orleans at the end of 2016 saved the county $1 million in 2016. Even though it didn't.

"This is nothing more than a political hit piece," said Mat Benol, "and I'm going to address the gorilla in the room." He called Barron's report "false news."

After Trapp was done, Brown then decided to call Corrections Director Dan Keen to justify his training expenditures, even though Barron had no complaints about the amount of money his department spent on training. Keen, who was away from his job at least 39 times over the past two years, spoke about the importance of training, though what he did has nothing to do with New Orleans or Las Vegas.

"God forbid, look what happened in Delaware," he said, though I had no idea what he was talking about.

Then he started talking about active shooters in prison lobbies, and I suppose that's a justification for trips to Las Vegas and New Orleans.

After they were done, Benol said he wants to do something to Barron because he has a history of violating the Home Rule Charter and Administrative Code. Then he slammed Barron for getting $22,100 from DA John Morganelli when he ran for Attorney General. He noted that Barron failed to report this on his ethics report. "He's nothing more than a corrupt officer," said Benol. "The optics of this stinks."

He went on to say that Barron's salary be defunded.

He seemed to think that money was going into Barron's pocket, but this accusation is false. As Benol might say, false news. Barron owns an autodialer, and Morganelli gave him money so he could purchase time on it for calls made by Morganelli. None of that money went into Barron's pocket.

Instead of paying attention to the message, the Brown administration went after the Controller. He was called "corrupt" for pointing out that Human Relations is blowing taxpayer money like drunken sailors.

The whole point of bringing this situation to Council now, instead of September, was to keep it from becoming political. But it will be political now. I am sure voters will have a different view of Barron's memo than the one offered by Benol.

NorCo: A Bad Audit and The Case of the Missing KnickKnacs

According to Northampton County's independent auditor, the County is in desperate financial straights. That's what Nancy Gunza, a CPA with CliftonLarsonAllen, told Council's Finance Committee on June 18. The unrestricted reserve at the end of last year was down to $11.1 million. In a county that spends $9-10 million per month, that's an uh oh.  .

It's also way below the six months reserve recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association as a "best practice."

This is no shocker. Acting Fiscal Affairs Director Doran Hamann has been warning that we are dipping into reserves at an unhealthy pace for several years. But he's been ignored by a Council with its head in the sand, unwilling to face reality, especially when a Council member and Controller claim all is well.

The Barron Budgets

Two years ago, when Hamann first started raising red flags, Barron derided what he called the "the Chicken Little theory of budgeting," Barron insisted that the fund balance would be fine no matter how gloomy a forecast is provided. "If you're going to raise taxes and do that, I wouldn't swallow it very well as a taxpayer," he advised.

Because there are few things Barron von Footinmouth won't swallow, Council was only all too happy to go along.

Barron predicted there would actually be an $8 million increase in the County's fund balance, in contrast to Hamann's more somber forecast that the balance would drop.

Fast forward a few months later, and it turned out that Barron had been dead wrong. Instead of the $8 million increased fund balance that Barron had promised, it decreased by $2.25 million.

Barron was only off by $10.2 million.

Then Executive John Stoffa told Council,

"If I were to die tonight, my words of wisdom to you would be don't ever accept numbers from anyone in this County other than Doran Hamann. When it comes to numbers, Doran is our most valuable player. There is no one in the County who understands our financial situation better, and it is unfortunate that our Controller made this erroneous prediction without understanding the difference between a cash system of accounting and modified accrual."

Stoffa, of course, was ignored, along with Hamann. That was evident by Council member Ken Kraft's reaction to an independent CPA's gloomy financial assessment last week. He repeatedly tried to claim that she had missed $25 million.

What happened to $25 million stabilization fund?

Kraft insisted that the $11.1 million figure quoted by Gunza is in addition to the County's $25 million stabilization, or rainy day, fund. In fact, he was sure that $25 million is there "to keep this ship going" in the event of a catastrophe.

It's not there.

"We have a $25 million stabilization fund that we're not allowed to touch," he argued.

"You had $25 million," responded the County's Fiscal Director, Doran Hamann. "I think the word is you 'had' 25." The MVP added that last year, "We spent $14 million in excess of our revenues," which brought the stabilization fund down from a healthy $25 million to an unhealthy $11.1 million. Hamann also warned Council last year, during budget hearings, that the County would need to dip heavily into reserves because it was spending more than it was taking in.

Gunza added that the total fund balance at the end of last year was just $28 million.

Still perplexed, Kraft asked Controller Steve Barron to name the $25 million rainy day fund. Barron stumbled for words, while Gunza and Hamann both explained a second time that it is called a stabilization fund.

To be fair, Northampton County is by no means unique. Gunza later told Council member Bob Werner that "quite a few" other municipalities are "struggling" with low fund balances.

McClure denied deficit prior to audit report

Council member Lamont McClure unsuccessfully ran for Executive last year on a no-tax pledge. Barron, who endorsed McClure several times, introduced him to AFSCME supporters and told people around the courthouse that he would be the next Director of Fiscal Affairs, replacing Hamann. Kraft was at McClure's announcement, too, though he claimed to be neutral.

According to McClure, everything's fine. We even have the money to bail out millionaire golf course developers whose businesses have tanked. We might need to stop spending money on treating inmates, though.

They don't vote.

A few weeks ago, Council member Hayden Phillips opposed open space projects that include a defunct golf course because "[w]e don't have the money. We shouldn't be spending it."

Council member Lamont McClure, however, denied a deficit even exists. "We are not deficit spending," he asservated.. "The money from the fund balance was over taxation."

"We won't be paying our expenses this year with this year's revenue," noted Phillips. "Isn't that the definition of deficit spending?"

According to McClure, the answer is No. But to the County's independent auditor, the answer seems to be Yes.

McClure would not know this because he was absent from the Finance Committee meeting in which the independent auditor revealed exactly what is going on. He missed it the last time she came, too. .

Barron and McClure try the old switcheroo. 

To anyone willing to look at County finances objectively, it's obvious that Controller Steve Barron and Lamont McClure have been more than willing to spend the rainy day fund. It's an old tactic that has been employed time and again by politicians who lack the political will to do what is right.

It's how you end up with a 70% tax hike, which happened in Lehigh County. It's how you end up with a 63% tax hike, which happened in Northampton County during the Glenn Reibman era.

It's also how you end up with 11 unions when workers start getting laid off.

Barron, McClure and Kraft all deny there's even a problem. While Kraft has demonstrated an ability to read union and vendor contracts in his years on Council, he has just betrayed a disturbing ignorance of County finances.

Well, there's no way you can sweep that audit under the rug. So what they have done instead is try very hard to switch the subject.

They now are really, really, really, really upset that someone has been stealing knickknacks from the new centralized human services building, and are demanding answers. It must be those damn nonunion custodial workers.

If any of you have ever worked for a big employer, you know that petty thefts occur. It's as inevitable as the rain. If you leave something on your desk or in an unlocked drawer, it might not be there the next day. The cleaning staff is always blamed, though I suspect that sometimes, people are just forgetful.

Instead of addressing a  $14 million in deficit spending, Controller Steve Barron has his magnifying glass out, and is hot on the trail of these thefts. He made three unsolicited reports to Council last week, hoping they forget about that nasty audit.

What makes this great for Barron, who likes to advise union agents on whether they are getting the best bang for their buck with proposed union contracts, is that he can blame a nonunion company for stealing. He's honed in on a privatized, $51,000 custodial contract with ServiceMaster, a nonunion outfit, for the new centralized human services building. "The AFSCME union that does the cleaning in the building didn't necessarily sign off on this," he warned. He also has raised privacy concerns, and wants a confidentially agreement signed.

Now ServiceMaster does criminal background checks on everyone who works at that building. The Sheriff's Department and DA's office were apprised that someone might have sticky fingers. I doubt the Sheriff is notified when someone steals knickknacs at Gracedale. I know it does not happen at the courthouse, where small thefts sometime occur.

An indignant Lamont McClure feigned shock, absolute shock, that Council was not told.

"This is the first time I'm hearing of this," he disingenuously stated.

"Were we made aware of this?" asked Bob Werner

Eventually, both Executive John Brown and Acting Sheriff Chris Ziegler had to explain that a few human services employees experienced some petty thefts.

I was unaware that County Council doubles as an Investigating Grand Jury.

Of course, it does not. McClure and Barron don't give a rat's ass about missing knickknacks, or they would have convened an Inquisition by now about the petty thefts at the courthouse alone.

The purpose here was to deflect attention away from a bad audit, and muddy up a privatized nonunion business.

The ole switcheroo.