Local Government TV

▼

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Northampton County Inches Towards $30 MM Bond

It would be hard to call Northampton County exec John Stoffa enthusiastic as the county inches its way towards its biggest spending plan since its 2001 $111 million megabond. That one promised 30,000 jobs, but actually resulted in county layoffs and two tax increases.

But Northampton County Council is hell bent on spending money even though it's fairly obvious that the administration has a lot of work to do, and yesterday's finance committee meeting resulted in a unaimous vote to move ahead with a $30 million bond at full speed.

"Wayne never met a bond issue he didn't like," noted Ron Angle, and Wayne Grube actually agreed with him.

Council prez Ann McHale added, "I never met a bond issue I didn't like, either."

Get the picture?

Here's the plan so far.

New parking deck - $16.1 million.
Stand alone archives building - $4 million.
Juvenile Justice Center Expansion - $5 million.
Old courthouse replacement windows - $2 million.
Demolition of old parking deck - $4 million.

The Morning Call has a few more details, but not much.
at

12 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 5, 2008 at 8:33 AM

    These bonds work out really well for NorCo taxpayers. Stoffa is simply Reibman-light.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 5, 2008 at 9:41 AM

    the new parking deck was estimated at 35 to 40 million just a few months ago... now how can the finance c claim it will only be 16 million plus 4 million to tear down the old parking deck. Talk about fuzzy math !!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 5, 2008 at 9:48 AM

    Does Stoffa ever show emotion? stiff!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bernie O'HareJune 5, 2008 at 11:58 AM

    The reason there are different prices is bc the parking deck being considered is a smaller verson, a Phase 1 of what was originally proposed. No fuzzy math.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bernie O'HareJune 5, 2008 at 11:59 AM

    Does Stoffa ever show emotion? stiff!

    What does this have to do w/ anything?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 5, 2008 at 12:14 PM

    If the deck is smaller, why bother building it. I will still be too small when it is completed. Remember the prison ? The answer is to move some services out or that area to other locations where a large parking lot can cheaply be built. Not that the housing boom went bust a lot of farmers in the Gracedale area would love to sell off land for such a purpose. It is going to have to happen someday with the rapidly expanding county. It is foolish to expect that small location to be able to handle the rapidly expanding populations that have happened over the past 10 years. I like Stoffa and I voted for him, but thinking that NCGC area can support the entire county today and tomorrow is just poor planning.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bernie O'HareJune 5, 2008 at 12:25 PM

    Anon 12:14, You may be entirely correct, and I'll agree that it was a big mistake to stop doing a 5 year plan.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJune 5, 2008 at 1:00 PM

    Reading liberal talk about re-establishing Five-Year Plans gives a warm feeling down my leg; not unlike Chris Matthews for Barack Obambi.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJune 10, 2008 at 6:50 PM

    We have to prepare for the future. My six year-old son is being groomed to work two full-time jobs. So he can pay his taxes as an adult, and our multiple bonds we left him, when I'm dust.

    Sorry Son, I tried.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bernie O'HareJune 10, 2008 at 10:18 PM

    Tom, Are you suggesting that we somehow fund these major capitol projects w/o a bond? Are you saying we don't really need these things?

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJune 10, 2008 at 11:12 PM

    I'm saying WE allowed our council to paint themselves into a corner. Wasteful spending, poor planning, and an attitude that tax payers are bottomless sources of money, have lead us to this situation.

    Let me soften the blow, and put this in a better prospective, with a little irony. Don't' think of it as money, but as new curtains. Old courthouse replacement windows is only 4 sets of new curtains. Demolition of old parking deck is only 8 sets of new curtains.

    See my point? We had the money, and they wasted it. So the solution is to give 'them' more money?

    The only positive thing that will result from this move will your blog will have endless source of material for years to come. Instead of wasted bond issue of 2001, we'll be talking about 2008.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousJune 11, 2008 at 12:56 AM

    The bond of 2001 can be viewed many ways. The success of Commerce Way and the Angle attended ceremony, blies his violent attacks on the Bond and Reibman. Some like O'Hare will damn that Bond, as will hypocrites like Angle. But I believe Reibman actually believed in it.
    Stoffa on the other hand seems to listlessly drift into this Bond. As is his style, is he for it or against it? It depends on the political winds.
    The pay to play folks who proped him and it up have filled this baby with so much newly discovered pork, that it makes the 2001 Bond as conservative as George W. Bush.
    You can attack County Council but this is Mr. Stoffa's baby and if it is hatched he is the Mother, end of story.

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.