This is Lehigh County Commissioner Dean Browning's favorite time of the year. A finance maven, he loves to review budgets. In fact, when County Executive Don Cunningham released his budget for next year, I sat down for breakfast with Dean, hoping to pick up a few pointers and write a story. I took copious notes, but when it came time to write a story, I realized I never understood a damn word he said. I understood that the county is spending more money than it takes in, but little else.I'm a Democrat.
Lehigh County Republicans, who get touchy about that sort of thing, have adopted a resolution that repeats the "fiscally irresponsible" mantra about a gazillion times. Tonight, when commissioners hold their final budget hearing at 6 PM, Cunningham is concerned commissioners will cut "millions of dollars" in the following areas:
* Quality of Life grants to more than 20 cultural arts and community organizations
* Farmland preservation
* Open space preservation
* Borough revitalization funding
* Community partnership grants for townships
* Community police matching grants
* Urban parks funding
* Brownfield/industrial land economic development
* Regional economic development funding
* Passenger rail study/mass transit funding
He has already notified nonprofits and other special interest groups they may want to attend tonight's meeting.
So what's going on? That's where Dean Browning enters the picture. I'll let him tell you himself in the next post.
32 comments:
gee, maybe they're right.
or maybe cunningham's ridiculously popular, and the republicans just realized 09 is donnie's re-elect year.
hmmm, which sounds more like the republican party we know...
At least LC has a two party debate going on. In NC, the only debate is who runs the one party goon squad.
This has nothing to do with politics.
The "surplus" is left over from Jane Ervin's 70% tax hike, which Don Cunningham (rightly) campaigned against. However, instead of returning it to the taxpayers, the county is inventing new ways to spend it.
The proposed county budget overspends by $12 MILLION, and eats into what's left of the Ervin surplus. While the overspending may be covered this year, $12 MILLION in overspending is unsustainable and irresponsible. The "surplus" will quickly disappear and a tax hike will be the only alternative.
Given the current financial situation in the country, ALL government entities would be wise to tighten their belts and cut their budgets. The focus (and funding) should be on the essential duties of county government.
You won't like what happens in the future if our commissioners don't act now.
If marijuana was legal and taxed like alcohol and tobacco, how much money could it bring in to cash-strapped state governments?
There is nothing "fiscally irresponsible" about Cunningham's budget. He keeps spending under control, and there really aren't many places in which to make cuts. I think the resolution adopted by LC Rs is a little reckless, but think all commissioners, including the Dems, will look closely for areas in which to make cuts.
There just aren't that many places.
Cutting funding from Urban Parks will certainly impact my voting next election cycle.
All the parks in the cities are owned by the cities but used by many, many residents outside the city while many parks outside the cities are owned and maintained by the county but used by few urban residents.
Here are a few county parks:
Lehigh County Sports Fields (SW)
Lock Ridge Park (Alburtis)
Jordan Creek Parkway (Whitehall)
South Mountain Big Rock Park (Salisbury/Upper Saucon)
Leaser Lake (Lynn)
Lehigh County Game Preserve (N Whitehall)
Rodale Cycling and Fitness Park (Upper Mucungie)
The Veldrome (Upper Mucungie)
. . . see a pattern here?
I agree.
County government only see our cities as dumping grounds for the social ills of our region.
Funding the rail study would demonstrate they are at least interested in hearing the facts. If they don't that tells me the don't even care what the facts are and their personal biases will suit them just fine.
At the end of the day, I think they will do the right thing. Maybe the rail study will show it is not a good idea just yet.
... sorry for the bad spelling !
My spelling is worse than anyone's in the comments. Don't apologize.
Dean Browning better get with flow. He was elected, in part, by promising a tax cut. Did not happen. Then we republicans asked why he changed his vote on the $1 million grant to Allentown for police use. We all know that Pawlowski will use the money for whatever he likes. Why did Browingin change his mind on this when he already knew that the county was in financial difficulty?
Where are the answers to the promises Dean Browning made to his constituents???
And yes why must city residents pay for the parks outside the city, parks that we never use? How about a part fee for the use of the Park?
Why must we give salary increases to public workers? Many of us have not had an increase for two years. If a city worker does not get an increase let him or her quit and find a job somewhere else. (And that includes judges, their staff and other "professional employees) That is our option and it should be theirs' also.
The citizens of this country were supposed to control government and now it obvious, the government controls the citizen.
The prophet
By the way Bernie, what the heck did Browning say in your interview? He is beginning to sound like Pawlowski.
Bernie -
You wrote that "There is nothing "fiscally irresponsible" about Cunningham's budget."
How else would you describe a budget with a $12 million operating deficit while adding additional programs?
The bill will come due.
Anon 1:33, It is fiscally responsible bc there is plenty of money to pay for everything. There will be a deficit this year but there is plenty in reserve. Having said that, I think it is time to look for areas where cuts can be made, as Dean has suggested. I don't honsetly think there's a lot of room.
Bernie -
You may be right about not having much room, which is one of the reasons why I have a problem with growing the county budget by adding the county COPS program (among other things).
County government cannot continue to spend today and commit county taxpayers to a tax increase in the future while acting as though everything is OK. That's what is irresponsible.
If anyone should shoulder a tax increase for Allentown's failure to adequately fund their police force, it should be city - not county - taxpayers.
And for the record, I live in Allentown.
Because Lehigh County spends $.70 of every dollar on crime issues, (this includes prosecuting and housing criminals) it makes sense to spend SOME money to help prevent crime, which will then lower the $.70 of every dollar that is currently being spent.
Lynn
Cunny's been working off the previous administration's debit card. He's had a free ride until now. His spending is outpacing revenue, yet he's responsible? In my house, that's considered irresponsible. George Orwell, can you help me here?
Lynn -
County funding for local responsibilities creates the false public perception that ordinary street crime is a county responsibility. It is not. This allows local officials to shift accountability for local crime away from themselves and toward the county government when they fail to devote adequate resources to fighting crime.
The proposed COPS program is a sham for Allentown. The city has record revenues, yet has kept the police force staffed at record lows. City Hall has added positions over the last six years, yet the police force has gone down.
The current administration even adopted a new tax (the EMS tax) with the claim that it would put more cops on the street. Still, we have fewer officers than we did just a few years ago.
The city has the money for more police, City Hall just doesn't have the will to cut its own excess spending in other areas.
The proposed budget shows that county government is already spending more than it takes in for current county functions by about $12 million. Taxpayers throughout the county shouldn't have to pay for the city's ineptitude as well.
The Wall Street meltdown is caused by excessive borrowing. The Bailout Bill includes bailing out government debt.
Yes, cuts are hard. However, continual deficit spending at all levels of government by BOTH parties will only create a greater fiscal problem in the future. Government has to stop living on credit cards or the quick depletion of surpluses and fund balances.
We all have to live within our means. That includes government.
Any other position is irresponsible and selfish because future generations will have to pay for our greed as a society.
There might not be much room for cost reduction, but that is not any reason not to consider Mr. Brownings ideas as positive ones.
The 'rail study' is nothing more than a sham. The only rail project potentially out there is to extend service to Phillipsburg from Northern Jersey. That is a New Jersey project. How is $250,000 going to show anything? Is it a study of how to extend service from Phillipsburg to Easton? And if Jersey doesn't extend service, what will be the point of that.
Such fishing expeditions can be cut easily and studies performed when the picture is more clear.
The parks and police funding is exactly the wrong approach to take to fortifying the cities. A study would be beneficial on how the three cities could annex some of the surrounding townships to restore a tax base.
In Northampton County John Stoffa lives off the huge surplus left by the Reibman Administration. Even sitting on that huge pot of taxpayer money he raises taxes anyway.
Do government employees ever get laid off like they do in the private sector when times are tough? Isn’t it interesting that the nation’s largest union is made of people who work for government. What is clear is that government at all levels is growing far beyond the bounds of both original intent and modern practicability.
Scott Armstrong
Scott Armstrong --
Thank you. That was well put.
We're just feeding the beast with all this government spending.
Browning, Eckart and Roman each looked silly tonight. Most of the votes fell 6-3 against their ammendments (meaning that two republicans were voting against them... we call that bipartisan opposition). What's more, they kept screaming that tax rates were going to jump in the future without even admitting that the budget this year is very very conservative on the revenue side. If revenue bounces back to pre-recession growth, this whole exercise will have been to stroke the egos of three very silly looking men. I swear Eckart enjoys just listening to himself and can't tolerate when somebody else gets the last word.
Bill Leiner looked like a champion up there. Wish we could have more like him. It was particularly great when he called Roman out on the fact that he cut off floor time to the audience, leaving the president of allentown city council and a long time civic leader standing at the podium unable to make comments. Jones and Leiner were both stellar in calling Roman out for his poor leadership as the committee chair during the meeting. Funny, if Eckart and Browning were held to the same time limits, the evening wouldn't have last 3.5 hours.
Ask the hard questions folks, but don't let it turn into the Three Studges. That's what I saw tonight.
Anonn 11:49
Good post. You want to know what Northampton County was like pre-Stoffa ? It was what you described and more, much more with Ron Angle.
He will take 3 hours just to set up his questions. He has been viewed as a disagreeable ass.
The only way it stopped was when his hand-picked candidate John Stoffa won and did what Angle told him.
it's worth noting that Browning, while calling the budget fiscally irresponsible, voted to provide another 100k in taxpayer dollars to the Trexler Game Preserve. His words of irresponsibility ring hollow.
To Scott Armstrong -- laying off government workers to simply lay them off because the so called private sector does it? Give me a break. Maybe at the state level, but locally, I am not sure that any local government (county and muni) have too many workers. Lay them off and nothing will get done. Maybe you and others would like to wait in long lines of an hour or more to pay your taxes, log complaints, ask questions about zoning and permits, etc... Not sure Americans are willing to do that, but if they want to, then so be it. Lay off the local government workers, but, don't go to council and complain about the garbage and filth in your neighborhood or the lack of any service at Town Hall.
" ... I am not sure that any local government (county and muni) have too many workers."
Bawhahahahahahaha! Now THAT'S funny!
Google
October 3, 2008
America pays the piper, big time pt.1
Robert Parry: After 28 years of drunken optimism and blind nationalism the US wakes up to a grim future
Anon 9:24,
You can't be serious? Allentown has ADDED 49 bureaucrats since 2001. Not Police - they have been drastically reduced. Not fire. Not workers who fix the streets and perform other vital tasks.
Paper shufflers. Jobs for political hacks. "Analysts" - Crime and budget - who don't analyze anything. Extra management. Second Mayors. I can go on and on.
Government, at all levels, is the fastest growing "industry" in the country. But, much like the mortgage meltdown, its day is coming. And much sooner than I even realized. The day of feeding at the taxpayer trough will end brutally in the near future.
yes, Joe. it is true. Neo-con policies have finally succeeded in bankrupting the economy, our country and our communities. You and the ilk must be proud.
i can't wait to hear how you will try to blame this on the godless liberals, socialists and Democrat (not democratic) Party.
"Anonymous said...
To Scott Armstrong -- laying off government workers to simply lay them off because the so called private sector does it? Give me a break. Maybe at the state level, but locally, I am not sure that any local government (county and muni) have too many workers. Lay them off and nothing will get done. Maybe you and others would like to wait in long lines of an hour or more to pay your taxes, log complaints, ask questions about zoning and permits, etc... Not sure Americans are willing to do that, but if they want to, then so be it. Lay off the local government workers, but, don't go to council and complain about the garbage and filth in your neighborhood or the lack of any service at Town Hall."
Is ths the best you can do to defend the government bloat? Please do better next time.
Scott Armstrong
" Anonymous said...
yes, Joe. it is true. Neo-con policies have finally succeeded in bankrupting the economy, our country and our communities. You and the ilk must be proud.
i can't wait to hear how you will try to blame this on the godless liberals, socialists and Democrat (not democratic) Party."
Can we raise the level a bit here?
Scott Armstrong
Scott Armstrong
Anon 1039
You must be a fast typist. Just don't slur your typing like many joe's slur their speech, otherwise you might cross the grammar divide and be sent to blog pergatory.
You should of "have" used a dictionary.
Its a folksy thing.
Regards,
Joe sixpack
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