Gloria Hamm has oxygen tubes running up her nose, and Sterling Raber's arm is in a sling after breaking his collarbone last week. They both had pretty good excuses to take a summer's night off, but they were still present at last night's fifty-minute meeting of Lehigh County Commissioners. After listening to a spirited address by Chairman Percy Dougherty, they may be preparing for war against ineffectual legislators in the land of midnight payraises. One of the items considered was a proposed grant of about $100 thousand to an alphabet soup of nonprofits for participation in Lehigh County's "MORE for Children" program. As explained by sponsor Dan McCarthy, this is a program administered through the school districts, for field trips to places like Lehigh Valley Zoo and Allentown Art Museum. Hotel tax, and not real estate revenue, is used to fund this grant.
Although Dougherty supports this "very important" initiative, he notes that "[i]t doesn't appear like there's going to be speedy conclusion" to Harrisburg's state budget gridlock. He claimed everyone, from Governor Rendell to legislators from both parties, are at fault.
"This is probably the largest pending disaster that I have seen for the County since I have been a County Commissioner." Having just returned from a CCAP conference, he then explained how other counties are preparing.
"Some of the counties are already putting into effect programs where they're cutting back on staffing, where they're starting to cut programs, and for want of a better term, they're putting into effect triage types of systems. So by a certain date, if we do not have a budget, they are going to start to cut programs, and these are programs that most of us consider absolutely necessary. ... We are going to have to look at this very carefully if there's not a budget solution soon."
Commissioners throughout the counties are even thinking "that if the legislators don't come up with a solution, that county commissioners from every county declare that they're going to run against the elected officials in Harrisburg so that we can get something done. It's getting nasty out there."
You can see Dougherty's video here. Careful! It's hot!
Meanwhile, over in the People's Republic of Northampton County, where County Exec John Stoffa runs around flipping off light switches, Finance Chair Lamont McClure has no worries. He's conducted just four budget meetings this year, half the usual number for previous years.
14 comments:
Maybe this would be a good time for county commissioners to look at ways to cut some of their spending. Just an idea.
Scott Armstrong
They will have no choice if the state remains gridlocked.
This budget process has become a debacle. The priority task of presenting a balanced budget has become hostage to all things political. Maybe it IS time to vote them all out. Some have been there WAY TOO LONG. It seems like Harrisburg has become more and more out of touch. Out of touch with the working man and woman, out of touch with the needs of our most vulnerable citizens, and out of touch with the concept of a citizen legislature. Just plain out of touch...period.
Where are the local state pols on this?
I get money-wasting franked mail telling me how great they are when they're using tax dollars to promote their re-election. How about a couple of sentences regarding an issue of actual importance? Except for Dally (who's leaving anyway) the rest of the space-fillers have been silent.
It's time to cut the size of our sinfully large and unproductive legislature. Half the number of asses could perform just as incompetently as the whole pile of waste. We're being ill-served by pension grabbers who don't really care about public service.
I think the LV, with some exceptions, has a pretty good delegation. I'll try to get some answers.
Where do you think our Lehigh Valley delegation "rests"...the D's are aligned on one side, the R's are aligned on the other. It's almost like each is reluctant to move forward at all until it's safe and secure to do so, without upsetting their respective leadership. How much are we paying them? How much do we give them for per diem? How many days are they in session? What type of health care do we provide them? Not to mention the pension plan we provide them, which they voted to increase by what was it...50 percent? Smart enough to suspend the rules to allow for the midnight pay raise but not smart enough to learn the art of compromise and deliver a workable budget. Please. Something has to change.
THings are going to have to change. We're basically broke, on every level. I'm a book worm and I can tell you that the Northampton Library is closed on Fridays now because of budget concerns and the Allentown library has a sign warning patrons that free Internet access will probably end soon for the same reason.
Christ O'Hare, what do you weigh now, 450?
The budget impasse is GOOD. So what that "programs" are being cut. Most government programs should be cut!! Finally, government has gotten too big on all levels for US TAXPAYERS to support. Whether its the State of California, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of New York, Bethlehem Area School District, or even Lehigh County, the roosters are coming home to roost. I could careless if PennDOT, Social Services or any of the State functions shut down except for the Court and Penal Systems. So there.
"Christ O'Hare, what do you weigh now, 450?"
Why? Are you sexually attracted to me?
Marc,
The budget process at every level of government is a joke.
Operating deficits. Filling the holes with borrowed money. Over promising and under delivering. The inability for politicans to say "no" to almost any request.
The irresponsibility of almost all politicians has been unbelievable.
We have to live within our means.
What does that mean?
We have to stop borrowing. We have to prioritize. We have to say "no" a bit more often. Government has to realize that "wish lists" are nice, but we have to have the means to pay for them.
The whole situation that has been created over decades is going to end in an ugly way. When politicians come to grips with reality, sooner rather than later, we can minimize the negative impacts. The longer we delay the tough decisions, the uglier the result.
Marc,
The budget process at every level of government has "become a debacle".
Politicians who can say "no" to no group or request. Overpromising and underdelivering. Filling budget holes with borrowed money. Claiming that grants are "free" money - when it is from taxpayers. Government on its endless quest to do more "good things" that it cannot afford. A lack of prioritization.
The longer politician continue this dangerous and fiscally irresponsible public giveaway mentality will only lead to a dangerous future.
The sooner politicians deal with reality, the lesser the pain.
But let's keep going full speed ahead. And the problems and consequences will be greatly magnified.
That is the failure of leadership that more and more Americans are complaining about.
Oops, sorry. I had an error displayed with my first post! Sorry for the double posting.
Well Joe,
I respect your opinion. I might not agree with it, but I respect it all the same. The point I am trying to make is that we get what we deserve. If you look at the tenure of our legislature, you can see that many in our valley delegation are in what I call "preservation mode". How do you expect any change to come down the pike when the same seats are held by the same people for decades plus. Some promise to "only" serve four terms, and then forget their promises. that's why I like Pat...he said three terms, then he kept his word and left to go back to the real world. How many choose that path? Instead they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in PSA's promoting their efficiency. Just look at the republican calendar of events from the LCRC. Already there are fundraisers for next year for our state reps. As if they don't have enough in their coffers. Pat kept his word, others noteably have forgotten. Back to the budget,all sides should have seen this coming as far back as February of this year. But it seems that no one was proactive. So now the school districts and the counties must suffer the consequences. It hurts real people Joe. There are real people behind every budget, be it state, county, or municipal. And I agree, for every budget there has to be a revenue source, and spending and revenue should be balanced. With little burden to the taxpayers. But the state has neglected it's responsibility in this case, and to tell you the truth..it is teeing a lot of people off.
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