Dent Condemns Callahan's Fiscal Mismanagement

"Where's the Mayor. By the way, where's the Mayor?"

That's the question Democratic City Council member David DiGiacinto asked after being told about Bethlehem's $8.5 million negative fund balance last year. Business Administrator Dennis Reichard defended the fiscal mismanagement by saying, "This isn't stuff that anybody's going to jail on."

LV Congressman Charlie Dent has reacted to Callahan's red ink with this statement:

“Mayor Callahan needs to stop making the false claim he has balanced six city budgets. Mayor Callahan has tried to hide the truth from the people of Bethlehem, and now he’s just in hiding.

“Here’s John Callahan’s record: Bethlehem’s budget deficit was $3.2 million in 2008, $5.3 million in 2009, and is on its way to another deficit this year. To pay bills Callahan has raided funds, such as the Parking Authority and Water Authority, and even borrowed the earned-income tax money being held for other municipalities. Of course he broke his promise to provide an immediate tax cut with Sands Casino host fees. In fact John Callahan has only raised taxes, doing so four times as Councilman and Mayor.

“The same day this disastrous audit was released to the public, Candidate Callahan criticized Congressman Dent for his vote against a permanent tax increase that will kill jobs to fund a six-month bailout. That legislation is exactly the kind of bad fiscal policy Callahan has used in Bethlehem. Council President Bob Donchez correctly criticized Callahan for repeatedly using one-time revenue sources to pay for recurring expenditures, masking structural failures in his fiscal policy.

“Let’s be clear -- Mayor Callahan alone is responsible for deficit spending in the City. Since he’s been mayor, he has increased the city’s annual budget by 54 percent, including a pay raise for himself in four straight years. In the middle of an economic downturn, he authored a 2010 budget that increased spending by 10 percent.

“Ironically, Mayor Callahan blames the economy even as Candidate Callahan supports the policies of the Pelosi Congress that are squeezing taxpayers and squashing job creation. These include an economic stimulus that now costs $862 billion, a $2.6 trillion health care bill, perpetual bailouts, and innumerable job-killing tax increases and punishing mandates on individuals and small businesses.

“So what can we learn from my opponent’s record? That he will continue to support the agenda of more wasteful spending, higher taxes, permanent bailouts, and fewer jobs. This is Callahan’s record in Bethlehem, and it is his plan for Washington.”