Northampton County Exec John Stoffa was on his way out the door when a Channel 69 reporter called to say that Gracedale lawyer Larry Otter was claiming victory in an appeal that balances the rights of initiative and referendum against a government's need for a sound fiscal plan. Stoffa called a County lawyer, who was just getting the first few lines of the decision on his fax.Five Commonwealth Court judges, including its President Judge, have unanimously affirmed Judge Baratta. The case relied on by the County, which comes from that very Court, "was wrongly decided." In an intellectual exercise that mirrors Judge Baratta's opinion, these jurists remind me of ancient monks discussing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
Although there's no question that Gracedale extends to the budget, the Court has ruled it does not.
In a concurring opinion, Judge Brobson (joined by Judge Leavitt) points out the logical absurdity of concluding that an initiative can never extend to the budget. But even he feels that the Gracedale ordinance would only have an "indirect" impact on the budget.
I believe this well-written decision, though unanimous, is bad law and should be appealed. Even if it's good law, the Supreme Court should really weigh in because of the dramatic impact this ruling will have throughout the Commonwealth. Local governments with Home Rule Charters can now be brought to their knees by special interest groups with spending plans that only have an indirect (wink, wink) impact on the budget.
An appeal is not my call.
Below is the decision, penned ably by Judge Dan Pelligrini, pictured above. The Lehigh Valley contingent to the Commonwealth Court - Judges Cohn Jubelirer and Simpson - recused themselves. So did Judge McGinley, who apparently is related to someone working at Eckert Seamans. My congrats to Larry Otter and Gary Asteak, who represented the Gracedale initiative committee, on well-earned victories.
Commonwealth Court: Gracedale Does NOT Extend to County Budget
58 comments:
I hope the County is going to send a concise letter to every taxpayer explaining what will occur if they hit "YES" at the polls
Thanks Bernie
btw
about that lunch
we are not going ot Perkins
your pal
THE OTTER
The Otter, No Perkins is a bad choice for me at this moment. But I do owe you lunch.
Brenda, Can't believe we lost it. A "Yes" at the polls means a dramatic tax increase, but it will pass, with or without a letter.
HEY BRENDA
THAT IS ANOTHER MISUSE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS IF STOFFA GOES THAT ROUTE.
IF HE WANTS TO FUND IT OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN THEN PLEASE GO AHEAD.
STOFFA HAS A FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO SPEAK THROUGH PRIVATE FUNDING.
STOFFA AS COUNTY EXEC HAS NO FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO USE TAX MONEY TO FUND A PARTISAN MAILER
YOU CAN LOOK IT UP
Although it is not a "partisan" mailer and hence would be legal, I do not think the County should fund it and would agree with you. The putative buyer could legally fund an informational campaign, but this decision may make them walk.
The tax increase lie, will be disputed by a mailer from the "Save Gracedale" coalition which shows the dollar figures thrown around by Angle and Stoffa were and are lies.
Using basic math, the 18% tax increase nonsensse is thrown flat on its face.
More of O'Hare and the baggers wanting to write the "law" as they want to see it.
Stoffa being one of the three "bitter old men" will probably waste even more taxpayer money and appeal the decision.
Now we have had two seperate courts uphold the same basic law. Of course we have an alky disbarred former attorney telling us they are all wrong.
Once you get out of the Stoffa dictaorship with its Stoffa press, Angle County Council and in the bag controled media, reality actually takes hold.
Hooray for Justice, Hooray for the rule of law.
We The People!!!!
Thankfully we are a nation of laws and not a nations of Angles, Stoffas and O'Hare's and baggers.
God Bless America. This is wonderful news. So many people are praising God tonight.
Will be anxious to hear to comments after the tax goes through. Let's see how the predictions of doom hold up over the five years we're prevented from selling. School district increases are bad enough, now this.
Great news. The will of the people has been sustained..God is great.. bernie is not..
"We the Union" and his ilk have won another battle but will lose the war once Norco taxpayers fully understand the burden Gracedale will be on them in the future. The Goonies will try to fudge numbers, lie and distort the realities of running a nursing home under union and mob rule. I hope Stoffa saves appeal money to mount an educational campaign to counter the emotional pablum of the goon squad.
Save the taxpayers- sell Gracedale!!
Stoffa spends one public dollar on his and Angles propaganda, and a move to impeach him should be called for.
In fact a petition drive for a recall vote on Stoffa may have to be started.
He and this county Council cannot be trusted to run Gracedale. Stoffa already said he would run it into the ground. We need an independent commission to protect both the residents and the taxpayers from Stoffa and Angle.
Reality Now!!!
I really hope that the buyer will hang in, and if the county has to hang onto the giant money eater with union fangs, maybe they can step in to manage it instead.
Brenda, Can't believe we lost it. A "Yes" at the polls means a dramatic tax increase, but it will pass, with or without a letter.
Keeping up the dramatic tax increase line even now.
Lets see at 6 million a year .....funded for 6 months with no increase......the second 6 months would be
1. 3 million
2. 6 million
3. no million
I'm sorry but you can not be believed at this point, so don't bother answering
The last statement to Brenda is telling
You all along said it would be defeated now, in defeat you admit it will pass. So given that fact all along all the "fake" outrage" of.....
please pick one from column A
and one from column B
was just that....."fake"
You don't own property and a tax increase would not have a direct impact on you
.....however who in your life would it impact?
In conclusion it was personnal it was a elected official trying to influence policy for personnal gain.
Your problem now is the "fake elephant" will never forget....the people you called names and tried to marginalize will now focus on the fall election
Since you have been 100% wrong on everything that is Gracedale I wouldn't hang myself out there with a prediction as to who is on council next year.
You should be ashamed of your actions.
"You all along said it would be defeated now, in defeat you admit it will pass."
I've always maintained that th initiative will pass, no matter what kind of public information campaign is waged. I've argued here and elsewhere that most voters will have a default position in favor of keeping Gracedale County-owned. It would take a detailed information campaign to change that.
But make no mistake, there will be a major tax increase proposed, as well as a bond for capital improvements. If Council refuses to accept that increase, Stoffa will have no choice about Gracedale's future and will start phasing it out.
This is no victory, for either the People of Northampton County or the residents at Gracedale or the people who work there. You will find that out the hard way.
Fuck you and your congrats to Otter and Asteak bullshit!
I will repeat my acknowledgement to Otter, Asteak and the work they did. I'd add that the Opinion is well-written, although I think the logic in it is tortured. I respect people who can present a view without resorting to childish taunts.
O'Hare, Angle and Stoffa will keep the spin machine going. The sad thing is that this is the same crowd who will ensure that Gracedale is bungled, at least for the next few years.
The only things the Stoffa Administration is known for is re-naming the courthouse floors and working to dump Gracedale.
He and Angle have for the past four years taken a profitable well run home and engineered it to fail. Stoffa wants the money for his drug rehab lounge and Angle wants to cut the county workforce by 40%.
When the initiative passes, A&S(Angle Stoffa) will foist a made-up tax increase on the County Council to get them to vote no. Then A&S will claim they have no choice but to cut back at Gracedale. Hell, Stoff already angrily stated he would shut the place down if the initiative passes.
Since his entire Administration is based on the destruction of Gracedale, Mr. Stoffa should do the honorable thing and resign if the initiative passes.
He cannot be trusted to represent the resident of the nursing home and the taxpayers if the initiative passes. If he is the honorable man all you claim he is, he will resign and give the Nursing Home, taxpayers and all the citizens a fighting chance at success.
We all know what the Angle/Stoffa agenda is and if they don't get their way we need new competent and unbiased leadership that will work for success and not preordained failure.
Sanity Now!!!
If Council refuses to accept that increase, Stoffa will have no choice about Gracedale's future and will start phasing it out.
I think the NEW council members will accept any of these conditions
as now the burden will be on those running to take a side in the matter......which side will Ron be on? BOTH?
Remember they are elected to represent us the taxpayers, who if we decide we want to keep it, we will be willing to accept a tax increase...IF NECESSARY
however
The only fly in your soup is the fact that the new management team according to Stoffa is alledged to be in place to take over on
May 17th if the vote is yes. If it does and is successful Stoffa and the rest of you....pardon the expression
will look like "smacked asses"
once again misinformation will be your undoing
I'd like to sit in on some of your strategy sessions with Ron in the next few days......they should be doozies
Angle will as he always has, give Stoffa and O'Hare their marching orders on this issue.
While I think the home should be sold, I also think the voters should decided. Too much at stake. Now, if the voters say yes and since this is a democracy, WE PAY. Yes WE PAY and thats that. If the voters say no, look for no tax increase.
Bernie, can a petition drive be mounted to require the executive to send a mailer outlining the tax increase that will result from the continued operation of Gracedale?
I'd think that even the Spraintmeister could get behind any campaign that delivers more information to voters in an effort to assist them in making a more informed choice.
Also, in the event the Gracedale referendum passes, what are the executive's options and/or specific contingencies to downsize Gracedale and mitigate its ongoing financial harm on the county?
There are ways to get around the referendum. Should they be discussed now? Or is Stoffa better off waiting in order not to telegraph his moves to the unions?
Not to worry, taxpayers of Norco. After my Death Panels are empaneled, we'll manage the Gracedale budget by managing the "cost" of old folks who are set to die soon anyway. Think ice foes in Upper Nazareth. Wink. Wink.
Oh yeah, remember to re-elect me too! Fore!
Well, now the Courts have upheld a simple fact, the Administration and his goon squad on County Council has screwed the people of Northampton County "Royally". The thickheadedness of Stoffa is going to cost us unnecessary millions over the next five years. Any decent leader would have taken the offer of concessions (3 million by the union) and combined that with the (2 1/2 million) he would have realized by implementing the recommendations made by Complete HealthCare Resources (the firm hired by Stoffa)to give an immediate savings to taxpayers. NO NOT THICKHEADED STOFFA and HIS GOONS ON COUNCIL. Now what do we get over the next five years. The Unions haven't given back 3 million per year, 15 million total over 5 years) plus millions more in wage increases. Bernie, how can you stand by these shitheads when they continually screw up like this. All of these people and they couldn't get it right. What have we done to ourselves by electing such narrow minded idiots.
Anonymous 8:10am You got it right!!
Stoffa threw out the system that was making money when he got in office in 2006. The Zimmet group was at Gracedale saving taxpayers millions. Stoffa decided with Angle that they needed the place to do poorly in order to make their case to sell it.
They succeeded in practically destroying the place.
The fact is there is no tax increase necessary to run Gracedale. A competent County Executive with a competent management firm could run it with minimal or no cost.
Of course the Angle/Stoffa team will keep spinning the lies that have already been discredited.
This year alone Gracedale is on course to spend less than the doomsday amount Stoffa predicted. That in spite of the fact he has sabotaged this facility from day one. Before he and Angle took over the place was running a profit.
The "facts" will be sent out and they will show the "truth" as opposed to the bald faced "lies" of that team of Angle/Stoffa.
Sad thing is the unions are still willing to negotiate concessions with an Administration. Problem is the Angle/Stoffa Administration can't be trusted and the union has rightfully been weary of trusting people who have lied.
We the People!!!
"We the Union" and his ilk have won another battle but will lose the war once Norco taxpayers fully understand the burden Gracedale will be on them in the future."
As a taxpayer, you should already fully understand the "burden" of Gracedale. Your being uninformed of where your taxes are going is plain old bad taxpayership.
Everyone should get educated, and vote the way they want to. An uneducated vote is a bad vote, no matter yes or no.
....and I follow up with, don't rely on others for your information. It is public record.
With a little research you can educate yourself without the spin from Bernie, Angle, or the Fake Rev.
Sometimes we need to just take care of our responsibilities as a society and not bitch and complain all the time. Who gets the raw deal from the tax cutting mouth-frothers? Students, the poor, and the elderly.
In this latest court decision, Our county officials have been stripped of their right to govern in a way that is fair to all taxpayers.
The special interest mob, will, without a doubt, further their cause with propoganda, creating and paving a path toward an unsustainable "pie in the sky".
Gracedale could have been saved by a private company. Since that approach has been deflected and torn at the seams, I expect and hope that the county will take all steps necessary to stop the bubble from bursting.
"Mr. Stoffa testified that if Gracedale was not sold before June 30, 2011, the County budget would have to be amended as it only provided for funding for Gracedale for approximately six months."
"Council decided only to fund Gracedale through June 2011, reducing Gracedale's budget from $66 million to $33 million"
Section 705 of the Home Rule Charter only allows amendments to the budget to the extent there are revenues in excess of those certified in the budget. Are there excess revenues of $33 million floating around the County? If not, it looks like no amendment to fund Gracedale after June 30th will be permitted, unless there is an emergency borrowing approved by council.
Section 705 also authorizes the exec to transfer appropriations to other departments, and Council even has the authority to reduce appropriations elsewhere in order to make up the shortfall, following a certification from the exec.
Brenda, I find myself in complete agreement with you. The Commnwealth Court ruling signals a change to government by initiative, in which special interests pay people to gather signatures and promote their causes. It is a terrible ruling.
Next steps?
Looks like the petition now goes to Council for action, and they have 60 days to adopt the proposed initiative. If they do not, then the clerk sends it to the Election Commission for placement on the ballot. Looks like this will not be on the May ballot.
Oddly- it also looks like if the voters adopt the initiative, presumably in November, there is nothing that stops Council from repealing it pursuant to Section 1108 of the HRC.
1:17, Council has already voted to reject the initiative as an ordinance and it will be on the ballot in May. If the Elections Comm'n has to meet again, they have a problem bc Nicole Schlener has disqualified herself.
7:35, Yes, there are ways around the referendum. For one thing, the County could sell Gracedale now. But since the Court has spoken, I know Stoffa will abide by its ruling. He is not going to compromise his principles just to win a battle, which is one reason why I admire him so much.
Bernie is in complete agreement with Brenda
I'll drink to that.
You know Ohare one would think you would delete some of Brendas comments. Some of those comments, annoying childish metaphors, and hackneyed observations make her look like an airhead. Who the hell would say something like I want to afford a better brand of beer so close Gracedale. And then you leave it up? I guess you have a soft spot in your heart or head for alcoholics, however I know you do not tolerate stupidity.
Friendly advice.
The comment about brands of beer was indeed a metaphor to outline that private sector folks must make sacrifices to ensure the survival of union terrorism.
That being said, I wish it were just a matter of choice in beer, but unfortunately, to survive the tax increase, my sacrifices will have to go deeper than that.
WHile the goons might be able to afford heinekin, splurging on a beer is not on my radar.
Bernie,
Yes, I agree that this is a victory for no one. The Alzheimers Coalition group, if sincere in their efforts to ensure the survival of good care for the indigent, would not have taken the steps that they did.
Forcing the county to keep gracedale county owned will have profound ramifications that , in my opinion, will backfire in their faces.
The only backfire will be the fact that if passed people must depend on Angle/Stoffa to implement changes. of course since Stoffa already signaled in his old man hissy fit that if passed he would"shut it down", people are understandably concerned.
Having someone with emotional; and temperament issues like Angle/Stoffa in charge gives all pause.
The facts are clear. The home has made money and only bled money when Stoffa came into power. Stoffa and Angle have always wanted to dump Gracedale. Hm-mm, makes one wonder?? Not really. the games these guys played have been shown to be the cons and scams they are.
You should be more afraid of your beloved Rep. Ryan who will replace medicare with a $35,000 voucher to buy your own. Good luck in that $35,000 won't last one day if you need surgery. If you do use to buy insurance, after a few old age illness you won't have a company that will cover you.
Gracedale works and makes sense. Clean up your own bagger backyards before destroying whats left of the middle class in Northampton County
Sanity Now!!!!
Sanity Now......you are absolutely right! So when are people going to wake up, when it hits their family!
dj
New name for Bernie.. BERNDA, that way he won't get mixed up when posting!
I agree people need to wake up Gracedale made money at one time and if Stoffa and his people would have listened to the people running Gracedale and not shot down everything they have been told maybe Gracedale could have made a profit if a company wants to buy Gracedale for 35 million how much of a money pit is it. Fix the place up and let the management there run the place right they were set up to fail from the begining stoffa and his people should be taking the fall for this not management
Problem is the local print media is in the bag for Stoffa. Hell, they helped elect him. You have never read about his past managerial explosions throughout his races. People have heard that some pol's are Teflon and Stoffa is one of them. Nothing sticks.
Most knowledgeable insiders and outsiders now know that Gracedale was set-up to fail by Stoffa. Many think it is because Stoffa needs the quick cash for this Drug Addict deal and for the Public Health Department. These are programs that will dwarf Gracedale in cost after a few years.
The problem was how do you dump a necessary and smooth running county operation. Angle and Stoffa teamed up and started a campaign of underfunding and then spending a huge amount to fix windows. By dumping residents to fix windows and spending that money, Stoffa was able to create deficits. After that it was simple to bring in a company to tell you the obvious, as well as what they wanted to hear.
So here we are. The flat earthers will continue to bray on about the cost which has been discredited, the Angle tax increase, which has been discredited, the four to a room, which was never a problem and the mysterious cut in medicaid reimbursements that even a state official said he was unaware of.
The list of mis-information goes on and on. Of course you have a group of people out in the community that want to live in 1815and will latch on to any thing that reduces government whether a good idea or not.
Hell, even Fox had enough of Glenn Beck crazy.
The perfect storm for the Angle/Stoffa two step swindle.
Hopefully if the initiative passes a public watchdog group can be put in place to oversee the resuscitation of Gracedale. There is no doubt the Angle/Stoffa subterfuge will continue.
Stay tuned!
The All Seeing Eye!!!!
Gracedale, even in its heyday, was never a smooth operation. This ruling is a tragic mistake that will end up hurting the very people you claim to care about so much - Gracedale residents.
I had to look up the word metaphor
because I wasn't sure what it meant
I now have a metaphor for closing Gracedale
If they sell or close it I can afford to buy Starbucks in the morning instead of Dunkin' Donuts.
Of course I really don't mean it and I'm sure the fanged union goons all drink Starbucks, with their high pay, they can afford it. I just thought it would be a good way to relate my frustration with the issue.
The secret word is "metaphor".
"make sacrifices to ensure the survival of union terrorism".
Sign me up. What sacrifices are we all going to make to ensure the survival of union terrorism.
I swear to god this has to be Sarah Palin posting in here.
"make sacrifices to ensure the survival of union terrorism".
Seems to be a bit of an over reaction to your defeat.
It is time to come to grips with the fact that this group has won. It will be on the ballot.
If it wins, let's focus on how it can be made better.
I fear that those that "lost" the battle will begin to do things out of spite.
I think it is far to early to call this a success or a failure. Time will tell.
Union Goon,
We have lost the fight. We will likely lose on the ballot as well. But I can tell you that I will not do or condone anything that is out of spite, and will discourage that behavior in others.
I fought this battle because I believed that selling Gracedale is the best solution for its residents. I will believe to my dying day that the petition effort was pervasive election fraud, and I similarly believe that the HRC prohibits an initiative on this matter.
But the courts have spoken, and unless Stoffa appeals (unlikely), we have to do what is best for everyone.
That is what this is all about. Stoffa, who has more class than all of us, is not going to punish people simply bc he did not get his way.
I think a dozen or so Judges in good standing override anything you think or feel Bernie. It seems you have a "Persecution Complex" this forum provides some sort of relief for you. I guess its' better than kicking your dog through the hedge, for most of us, it is wearing thin.
I know the new plan from you three will be to place the idea in peoples minds that the facility will close or be downsized. Bonds and borrowing and fat union wages.
Eye rolling by Ron, ghostly stares from Stoffa the sky is falling hands thrown up in the air and your constant whinning. The reality is you would be suprised as to how much the rank and file union goons would be willing to give back to help out. You only speak of their representative. The AFSCME contract is up next year. It would not suprise me that the workers would agree to a pay freeze, a increase contribution for healthcare, and give up Canadian Independence Day as a paid holiday. To keep the place running. Notice I didn't include a pay reduction. Because contrary to your spin the majority of workers are not overpaid, however you have been successful in persuading people to believe that. All rates are available to the public. The pay scales are in line with industry standards. You know that. One thing is for sure most of them do not know what an ass you have been calling them all names and belittling them at every turn as most probably don't look in here for news. You should prehaps perse your words and those people you HATE, might suprise you. if you keep up the Rickles/Dangerfield "heavy guy" attitude and they find out one could hardly blame them for not playing ball.
You know those three million in givebacks might still be around.
The council NOT RON ALONE should contact the union and see, they say they are always available to talk, call them on their comment. You three just need to change your approach. HONEY>BEE...FLY>SHIT
anonymous 7:50,
I am a gracedale employee, and I never buy starbucks, i don't even go to dunkin donuts because it's too expensive.. I bring coffee from home! So What ever you believe, we are not OVER PAID! We need to survive! Please stop saying that we make a fortune. We can hardly make our monthly bills. We are working single mothers, fathers and care takers of family members. We are not a bunch of union hogs as you and all of Bernies "friends" think. Yes we are union and proud of it. WE work for equal pay for equal work, we work for a fair living wage. most of us could collect food stamps on the wages of the county! I am sick and tired of all the bad mouthing of the union "goons" We are not and will never be GOONS! Thank you and good night, since i have to get up very early and go to work!!!!
I also want to thank a man of God often maligned on this blog. Thank you Rev Martinez for all your work and prayers. You told us to hold our heads up and keep working.
When we were down you said we would overcome. The late Rev. King would be proud of you.
Like the Rev King you have been attacked and disparaged by those in control and power. They have tried to put you down and set their attack dog O'Hare on ou. Stoffa's own Sheriff Bull Conners, Ron Angle, came at you but you hung in there. You have persevered and are an inspiration to others. Why? Because unlike Stoffa,Angle and O'Hare your path is true and righteous. Your heart is not filled with hate and bitterness.
O'Hare you may praise your so-called priests and Rev's with paper, but the true test of a "Rev", is their capacity to help others and your mancrushes fail next to the Rev. Martinez.
Martinez is a fake and has been exposed as such. No "man of God" sits around accusing others of being Satan.
Anonymous 8:10AM
Where did you get your information?
The union was ordered by the leaders to take the 3 milllion off the table. There was some talk of it coming back on the table but to my knowledge that did not happen. Thus we will continue with the tax increase that will be somewhere between 15-20%. In addition we will see the continual decline of inhabitants at Gracedale so the deficit will grow as the costs go through the ceiling. Between inflation, now in place, and the increase in taxes we will be facing tough times.
Again with the misinformed
Founding Father Battle Cry
Is this some more lies like the stimulus money being spent on ILLEGAL PROJECTS?
Did you even look at the PennDOT website?
You are a piece of work.
Even Ron has now stopped saying 20%
Now go back to sticking your head in the sand.
Tonight Ron says it is a 15% increase after he said we should do an audit to see how much it will cost if 20% increase is 17 million 15 would be about 11 million we need 6 million a year we need to fund it for one half year is this a run on sentence you bet it is why because those figures are strung togather like this sentence, very poorly.
I want to comment first let me say I am in favor of keeping Gracedale in county hands, despite any amount of tax increase. I can afford it, I know some of you can but don't wish to afford it, that is your choice. I know some of you insist you can't afford it, that I find hard to believe since you are using high tech equipment to comment in here. Maybe you're at the library. If so I am sorry for your bad financial situation you might truly need every penny you have. In addition allow me to say I am in favor of having a HONEST ASSESSMENT released regarding the cost to maintain the facility. This for the public to read. Maintain the facility only. Not improvements that have not been discussed not additions not changing it what-so-ever. Simply how much will it cost per year to keep it as is. If there is roofing or other maintenence that is scheduled that should be included. If you say you know in 5 or 6 years we might need a new furnace. That should not be put in. If you say lets borrow and build assisted living houses or apartments . That too should not be included. Another objection I have is spending 1 more red cent of my taxes to do this. You have already spent my money without my approval to fight this case against me. ENOUGH. I would like to see the entire council, NOT RON ONLY, come up with a HONEST FIGURE . Publish it in the local papers without commentary. And allow the people to decide for themselves. That is all I want for the majority to rule, voting based on FACT not FICTION. I am wiped out from this never ending squabble perpetuated for no good reason. Let it be over. Either way. Let it be over.
I think your points are well-taken and will post a blog about this, outlining some ideas.
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