Cunningham at the Plate

Cunningham at the plate

At high noon in Coca Cola Park yesterday, with the Iron Pigs preparing to play Scranton later that day in their quest for a wildcard berth, LC Exec Don Cunningham was at the plate.

Last year, his budget enacted a 16% tax hike in the middle of a recession, causing many Lehigh County Republicans to flee to Canada and become lumberjacks.

Strike One.

Early this year, those same Republicans returned after learning Canadians smoke weed and have socialized medicine. They got back just in time to reject Chairman Dean Browning at the polls. Ironically, they rid the Board of Commissioners of a financial wizard who was instrumental in helping Cunningham keep that 16% tax hike from becoming a 36% tax hike. They hated the fact that a Republican would work with a Democrat. Especially one who smiles.

Strike Two.

What Cunningham did, when he finally had a chance to speak about what the hell has been going on, was hit the ball out of the park.

Now it's no surprise that Cunningham is a gifted speaker. Even his political foes will grudgingly admit that. But what really impressed me about the Exec's speech yesterday was not his delivery or easy style. Not even the small tax cut, which will save homeowners an average of $30 next year. I was impressed most by his defense of the embattled public employee, his response to the criticism he took last year for finishing with a $5.4 million surplus and his comments about divided government, which I'd call bipartisanship.

Defense of the Public Employee

All of us, me included, have a tendency to generalize when it comes to public sector workers, and point to their generous wage and benefit packages. But yesterday, Cunningham called that a myth. "For those who say all government workers have overly-generous taxpayer-funded wages and benefits, send them to Lehigh County," he said, laying out the facts in Lehigh County.

* Next year's workforce will be as small as it has been since 1990.

* Generous pensions? The average County retiree gets less than $900 per month.

* County workers kick in 5% of their pay for their pension.

* All employees, both union and nonunion, pay for around 20% of their health care costs, and are actually paying $2.1 million more than they did in 2006.

Surpluses lead to tax cuts

We've all seen what happens when local government finishes a year in the red. Three years of $8.5 million in red ink pretty much destroyed Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan's Congressional aspirations, to say nothing of the suspicion with which he is now regarded by members of City Council and the public. Cunningham finished 2010 with a $5.4 million surplus, which should have been cause for joy. It's called "beating the budget," something Cunningham has done every year since being elected as County Exec. But in the crazy world of Joe Hilliard Republicans, finishing the year with a surplus is a bad thing, too. Who knew?

Commissioner candidate Scott Ott and Joe Hilliard, who was then King of the Tea Party, published news releases and sent emails insisting this surplus was proof positive that Cunningham, as well as Chairman Dean Browning, had failed to "fight for taxpayers."

Dean Browning explained this was nonsense, using all kinds of numbers that went right over everyone's head. He's more accountant than politician.

Cunningham yesterday explained it in terms we can all understand.

"In 2010, our managers held the line on spending and beat our budget by $5 million. By some, we were criticized for this. That could be rectified quite easily - and I suppose i could look like a genius for getting the budget exactly right - by spending every last nickel in a line item. I won't do that. I learned early in politics that there are very few good deeds that go unpunished."

Beating the budget in 2010 is what has enabled Cunningham to propose his modest tax cut.

"Saving that money in 2010 allowed us not to spend the $4.3 million in Tax Relief Fund money that was budgeted as part of this year's budget. Therefore, in 2012, we propose to eliminate the Tax Relief Fund and give the full remaining $4.37 million back to the taxpayers in the form of a one-time credit."

BiPartisanship Works

Read Don's speech, which is below, and forget for a moment that he wrote it or that he's the Exec. Now imagine LV Congressman Charlie Dent is County Executive and that is his speech. I frankly believe that, except for some differences in style, the message would be petty much the same.

Cunningham hints at that himself, noting that there has been divided government in Lehigh County since he's been in office. Like me, like Dent, like most of us, Cunningham thinks people can be from different parties and still work together. And he singled out two Commissioners who have always been willing to reach out across the aisle.

"Commissioner Browning, a Republican, and Commissioner [Bill] Hansell, a Democrat, have epitomized the thoughtfulness, toughness and knowledge of County government and public finance that have made Lehigh County great. They have both put their public service above their politics and delivered results by putting hard work, a commitment to their ideals and cooperation above grandstanding - and Dean paid a dear price for it this year. We all owe both of them a debt of gratitude. I will miss them both."

People like Browning get it and understand the need to work together. Many of the items in Cunningham's 2012 budget, especially the employee contributions, are the result of his steady advocacy since his early days as a candidate.

Tom Muller

But Browning is an anomaly. Not one Commissioner candidate, Democrat or Republican, responded to a request from Director of Administration Tom Muller, dated June 1, asking for specific suggestions and recommendations.

And jokers like Joe Hilliard, who conned the local tea party into giving him money for an audit of Lehigh County that is now nearly two years overdue, has resigned without keeping his promise.

Cunningham said it better than I could, and his speech is below.

Don Cunningham's Budget Message for 2012