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| While the dais is empty, about 25 citizens are waiting. |
People who visit Bethlehem Township Commissioners for a meeting can usually set their clocks back 15 minutes or longer. That's because, with increasing frequency, Commissioners are huddled in a back room. When they come out, there will eventually be announcement that they were in Executive Session for "litigation" (the litigation is never described) or personnel matters. They almost never take any formal action on whatever was discussed behind closed doors. This breeds suspicion. As stated expressly in the
Sunshine Act, "[S]ecrecy in public affairs undermines the faith of the public in government and the public's effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society."
In addition to being secretive, this behavior is rude. Other municipal bodies have more respect for the citizenry than to schedule a meeting and then force the public to wait because a chosen few are cowered in some dark corner. These executive sessions should occur, if at all,
after the people's business has been concluded.
13 comments:
Bethlehem Township has become a shady place and is back sliding. Money is spent on frivolous programs to coddle the employees. Projects are being built with minimum supervision and the recent hires on the staff are not being mentored. I suggest that BO start filing right to know requests and see all of the emails between those elected and staff. I suggest that BO start looking at the expenses a bit more carefully and he might see why so many secret meetings. Just saying.
Just use their new website chat feature and chat with them and if I recall, you stated the website update was something like $4k for which by the way you were wrong!
Places like Bethlehem Township and South Whitehall Township are mere examples of the problem that is Valley-wide.
Our towns are either run by the attorneys hired by the boards or by elected officials paralyzed at the thought of conducting any government whatsoever in the sunlight.
In Bethlehem Township it's more of a disdain for the average guy more than anything. They really don't care. In South Whitehall it's fear. Tori Morgan is like a deer in headlights if the meeting doesn't go according to plan.
That's why you have lots of executive sessions and unanimous votes and near strokes if a citizen asks a question that's off script in these places.
With the pipeline coming, expect a lot more attempts at the "private" meetings.
I love this. You come on here and claim anonymously that I was wrong about the cost of the new webpage, without any reference to where I stated what it cost. The truth (try looking into that concept sometime) is that, in my story about the new webpage, I never said and frankly did not know what it had cost.
Here are my exact words:
"Finally, Manager Melissa Shafer announced that the township's new web page, http://www.bethlehemtownship.org/, has gone live. Among its features is a live chat function, which Shafer believes is a first for a local government in this area. She added that she took seven chats herself. "It's very easy to find what you're looking for," she stated."
Now if you know how much this system cost, why not do us all a favor and tell us? Or are you just interested in being a negative piece of shit? Is this only for the back room? That is what is so wrong with that Township. Too much negativity. Too secretive. Too parochial.
Unless the dailies beat me (unlikely), I intend to do a study of the number of executive sessions held in differing municipalities in the LV. I can tell you that in Hanover Township, they are quite rare, and are at the end of a meeting so as not to inconvenience the public. In Nazareth, they have them before, during and after meetings, at leasdt the handful I've attended. In BT, they are too frequent and it is really insulting to the public to have them all sitting there with their thumbs up their asses while a certain few meet in the back room.
When you have certain Commissioners who show utter contempt to the public and find public input "unproductive," you get executive sessions which decide 90% of the issues before there is even debate or a vote.
Bernie,
You touched on a good issue here! What is happening to this township seems like the past 3 managers have steered the ship so far off course and now it is obvious who is running the place. Sad to see this play out in front of the public.
BT doesn't manage its time well on meeting nights. They schedule too much for too little time. Right now, there are budget hearings prior to the regular Commissioners' meetings. After the public budget meetings, they then have their executive session for discussion on confidential matters. They run late, and the public sits and wonders what is going on. Perhaps they should have those executive sessions after the public meetings.
Oh...and by the way...$17K on the website redesign...They were robbed.
At some point in 2013, there was a bill proposed in the state house that would require all executive sessions to be audio taped and kept for a minimum of one year. If the legitimacy of the executive session was challenged, a judge could listen to the record to see if it complied with the sunshine act - or not. I don't know what happened to that bill.
In lots of places you have slick, sharp highly paid attorneys giving advice to boards filled of scared people - scared of either confrontation or making decisions and in some cases both - who shouldn't be up there in the first place.
BT IS A JOKE!
Actually...I think the new Bethlehem Township is a breath of fresh air compared to the old website. Not only did they redo the Township website but they also did the Recreation website. I really like both the search and chat features which I have used. I really can't comment on the back room meetings but it would appear to me that they are trying to be more accessible to the public using the website which is a good thing. I have found myself frustrated many times trying to call the Township to ask a question and all I get is a recorded message. I used the new website the other day and to my surprise somebody actually responded right away. Being a resident here for 30 years I found this refreshing. So kudos to the Township Manager for the new website. I think it's a step in the right direction.
I believe the new web page is very good.
12:17 here,
I do like the new web site, I just think they were overcharged.
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