NorCo Council: Workhorses, Showhorses and No-Show Horses of 2014

Parsons gives me the hairy eyeball

Who are Northampton County Council's workhorses, show horses and no-showhorses in 2014?What is their attendance, including Committee participation, where most of the real work is done? What is the attendance like for four brand new members of Council, finishing their rookie year?

This is my annual report card, something I have done since 2006.

Northampton County Council met 30 times last year, including four budget hearings.

In addition, its committees met 30 times. Each Council member is encouraged to attend those meetings, regardless whether he or she is a voting member. The committees that do meet are an indication of what issues concern Council members.

As might be expected, Finance and Personnel head that list. They each met nine times last year. Human Services was a hot Committee, too, meeting six times. Other committees doing a lot of heavy lifting were Economic Development (7), Open Space (4) and Capital Projects (3).

But some committees never got rolling. Despite the need to address regionalization and shared services like 911, Peg Ferraro failed to call a single Intergovernmental Committee Hearing this year. Also, though it is more than clear that both the Administrative Code and Home Rule Charter are in dire need of an overhaul, Mat Benol only conducted one meeting for what is now being called the Courts and Corrections Committee.

Below is a table showing attendance at 60 Committee meetings, regular meetings and budget hearings during 2014. As was the case last year, Scott Parsons is Northampton County Council's Workhorse of the Year. He will receive a Major Award from Lehigh Valley Ramblings at the beginning of next year.

Scott is a bue collar worker who worried he might be late or miss committee meetings. But in his years on Council, he has set the pace. He was at an amazing 58 meetings last year, giving him an attendance percentage of 97%. Though he is still ugly, his devotion to the County is inspiring.

We have a tie for #2. Democrat Bob Werner and Republican Glenn Geissinger both attended 54 of 59 meetings, giving them both a 92% attendance. Though they miss out on Parson's Major Award, they both make the Dean's list, just as soon as I find out who the Dean is.

The Middle of the Pack is reserved for Ken Kraft and Peg Ferraro. Kraft and Ferraro have good attendance, but not great. They'll have to work harder if they expect to receive a Major Award from this blog. I don't just hand them out.

D students include Mat Benol and Seth Vaughn. They were elected to serve, not miss Planning Commission meetings like Vaughn regularly does, or fail to conduct more than one single Courts and Corrections Committee hearing, as is the case with Benol.

Receiving an F for his 67% attendance record is Hayden Phillips. His record on Council is good and his Capital Projects Committee is innovative. But in one year, he has betrayed a complete lack of interest in many aspects of County government. For example, he failed to attend a single meeting of human services, open space  or economic development in 2014. He can be all about personal responsibility and limited government and still make time for these meetings.

My final F goes to Lamont McClure, who has failed to break 50% attendance since 2011. If I could send him to reform school, would. In his defense, I will state he did attend all but one of the budget hearings his year was understandably ill. He also did attend two committee meetings. If he wants to make a difference for struggling county workers, he needs to show up at more committee hearings.

council	meetings (30)	capital projects (3)	economic dvlpmt (7)	human srvcs (6)	open space (4)	personnel/ finance (9)	2014	2013	2012	2011
mat benol	28	3	1	5	0	7	75%	n/a	n/a	n/a
peg ferraro	27	1	5	5	2	9	83%	90%	85%	67%
glenn geissinger	27	2	7	5	4	9	92%	n/a	n/a	n/a
ken kraft	27	2	6	3	0	9	80%	88%	84%	n/a
lamont mcclure	28	0	0	0	1	1	50%	43%	47%	41%
scott parsons	30	2	6	6	4	9	97%	92%	89%	n/a
hayden phillips	28	3	0	0	0	8	67%	n/a	n/a	n/a
seth vaughn	27	0	4	6	0	6	72%	n/a	n/a	n/a
bob werner	27	2	7	6	3	9	92%	90%	82%	n/a

Here are my attendance reports from Here are reports from  2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009; 2008; 2007; and 2006.

Blogger's Update 3:25 pm. I recalculated my attendance records, which reveal that there was one courts and corrections committee meeting on 4/23. They also reveal that McClure was present for all but one budget hearing.