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| Lamont McClure |
Outside of going to Court, he suggested sitting down and working out the problem with the Administration, something that Council Solicitor Phil Lauer reported he has already been doing. If that fails, he provided a second option, which he called the hard road. That would be to simply eliminate all positions that have been awarded improper raises. "That's your hammer," he stated. "That brings them back to the table."
Council Solicitor Phil Lauer agreed with Seyfried. "You're in control of the pay plan. You can take whatever action you choose to take."
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| L to R: Brown, Luis Campos, Jeffrey Durkin |
"Absolutely not," responded Seyfried. He pulled out the thin, dog-earned copy of the Northampton County Home Rule Charter that he carries with him everywhere. He then pulled out copies of the Administrative Code and the Career Service Regulations, both of which are about the size of a magazine. Then he pulled out the Personnel Policies and Procedure Manual, which is about four inches thick, double-sided, and written in fine print.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he said of the lengthy treatise. "This was written by a bureaucrat."
At least three county employees have received payraises under this manual without the authority of Council . There may be more. Executive John Brown, who has refused to produce this information n the past after requests by both Bob Werner and Scott Parsons, stated last night that he would wait until Council decides what to do before responding.
"It takes my breath away," remarked Hayden Phillips. "It sounds like the Administration has this information and they're not going to release it."
Scott Parsons , who has previously questioned Brown's lack of transparency, state Council would likely have gone along with most of these payhikes had they simply been asked.
At one point, County Solicitor Ryan Durkin attempted to justify the payhike, but was quickly shot down by McClure, who himself is a practicing attorney.
"Frankly, sir, your advice has not just been suspect. It's been wrong. You did not do your research. It's basic competence."
Durkin did no favor for himself when Scott Parsons revealed that Durkin had failed to send a lawyer to a hearing last week in which the County is a party. Parsons said this failure indicates the need for a full-time solicitor on staff. Durkin was also unable to provide a litigation status report despite a specific request from Parsons just two weeks before.
The only real question among Council members was whether to suspend these payhikes immediately or wait two weeks for a written resolution, something that is required by the Home Rule Charter.Unanimously, Council signaled their intention to suspend Brown's payhikes at their next meeting with a written resolution. This would affect any person who was awarded a payhike by Brown under a provision of the Policies and procedures Manual that Council Solicitor Phil Lauer has deemed illegal. They also have agreed to reach out to the Administration and attempt to settle the dispute amicably, and selected Peg Ferraro to join Phil Lauer in peace talks.
29 comments:
Durkin must be a graduate of the scomillio school of home rule county government. If not dumb and dumber then incompetent and even more incompetent.
What more can be said about Brown. He is more dangerous to good government than a child with a gun.
you can cleary see brown has utter disdain for everybody but his stooge club. I'm glad to see, at least for tonight, council finally grew a pair, but truth is, allen shouldn't have been approved in the first place for the job. I haven't seen a 19% pay raises in 15 years combined. for the average joe employee, they spin tales of woe while some get extra gravy on their plate.
btw miss allen, with your extra pay, how many contracts have you settled since you've been employed and that was put in your duty roster? hint= rhymes with "hon".
wow, thank god and baby jesus that Scott Ott didnt win executive in Lehigh County... Ott would have made this look sane
what is amazing is that the republican exec has managed to completely alienate a republican council
SO did council take an official vote to wait and see, or an official vote to suspend in two weeks? I am confused
What did they vote on, and who voted for what??
For the 25% of non union staff who received no raise and took at most a 13,000 pay cut based on their insurance going up, this is an absolute kick in the ass.
Council needs to intervene for those workers and fix the pay. They failed before at budget time when they could have not passed the budget. Seems they are more concerned with one upping Brown on the political stage instead of doing what is fair and necessary for the "experienced county workers" that they HRC and personnel policies wish to retain.
@7:32, fyi, it's more than just the nonunion staff. I belong to the residual union, haven't seen a raise in 2 and a half years and my medical is the same as yours for me and my daughter. Some union contracts were smart enough to contain a provision that their medical couldn't be changed until a new contract is in place, like the correction officers. Mine did not contain the provision. brown screwed everybody he could as fast as he could...
7:32,8:22,
pay raises and health care are not rights. Your ignorance explains why you are county so called workers. Are you even potty trained?
Brown was red-faced and petulant throughout the debate. He wandered up to the podium a couple of times, only to have his lapdog Campos scurry up and bring him back. How awkward. Solicitor must have advised him to clam up. But it was obvious Brown was pissed. HOW DARE council second-guess his generous raises to his pal Allen and others. After all, it is HIS money to spend as he damn well pleases. This is his own company, and he is the kick-ass CEO. The shareholders (taxpayers) be damned! Just like he screwed Bangor borough by milking them for a free trip to see his son at Notre Dame, he wants full reign as CE to throw money around as he sees fit- for useless consultants, pay raises to brown-nose cronies, etc. By refusing to provide council with the names and positions of the 40+ employees he gave raises to with a wave of his magic wand, he is sticking his thumb in their eye. Thank goodness they are fighting back. This guy have been the LEAST transparent CE in county history. It is sad when PUBLIC INFORMATION may have to be subpoena'd.
"SO did council take an official vote to wait and see, or an official vote to suspend in two weeks? I am confused"
I think i was clear and you can just watch the video. They voted unanimously. They voted by motion to suspend the payraises in two weeks if this matter remains unresolved,. They did not suspend the payraises, which must happen by written resolution. HRC 642c.
Yet again this council falls short of doing the right thing. Shameful. A Law has been broken. Stand up and take immediate action.
Giving Brown a way out of this. Not such a bad idea really. Will he take advantage of councils largess?
Brown does not want a way out of this. He feels he did nothing wrong, and that council is meddling in his personal business. He never apologized for Allen cheating on her expense account. Why should he apologize giving her a fat raise?
10:38 - they have less brains and balls than the union cry babies they represent
8:29, brownstain still your hero? wow- you are braindead, and unemployed. you and him- two idiots with no morals.
The photo of Brown, Campos and Durkin reminds me of the "see no evil, hear no evil" monkeys.
Plain and simple Brown needs to join with Pat Browne and resign. Enough of these pompous clowns that have no values or leadership that only care about themselves and their cronies.
WTF - Pat Browne??? How did he get dragged into this? You like to kick a man while he is down and literally out in the hospital. Real classy!
Brown, Campos and Durkin - the three stooges.
Watch the video. They are a disgraceful and incompetent trio. Sat there whispering like school children, Brown bounced up and down at least three times like he pooped his pants or had something awe inspiring to say, and then sat down. When Geisinger finally recognized him, and Brown said he had nothing to say, Geisinger laughed.
McClure totally schooled Durkin, who appears to be nothing more than Brown's lap dog, and happily ignorant of the law. Werner gave Brownie just enough leash to wrap it tightly around his own neck and jump off the stool.
The administration is a three ring circus.
Good description of Brown's fidgeting. He may have pooped himself and needed Nanny Kim from Sahl to change his diaper.
defund allen's position!
brown's gonna cut a deal- he's not gonna let his buddy allen lose her cushy position. heck, she was probably due another raise any week now.
John Brown=worst mayor in Bangor history
John Brown=worst executive in Northampton history
Brownstain appointments (Allen,Campos,Ceraul,Hunter,Scomilio, etc)=the worst in county history
It will take a decade to fix all the shit the Brownstain team screws up!
Council SHOULD vote to defund Allen's position and kick her up the road back where she came from. Council wouldn't let Brown appoint her to the job he wanted to (thankfully), so he created a job for her. Then he turns around and gives her unjustified raises. It's good to be king, and play with the king's ransom collected from the citizens. Could Brown function without Allen? Does she have ownership in his ballsack? Why is he exposing himself so visibly for her sake?
Leapfrog over the pay raise flap when it comes to Allen, and just eliminate her job. How many Camposes does it take to do the job of one Director of Administration? Good riddance. Then move on to invalidating the raises of 3 or 40 or however many other people Brown handed them out out to, in a year when he told department heads they had to reduce their budgets by 10%.
Brown is giving the Slate Belt a black eye - they helped get him elected. First he takes the tax funds for Farmland Preservation and uses them for the general fund. Where is the bulk of preservation? The Slate Belt. Strike One. Then he pays these games with his buddy Allen, who hails from the Slate Belt - Strike Two. What is next, John? You better start thinking about the next election, because these people won't make the same mistake twice.
brownie has some nerve... he slams the employees, hits the taxpayers with a tax increase, talks about being tight with the budget,then awards consultants and his cronies with cash. THE FEW WHO GOT THESE RAISES SHOULD GIVE THEM BACK WITHOUT BEING TOLD TO. but that's not going to happen either. SELLOUTS! KARMA'S A BITCH.
Eliminate Allen's position!!! She cheated on her travel expense account and never apologized. She is an arrogant know-it-all who is not even qualified for a clerical position with the county. She was given a county car and private parking space plus an obscene 19% raise. She is pure political patronage and not worth half the salary she is receiving, thanks to her sugar daddy Brown. De-fund her position NOW!!
The sad thing is that instead of squabbling over salary raises, the county should be budgeting for the replacement of its voting machines. Northampton's Sequoia Advantage voting machines are outdated, no longer being manufactured, and pretty much at the end of their useful lives. In 2006 Northampton wasted its Help America Vote Act federal grant money on the horribly poor choice of the WINvote touchscreens. When WINvote got decertified in 2008 the county could have gotten a state-of-the-art paper ballot and scanner system (like 75% of the rest of the USA) and might have been good to go for another 15-20 years, but noooo... again Northampton officials made the horribly poor choice to spend taxpayer dollars for a pushbutton Sequoia machine that was designed in the 1980s. Now Montgomery County, the only other county in Pennsylvania that uses these old junkers, is making plans and budgeting to get rid of them. Northampton should be doing this too, and soon.
9:56. You know nothing, paper ballots were not a state of Pa requirement. Stop making things up
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