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| Two of the usual offendors |
I told you the parking deck is always full. but there should always be several empty spots. That's because the County has set up about five "30 Minute Parking" spots inside the deck, and in close proximity to the courthouse. These are there for members of the public who have short errands like paying a tax bill, getting a dog license or picking up a license to carry.
Unfortunately, some County workers treat these as their own reserved parking places. They drive in at the beginning of the day, and just park their cars there until it's time to go home. Because they are too lazy or important to walk a little, they will often penalize elderly and disabled citizens.
Most County workers won't do this. In fact, it is a County worker who told me what is happening. It disgusts her. It's also a slippery slope. A County worker who knowingly deprives the public of a parking spot is in my opinion far more likely to cheat the County in other ways.
Yesterday, I positioned myself in the parking lot at the end of the day and saw that each of theses 30 minute spots was taken by a County employee.
I photographed two of them as they got into their cars. Although I should post both of their pictures here for the world to see, I have no desire to get them in trouble. I just want them to do the right thing.
I also photographed two of the cars, and know that one of them belongs to a high-ranking County employee who is paid well enough to know better.
I will be back. Next time, I will publicly shame all employees who hog spots intended for the public they are supposed to serve. It needs to stop.
Well, the mystery employee can't be Cathy Allen. She has her own private space and county car, unlike the other unwashed masses of county employees. But wait! Doesn't she have to drive her OWN car to the courthouse every day before she uses the county car? Could someone corrupt enough to cheat on her travel expense account have the gall to use a 30 minute parking space illegally? Hmmmm...
ReplyDeleteCathy Allen is in the clear, but one of the transgressors is a high-ranking County worker. I am not going to ID this person bc I would rather see people do the right thing than embarrass them.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Acura belongs to a top official in Fiscal Affairs.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work Bernie. I agree that if one is willing to routinely break pedestrian rules then it's a small leap for them to transition to bigger things. Please post the photos. As a person who pays their salary I would like to be able to ask them politely in person why they are better than the people who provide the revenue that pays their bills.
ReplyDeleteWhoever is in charge of policing the spots has dropped the ball!
ReplyDeleteover paid/under worked county so called employees taking advantage? Who would have thunk it.............
ReplyDeleteHonestly this is just more of the same disregard for others that was displayed earlier this year during the snowstorms. I use an assistive device and found when I went downtown to Orphan's Court that every handicapped space was taken- by piles of snow. I was forced to walk blocks, around piled snow, in the traffic lane.
ReplyDeleteIF they actually took time to create signs, why won't they take time to occasionally enforce them with tickets? Its at the COURT HOUSE for crying out loud.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work Bernie. I agree that if one is willing to routinely break pedestrian rules then it's a small leap for them to transition to bigger things. Please post the photos. As a person who pays their salary I would like to be able to ask them politely in person why they are better than the people who provide the revenue that pays their bills.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, the employees DO have a right to spots in the garage before you. They WORK there. But parking in a 30-minute marked spot is wrong.
you should seriously consider finding a job
ReplyDeleteIf somebody that wasn't a county worker got one of those spots before them, there would be a ticket issued by Mr. Meter Maid at minute 31. Guaranteed.
ReplyDelete"Honestly this is just more of the same disregard for others that was displayed earlier this year during the snowstorms. I use an assistive device and found when I went downtown to Orphan's Court that every handicapped space was taken- by piles of snow. I was forced to walk blocks, around piled snow, in the traffic lane."
ReplyDeleteI feel for you, but after that snowstorm, I could understand the piles of snow. They certainly did not belong in handicapped spots and the snow should have been pushed somewhere else. But at least those are not county employees taking your spot. By the way, most county employees are not like this, and it is a county worker who brought this to my attention.
Stop whining courthouse visitors! Norco has free public parking lots within a block of the courthouse. Go to Lehigh County where there are ZERO free parking lots for the public. The large, attached parking garage is for county employees only.
ReplyDeleteHandicapped parking spots are for those of us who need them! Don't take away my freedom because of your handicapped mentality!
ReplyDelete"Stop whining courthouse visitors! Norco has free public parking lots within a block of the courthouse. Go to Lehigh County where there are ZERO free parking lots for the public. The large, attached parking garage is for county employees only."
ReplyDeleteThis comment is a reference to the parking in Lehigh County, where employees get the perk of free parking. I'd argue that the parking is much different there. Incidentally, because there are free public parking lots within a block of the courthouse, employees should not steal the 30 minute spots.
FYI - Lehigh County employees don't get free parking unless they park on the street.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that clarification. So in LC, workers pay to park. in NC, they don't, and some selfish people are giving everyone a bad name by taking spots intended for short-term public visitors.
ReplyDeleteI do work at both courthouses, and I find Lehigh County's parking situation to be much better than Northampton's. The parking deck in Lehigh is almost never full, it is within a block of the courthouse, and the cost is only $1 per hour, with the first half hour being free.The Northampton decks are a farther walk from the entrance, and,although the parking is free, unless you arrive before the courthouse opens (or during the lunch hour ) all of the spaces within a block and a half are taken. Plus, they are all downhill from the courthouse, which means anyone who is handicapped has a difficult walk in
ReplyDeleteThese lazy workers will routinely use the 30 minute spots. If none of those spots are available, these lazy so called workers will park in a handicapped designated spot. What rude people! I have to laugh, cause I know one of them should really lose weight! She is the laziest of them all and the highest paid of them all!
ReplyDeleteI have heard from several that a few employees park in handicapped spots without placard or license plate. I have not confirmed that allegation.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAttaboy, Bernie, for holding them accountable without shaming them.
ReplyDelete3:40, please do use this blog to discuss the personal lives of other people. But feel free to accuse me of having affairs. I will admit them all, even with the guys.
ReplyDeleteYou know damn well what is going on and has gone on in HR. The car may very well be involved and you know it. You still ensure the facts are sanitized for you friends.
ReplyDelete"You know damn well what is going on and has gone on in HR. The car may very well be involved and you know it. You still ensure the facts are sanitized for you friends."
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't. If someone from HR is abusing these parking places, that would be in addition to other high-ranking people about whom I do know. As I said earlier today, I have no desire to shame any of these people or publicly embarrass them. Lord knows I've committed enough sins of my own over the years. I just want these folks to do the right thing.
If you're referring to Cathy Allen and claim that I am sanitizing facts for her, you are about as wrong as you can be. I am the person who broke the story that Allen is in foreclosure. I am the person who broke the story that she was filing misleading expense reports. i am the person who hammered her over using corrections officers to act as snitches. And if I knew for a fact that she was abusing these parking spots, I would say so and would not cut her any slack. This is bc of her history and bc she is essentially the second in command, in fact if not on paper. But I don't know that and the county employees to whom I've spoken have told me they have never seen her parked in those spots.
I really don't know what point you're trying to make, and question whether you know yourself.
I will be back at a time of my choosing, and next time, I will publicly shame every employee who is stealing parking spots from the public.
The main problem with the parking deck is the fact that the Sheriff's Dept. has designated spots on the lower deck, yet they park their cruisers in public places, and park their personal vehicles in the designated spots. On any given day you will see 10-15 patrol vehicles parked in public spots. They should park their patrol vehicles in the "satellite" lots. It's absurd that they would park that many vehicles in public parking spots.
ReplyDeleteI confess I never paid much attention to this until it was brought to my attention last week. Are you saying that Deputies park their personal vehicles in slots set aside for squad cars and then park the squad cars in the garage, too? To me, this makes perfect sense if the deputy is going out on the road, but not if he is going into the courthouse. I have seen these guys park their personal vehicles and walk like the rest of us, so I am not so sure whether this is prevalent, but I will check.
ReplyDeleteI was under the impression that the designated Sheriff spots were for the work vehicles. I always see personal vehicles in those spots, and work vehicles in public spots. It is prevalent in the fact that they are parking their work vehicles in "public" parking spots. When push comes to shove it is no different than the people that you have photos of. Fact is the cars they parked in the spots were in essence their work vehicles. Next time you're in the area count the number of not just Sheriff vehicles, but County vehicles parked in public spots. At least now that winter has passed they have moved the snow plows that were eating up 4 public spots.
ReplyDeleteThis was never an issue when Randy Miller was sheriff. This is a simple matter to correct and a system was in place. A deputy gets the license number and thus the vehicle owner. One warning and then a ticket.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem is besides sheriffs taking up two slots for one employee is that their are far too many permit spots. Where should the county draw the line. Does a cleric staff person who works in civil need a permit spot just because the Co. executive determines they need one? Count the permit spots and you will be amazed. There are even permit spots that are only used once a month in some cases. The other issue is that residents that live nearby that don't want to park their vehicles on the streets of Easton park their cars in the parking deck since on one checks these vehicles. Yes, the parking deck is open to the public for doing business at the courthouse but shouldn't be for personal reasons.
ReplyDeleteAll of this abuse started with the John Brown administration. Morale is at an all time low, and people don't care anymore. The sheriffs had been ordered to routinely monitor the parking spots with the orders coming from Randall Miller, by way of the executive, John Stoffa. I know because I am handicapped and parked my car in the handicapped spots as I always did. Well, one day, I forgot to display my placard, and low and behold I received a phone call at my desk and was told about it! So, you see, it's the new administration! John Brown is to busy running for office ( I think it's Auditor Gereral) to care about what's going on at the courthouse. God help us if he gets elected, or reelected!
ReplyDeleteThe problem really started when the current Administration started handing out parking spots to its employees like Halloween candy. This set a bad example for the county workers who aren't privileged to have an assigned parking spot. So not making excuses, but I could see why people would be parking in the 30-minute Zone since they lost a good portion of their parking lot to these new admin employees.
ReplyDeleteThe County employee who rats on other County employees is a self appointed Unofficial parking policeman who will stop at nothing to get attention, no matter who from. Everybody will soon know who this person is.
ReplyDeleteThe County employee who rats on other County employees is a self appointed Unofficial parking policeman who will stop at nothing to get attention, no matter who from. Everybody will soon know who this person is.
ReplyDeleteAnother HUGE problem is the fact that EVERYDAY the employees from the nursing homes on Washington St take dozens of government center parking spots.
ReplyDeleteI have heard about Praxis, but don't know how they can be kept out of a public parking lot. I think we's all agree on the following: (1) It is improper for any county employee to park in the 30 minute spot unless he or she is only going to be there for an errand, which does happen with employees from Human Services and Gracedale. (2) It is improper for anyone who is not handicapped, especially a county employee, to park in handicapped spots. (3) Sheriffs who park their personal vehicles in sheriff-designated parking while moving squad cars into other areas of the deck are abusing their authority, if in fact this is really happening (I have no problem and appreciate parking a personal car in the designated spot if the squad car is going out.)
ReplyDeletei guess it's okay for the self-righteous Unofficial Parking Policewoman to waste County resources by spending all day blabbing on the phone on County time, taking two hour lunches,getting her hair and/or nails done. Suffice it to say that she is the biggest troublemaker this place has ever seen, alienating co-workers in droves. nuff said. get a life
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have a frickin' clue what this anon is babbling about?
ReplyDelete