Will Brown Veto Budget, Millage Rate?

One of my readers claims that outgoing NorCo Exec John Brown is on vacation and we'll never see him again. I believe it's entirely possible that we'll see him again soon, and not in a good way.  He could veto the budget approved December 7, the millage rate ordinance adopted by Council, or both. He has until December 14 to do so, and could even do it after Council meets that day. He has until December 17 to veto the millage rate ordinance. I actually expect him to veto one or both measures, and at the last possible minute. 

After promising Lamont McClure's transition team that he wanted to leave office on a high note, Brown pulled his own Pearl Harbor when NorCo Council met on December 7 to approve next year's budget and millage rate. He proposed a one-mill tax reduction ($8 million) to his own budget. He did so without a corresponding $8 million cut in spending. This was an attempt to sabotage McClure, forcing him to dip into cash reserves and limiting the county's ability to deal with an emergency.

Because Republicans were unable to agree on whether the tax cut should be a full or a half mill, they ended up with the millage rate originally proposed.

Three of them - Seth Vaughn, Glenn Geissinger and Mat Benol - are out to hurt the county. They voted against everything, even the salary for professional employees. Not surprisingly, all three are on their way out.

On Friday, Vaughn used Facebook to lash out at his fellow Republicans on Council for refusing to agree to a one-mill tax cut. "[F]our Republicans on council, Matt Deitz, Hayden Phillips, Peg Ferraro, and John Cusick voted against it. Keep that in mind next time you go to the ballot box."

What surprised me is that Brown's wife Tina slammed them, too. "True colors," she said of this quartet. Never mind that Peg Ferraro invited Tina and Brown to her fundraiser at Holy Family and let him give a speech that was so boring that Nazareth Ambulance had to be called in to revive the cooks. That's gratitude, Tina! Up until now, I considered you a civilian.  If you want to engage in these debates, you become fair game.

Given Tina Brown's comment, my guess is that the attempt to sabotage McClure is alive and well. But the Home Rule Charter may very well protect the citizens of Northampton County.

As I said, his options are to veto the budget, the millage rate ordinance, or both.

Veto of the budget. - The Home Rule Charter does give the Executive authority to veto the budget, but he may only delete or decrease items. So he can decrease the fund balance by $8 million and set the stage fora new millage rate ordinance.

Veto of the millage rate ordinance. - The millage rate ordinance is a separate ordinance, and the Executive can veto it, just like he can veto any ordinance. But guess what? Council would have no authority under the Home Rule Charter to adopt a new ordinance. It lacks the time for a new ordinance, which would take a month for two readings. It would be unable to adopt a new millage rate except as an emergency ordinance. And that's impossible for two reasons. First, there's no emergency. Council and Brown are just playing politics. Second, the Charter expressly states that "an emergency ordinance shall not levy taxes."

That would necessarily mean that the millage rate set in 2017 or the one that Brown vetoed would remain in effect. So Brown and his minions will try, but they will fail.

The law has never been their strong suit.

Ken Kraft had a good retort to Vaughn's false outrage. "If [Brown] wanted to create a budget with a lower tax rate, he would have done it from the beginning. What don't you understand? What part of County government don't you get? I understand exactly what you are trying to do, you're trying to be a vindictive prick and pass an illegal unfunded budget so the next guys are in a bind, you are probably the one who said those words about, lets cut taxes and see them balance the budget... little passive aggressive these days since the voters handed you your well deserved defeat... ."