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| King Allentown may demand a tax cut. |
Mayor Ray O'Connell's budget went into effect as he proposed it. He waited until seconds before midnight on December 15 to veto an amended budget that would have taken away some of the pain. Council was unable to override his veto because the clock ticked away.
According to Hershman, the 27% tax hike, which follows fast on the heels on a water and sewer increase, is going to devastate low income property owners.It will hurt tenants, too, because landlords will raise rents.
The 2019 budget fails to make any meaningful attempt to eliminate waste in Allentown. In the Mayor's Office alone, there is a special assistant who does nothing and a press spokesperson who should be part time. Also, in a strong Mayor form of government, there should be no need for a Managing Director.
Rank-and-file workers tell me the City has been top heavy for some time.
City Council can amend the budget to eliminate some of this waste. It's unlikely it can roll back the 27% tax hike.
35 comments:
When democracy dies, the schadenfreude can be delicious. Enjoy your paradise, Allentown. There was no drama in your elections and you're getting precisely what you "elected."
Democrats love taxes. And Allentown loves Democrats. It's a consenting relationship that heaven can be proud of.
the democratic philosophy has led many cities in this country to hell and as long as you elect these people to office your cities will continue to go down hill O'Connell the former school administrator is not a good leader hi is an egotist who thinks he can lead a city just as he was involved in leading the Allentown schools. look at the results. O'Connell does not have the guts to make the hard decisions to lead Allentown he is a left wing sneak who has a big ego but is not a good leaderrr
City Council members should be forced to sit through Fed Ed's Government class in Danbury.
Who cares just so long as the local Democrat Party and its loyal supporters are properly subsidized?
Allentown has what it has happily voted for over and over again!
This one isn't O'Connell's fault. It's Fed Ed and prior Councils (including a few current members) who allowed the city to drain its reserves, misappropriate the proceeds of the water/sewer lease, and a few other shenanigans (borrowing from a restricted fund and that's ok???)
End of the day, the Piper gets Paid. Period.
The Banker
o. Connell buddy of fed ed until his kid got a job on council for 8 years and he cannot MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS he did not have to raise taxes 27 percent he could have cut spending in a number of ways how about a 3 percent raise for the administrators how about subbing out like others cities do how about a hiring freeze how about all the waste in city government that we all know it has and we can continue if you want no O'Connell has been part of the problem and he will continue with his poor leadership
Judging by some of the noodnicks who come and speak at Allentown Council meetings, there is no chance of this going forward. These guys love to point their fingers in the air and complain but do nothing to help solve the problem.
O'Connell and anyone of those clowns would be re-elected by a landslide, were an election held tomorrow. This is a city that resoundingly re-elected a crook who was facing dozens of charges. When an electorate contains more net takers than net contributors, it's easy for takers to vote their wishes over contributors. Eventually, large numbers of contributors will leave to live with other contributors. Takers are left to live with fellow takers and try to figure out how to pay for things on their own. This is Allentown, and most other larger cities.
Just wait until the current leadership of the cities Democratic Party takes control in Cityhall. People will look back on this as the good old days.
2019 Budget is history.
Only the Mayor can open the budget.
Why would he do that, it is his budget.
Hershman,Hahn , Hunsicker and Ringer mean well. but at times are clueless.
LOU SHOULD REMEMBER 2004 WHEN HE GAVE AND APPROVED THE POLICE PENSIONS WHEN HE WAS ON CITY COUNCIL.That is what broke the city.PENSIONS......
Let’s all remember that Pawlowski supported that police pension plan that ruined the city.
I don’t think anyone elected O’Connell so his budget should be null and void.
Null and Void you.
Read the Home Rule Charter
Let’s all remember that Pawlowski supported that police pension plan that ruined the city.
No actually he did not according to THIS TMC ARTICLE in 2006
Another reference HERE.
He might have done a lot of things he was accused of. But this wasn't one of them.
Yea and wasn't the water war suppose to fix the pension issue instead of being Capitol start up funds? There just happened to be EXTRA monies found that had been miss appropriated and now those that helped are on a upper level of this low.
The next level of hell going up!
One of the contributing factors to this financial dilemma is Pawlowski's instance on locating the NIZ where it is instead of down by Riverfront. Most of these prior buildings were paying city property taxes whereas little to none were in the Riverfront area.
..wasn't the water war suppose to fix the pension issue..
Yeah that was one hellva bait and switch.
TMC has no credibility.
Zero.
Pawlowski supported the pension.
I was in the room, and that hardly makes me unique.
The MC Pawlowski narrative is a willfully ignorant, contrivance.
Pawlowski unambiguously supported Roy’s APD pension plan as Community and Economic Development Director.
Fact.
Period.
TMC has no credibility.
I'm supposed to take your word for it?
Show me a link that supports your version.
Allentown only hope is to get rid of all the leaders mayor and council also all the administrators hired in the 15 years start over and hope the results are different
At the expense of belaboring the obvious, I choose to comment anonymously.
You have no reason to believe me and every reason to believe the official MC history, after all, it’s official.
The facts remain.
You hardly need me to address the decline of institutional memory at the MC, their involvement with the NIZ or their long standing support for all things Pawlowski.
You may consider touching base with Julio or one of the other then council members who voted on the issue.
All the best in the new year to you and yours.
Colour me redd, but "What We Drinkin" and the costs are insurmountable and public health issue? Not to worry as the fix is in and topp law doggs have a handle on the calculated miscalculations that keep the wealth inhowse.
If we can’t trust the Morning Call who can we trust?
Free health care. Free college tuition. Free everything!
Thanks for caring so much, Democrat Party.
It is obvious whom the citizenry of Allentown repeatedly vote to trust.
This is really silly. This is about people not a political party. You do realize that in order to get elected people of both parties will switch. It has happened in Bethlehem as well as other areas. There have been democrats that switched to republican to get elected in republican areas.
As to policy, in Northampton County you had a republican government that raised real estate taxes 10%. You had a tea party republican that wanted to raise them 20%. You have democrats now who do not raise taxes. You have democratic officials that have never voted for a tax increase.
Stop listening to gubber walsh and his ilk and sample the real world.
Sample the real world blah, blah, blah. It's about things like policies and spending. You know, real world stuff. Again, elections have consequences and, again, Allentown has exactly the kind of policies and spending that it has voted for over and over again.
Enjoy.
I still think O'Connell should give up his salary and perform only ceremonial functions such as ribbon cuttings etc. Look at the successful municipalities in the region, all run by professional managers, with minimal day to day management responsibilities from politicians. How can a retired school teacher be expected to manage a city of 100,000 people? After forcing that huge tax increase on the residents, at least O'Connell could have at least made a statement. Allentown could hire a real professional city manager for less than what O'Connell is making.
The children got the city credit card recharged and are spending the tax increase before the money even hits the account.
More cops?? How many superfluous city employees are floating around doing absolutely nothing already?
HOW ABOUT:
Let those few people profiting from the NIZ start paying taxes!
Let them also purchase their own EXTRA police and traffic control services.
Are the geniuses that allowed the city computer network to be so horribly hacked still employed by the City? That cost how much?
There is no shortage of major screwups by our administration (s.)
The sewer fees?? The absurd water company deal? The water runoff fees? Money to run our failing school system? NIZ.
Where were the city operatives hiding during our most recent snow storm?
No salt solution was applied to our streets at all. Tens of thousands of vehicles, and people stuck everywhere.
I could go on for a while.....
Is this collusion amongst theives, incompetence, or just business as usual?
We are receicving precious little in return for our hard earned tax money.
How does one get in touch with the H's to be one of the supporting 35 to reopen the budget?
The mayor is the ONLY one who can open the budget.Obviously, it's his budget so why would he want to open it ???
The petition only means that council will put in on a council agenda to discuss./
A futile effort.
The H's mean well , but are totally inept.
THE H'S ---- Hunsicker is intelligent. Hershman is a good guy who is getting a little senile .Hahn is a complete whack job.Ringer thinks he knows more than he actually does.He made hundreds of thousands of dollars on illegal video slot machines.His wife is the brains of the operation at the restaurant.He needs to buy a long pair of pants...............
Stuck in Traffic
1/3/19, 7:52 am
There should also be a better traffic engineer handling venues, there was a Mack truck trying to swing down eighth street last night following the detour signs? Than there is the fact that vendors or participants vehicles filled the new building 21's parking lot? Seperation of church and state or in this case non-profit for profit benifactor of of this Madoff ponzie scheem perpetrated upon the public's benifit.
ty boh for turning me on to the king, he is very entert@ining
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R79Gn6ECXBk&feature=share
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