Northampton County Exec Lamont McClure is growing uneasy about the potential long-term effects of the federal government shutdown. “With tax bills scheduled to go out later in January, there is no anticipated problem with cash flow,” he said. But he cautions that "several federal grants have been delayed and this may affect services to County residents.”
Money from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will soon be affected, he claims. HUD funds subsidize housing for low-income residents. Northampton County’s Housing Authority has obligated funding through next month. Payments to landlords can be made in January and February, but not be beyond that.
The County expects to receive vouchers for lead paint from residential housing next week. Lead poisoning is a serious issue for children and can cause problems with brain development. Plans to remove the paint are currently on hold.
Federal offices in Washington and Philadelphia are closed. This means no help will be available if problems arise with particular County programs. Some litigation in federal courts has been postponed.
The Department of Corrections is waiting for funds from a State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) to help house undocumented immigrants.
“People are hungry for competent, transparent and civil government,” says Lamont McClure. “That’s what we deliver here in Northampton County, and that’s what has to happen on the national level—now.”
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Monday, January 14, 2019
27 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
He should be more concerned about the Zirinski resolution to penalize plastic bag and straw users in the county.
ReplyDeleteHe should be calling Polosi to fund the wall.
ReplyDeleteThe Trump Shutdown is finally waking up many of his loyalists. I have a relative employed by the TSA and she has finally seen the light. Trump doesn't care.
ReplyDeleteHow about the Pelosi-Schumeŕ shutdown?
DeleteTrump has made some mistakes.just like anyone else that is busy and doing something. “I have a relative employed by the TSA...” Did yourTSA relative go in to work or call off sick? The Coast Guard is apparently without paychecks too,but they still raised their hands and took the oath, and still stand the watch. The real judge of character is what one does when the chips are down and they have to grunt it out and life is not perfectly comfortable.
ReplyDeleteSend the undocumented back to their country. That is part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteTell him to get polosi and Schumer to fund the damn wall!
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:54 said:
ReplyDelete"I have a relative employed by the TSA and she has finally seen the light."
I certainly hope so.
So she's noticed that Democrats talk a good game about supporting workers but won't commit 1/10th of 1% of the federal budget to the border wall to re-open the government?
So she's heard the Democrats say they support border security while not offering a plan of their own and not committing a measly 1/10th of 1% to fund a border wall that even the Obama-era border director says is needed?
Did she hear the Democrats saying how important federal workers are to them as she checked them through the TSA lines on their vacation in Puerto Rico?
McClue should tell his fellow Dems to fund the wall. Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteIt appears to me that most of the pro-Trump comments come from one person.
ReplyDeleteHow about this ? We give a 2,000 stretch of Mexican boarding properties to the Israelis,then up the California East Latitude line all with a minimum of 2 miles wide out to 25 in the sand .
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the shutdown. We already have hundreds of miles of border barrier. Walls/fences are not new or unusual. $5 billion is couch cushion change. The government is closed over a personality dispute. If I cared, I'd wish a pox on both their houses. But I really don't care. The world is not coming to an end, despite the incessant warnings. 90% of HUD and and 95% of Commerce are considered nonessential. 50% of the federal workforce is considered nonessential. Try running a business with those levels of fat.
ReplyDeleteSo stupid build the wall they will find another way to get here and why is he so focused on Mexicans when there is more illegal dominicans here this is just dumb
ReplyDeleteMcClure should worry about the big bill he is saddling us with with the morgue nonsense. In Lehigh County there is a state of the art lab we are gonna duplicate and as far as refrigerated units another lie as there is ample storage available at Anderson St. Lukes alone.
ReplyDeleteThe longer the government is closed, the more we realize how unessential much of it is. It is really a jobs program for the unemployable.
ReplyDelete11:08, you are full of shit. Hospitals can and have said no. They also can start charging.
ReplyDeleteA region arrangement with our friends in Lehigh would probably have been a smarter path. Egos build buildings, though. Lamont is the same as his predecessors. Some toady will vote to put his name on it some day. This is why regular people despise politics and politicians.
ReplyDeleteBernie ,Evan it the hospital charges for morgue how long woluld it take ,say over 20 years to Evan out cost? This is about conveyance as I see it . Debate te subject. I as a taxpayer don’t wish to pay for services for the dead ,some die because they asked for it in lifestyle. For them - so what, I say .
ReplyDeleteSome people “Have it coming” anyway. Like Clint Eastwood’s movie , The Unforgiving. Some people have it coming. Peter
ReplyDeleteBefore I get in bed - Trump is a lot of things. I wouldn’t do some of his performance s evan if hell froze over . But ,he makes advisories come to their knees most of the time. He says things like the resent middle East issue that he now has to backpaddle from . Life is always a series of corrections. Like sailing a sloop. You have to learn tacking and navigate in bad waters or drown . Our kid is going to go in harms way before his deployment is over ,we know it. Most of you ,the readers of this post ,have your kids close by and they are working at a commercial company or in schools living in a dorm if not in yours mothers basement. Our kid is most likely going into a combat against our enemies,he is a Marine. Prepared , a world class machine gun expert. . I am connected to world events as result . The Chinesse will have to economically deal with Trump for example , because their exports were down in December.So see what happens next. The man is influencing world trade . So , sleep tight ,don’t let the bugs bite. Just Wait . God bless us ,America, Us Americans.
ReplyDeleteTrump insisted during his campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall but has now shut down our government attempting to make the U.S. taxpayers pay for the wall. Just remember who supported this asshole. First you have all the thugs and bullies from the NRA, the same group that helped funnel Russian dollars into the Trump campaign. Then you have all the parasites from the Tea Party. Right after the Trump victory these mutants celebrated outside Bethlehem City hall. And don't forget the Chamber Of Commerce. The natioaln chamber donated millions to the Trump campaign and right after the election the local chamber leader wrote a column in the Morning Call expressing his delight over the election of Trump. These are the groups that help create this cesspool we have right now.
ReplyDeleteDemocrats have no one to blame but themselves. Democrats need to come home from their Puerto Rico vacation and get to work and negotiate with Trump.
ReplyDeleteApproximately 1000 of our employees are affected by the shutdown. There is no opportunity for back pay as a contractor. It will be career changing for some. Folks I talk to dont care about the wall. Time for Mitch McConnell to open up the Senate and vote on the bills passed in the House.
ReplyDeleteRemember...Trump took full responsibility for the shutdown. This is trump's shutdown.
ReplyDeleteBernie still can't handle the fact that crooked and corrupt Hillary Rodham Clinton lost. So sad. What about collusion with Russia? Tell us more about Russian Collusion sometime!
ReplyDeleteThe NYT just did... your president is a Russian asset
DeleteComrade trump can end the shutdown easily.
ReplyDeleteHe can open government and propose a series of fines for employers who hire illegals.
Fine employers one thousand bucks a day for every day the illegal worked.
Treat those employers like drug dealers-take everything they own- after all that business made money off an illegal act.
trumpie would have plenty of money to build a stupid wall or a moat or anything needed
To kickstart the program give the illegal five percent of the fine provided he can document his employers bad action and deport the illegal.
You get to remove the incentive for an employer to hire illegals.
Money talks and bs walks.
Even trumpie should know that