By a 6-2 vote, Northampton County Council voted last week to reject a proposal (you can read it here) by Council member Jeff Warren to establish a public database for blighted properties inside the county. He only had support from Council member Kelly Keegan.
Warren, who is running for State Rep and would probably like to be Council President next year, claimed that blighted properties and absentee landlords are becoming more prevalent, and thinks a county-wide public database, administered by the county, would apparently shame owners into remediating code violations. "We have a ton of properties that are being neglected," said Warren, who added that this is "an aging community."
It certainly is, and I'll be the first to admit I am very blighted. I am listed as such on several public databases.
After reading the resolution in its entirety, which took about five minutes and with the usual rhetorical emphasis at certain points, Warren gave an equally lengthy sermon in response to a question from Council member Ron Heckman, who simply wanted to know how much it would cost. After about five minutes of pontificating, Warren eventually admitted he did not know.
Heckman, who incidentally has great hair but is otherwise also blighted, had his own soliloquy. He pointed out that the county exists for very limited purpose (courts, county bridges, election and administration of human services) and is barely able to do that. "We have an infinite need and finite resources," he said. "I don't want us to get into zoning and code enforcement or anything like that." He derided Warren's proposal as "more empire building than anything else." He said Warren's idea is "far afield" from what "county government is all about."
Council member Ken Kraft, who once served on Bethlehem's Zoning Hearing Board, agreed with Heckman. "This is overreaching," he said. "This is not in our purview. ... We don't set zoning codes. We don't set those laws. They've nothing to do with us." He added that when Wilson Borough's Dixie factory "went to Hell" for 40 years, the municipality did nothing to correct it.
Kraft is also blighted.
Of course, Warren had to respond again. He admitted that the state is considering a statewide database, which has passed the House. This begs the question why the county would need to do it as well.
By the way, what the hell is blight anyway? Some might think pink flamingos look great while others think they are tacky. Some people like the natural look in their yards while others insist on mowing every 30 seconds. Council member John Brown noted that definition is far from uniform.
I am concerned that this could be weaponized to shame elderly and low-income property owners who simply lack the resources to maintain properties to the highest standard. As for absentee landlords, do you really think they will care if their blighted property is listed on a public website? That's why they are absentees.
So yes, like Kraft and Heckman, I agree this is way beyond why county government exists. But unlike them, I think this is a terribly stupid idea.
38 comments:
Warren is full of himself. He pontificates more than th actual Pontif. However, wait until you get a load of the Boulette guy on council. He will give Warren a run for his money. I think he may out pontificate Warren, as I am told he is an expert on everything.
Some politicians are dangerous.
I couldn't agree more. Heckmans hair is amazing...
Jeff Warren is a great and good man who has dedicated most of his adult life to making our communities better. This is a great idea, and I’m sure in the New Year this will pass easily.
Jeff Warren and Kelly Keegan are part of the problem, not the solution.
Jeff Warren will easily defeat Joe Emrick next year. I know this because there is an inverse relationship between how poorly Bernie treats you on this blog and how well you do at the polls. Some of the people Bernie has treated the worst do the best and vice versa. Keep up the good work Jeff Warren.
Bernie is pro-blight! Typical for a troll! Just because you are old or you can’t afford to keep up your with property doesn’t mean that you get to decrease the value of your neighbor’s homes because you’re irresponsible whether it’s financially or because you physically cannot. We all have responsibilities as homeowners and keeping up your property is an important responsibility that does not get excuses for you being old and/or poor.
Bad timing on Warren's part. Thanks to McClure the county will soon be, if it's not already there, be in a fiscal crisis. We don't need another toothless program. Perhaps the new council and administration should take a good hard look and see if the are other programs that could be eliminated.
Bernie is now pro-blight ? Must be hanging out with Nat Hymen too much ?
Everything Jeff Warren says is stupid, for one reason…he’s really stupid!
You can’t fix stupid, so County Council will stumble into the new year with some of the same handicaps, along with newly elected ones, that plague its operations now.
Like Warren this is stupid, has absolutely nothing to do with county government!!!! Does Mr Warren have any idea what county government does????
It's a shame that our County is led by such incompetent people- but wait until next year!
Ron Heckman’s vast knowledge and experience in county government will be missed. Enjoy your retirement Ron and thanks for your years of public service
Ron Heckman’’s knowledge and understanding of county government will be missed. Enjoy your retirement Ron and thanks for your public service.
So that's what this is about! Jeff Warren is using is perch on county council to run for the state house and this is one of his campaign planks. Incidentally, I've opposed Emrick twice in his races against Anna Tomas. I supported Amy Cozze and Kate Brennan when they took him on. He is completely nontransparent . He is unpopular even among his fellow Rs. But he has won every race and I will be supporting neither him nor Warren.
Yes, Karen. But what is blight? I have seen officials like Fed Ed use "blight" and "code" to target people, and I am not talking about Nat Hyman. I am talking about people who've actually been jailed over supposed code violations. I also am very concerned about people with limited resources who could use help maintaining their properties. They need to be helped, not shamed. I also believe this website, which will create a lot of work for bureaucrats, will be largely ineffective. It is supposedly aimed at absentee landlords, but they won't care one bit about being listed on some public database. What is needed more than anything is rigorous code enforcement, but with due process for those impacted. And finally, this has nothing to do with the county. Our DCED is already working very hard with worthwhile efforts like lead remediation. We don't need to take on another project so that Warren can use it in his campaign for the state house.
Actually, he has been hitting it out of the park lately.
The goal is NOT to punish property owners. It is to help identify areas that developers can buy to resurrect. And if you're so confused about what a blighted property means, it could be an abandoned or vacant property, structurally unsafe, or severely deteriorated area lowering nearby property values. Your disdain for Warren is so ridiculous. You seem confused Bernie. Maybe you can't see through your own hatred. This issue if coming from the state, but if you want to accuse Warren of grand standing you can do that since it's your rag that you collect peanuts on. Love, Karen
Karen, you still have not defined blight, which can be quite a subjective determination. In UMBT, a cornfield was deemed blighted. While the legislation on the state level passed the house, there was significant opposition, and it will not pass in the senate. That is largely bc it will be a waste of time and effort. It will do nothing to eliminate blight bc absentee landlords will not care one bit about being listed on a goofy website. What does matter is rigorous code enforcement with appropriate due process so that the elderly and those with limited resources can get help. Yours is a stupid idea
It is sad that Jeff allows Kelly Keegan to control him. He will pick
and choose those he thinks he can convince that he should be the next state rep at her direction but he then tosses them aside and ignores them when they disagree with him on issues. She tells him then to stop any further interaction with them. His skin is too thin for real politics. If he thinks this is Norco’s biggest problem, he should look at the council person sitting next to him and the new slate coming in.
The real blight in the county is this county council and the next council will rot even quicker than this one.
Okay Keegan. Suck up some more. Morons coming in 2026.
Leave it to the Townships to enforce their ordinance. The county should stay out of it. Warren is just full of hot air. Loves to hear himself talk, and it’s all BS.
If the electorate is D +11 next year like it was 3 weeks ago, Joe Emrick (and Ryan MacKenzie) are toast against any Democrat with a pulse.
Nothing will be missed. Answers will be shorter. No more one sided biographical lessons of his expertise. Clearly it’s time.
Clearly, this council, again, is out of bounds on what they can or cannot do . Wake-up and follow your job descriptions as County Council people,
You are far removed from your self annointed fake commissioner label. Focus on the county needs, the budget, Gracedale, and the Human Services programs….you have many personnel to account for .
I get you, but when it comes to races against a long-time incumbent, it is exponentially harder to win, especially if the incumbent is good at constituent services. Susan Wild was terrible, which is one reason why she lost. Boscola, Freeman, Emrick and other incumbents are much better. I agree Warren has a better shot than Thomas did, but he won in 2020 when Biden won the county.
I seriously doubt that Keegan controls anyone.
Hmm. Will see.
Sure she does! Keegan has made people all over the world act like self righteous hypocrites. I've never seen so many people care what one person thinks or says. It's been inspiring on her part! Keep it up Keegan because you have more people caring about you than anyone else without even trying!
and....his hair was PERFECT
Actually, this council voted Warren down precisely bc it is beyond what county government does.
Sure, let the powers that be (TPTB) have even STILL more control of our property. As it is, we only RENT our property from the government. As far as helping folks out... the clowns they endorse and send to help do a terrible job and TPTB end up slapping each other on the back for doing such a marvelous job.... PHOOEY!!! Refer to Allentown...
@11:19
Another fool who can't understand an article and comments anyway.
Good job oh yee of reading comprehension skills.
Ron forgot more of county government and government in general than you know
Fool? I doubt you could even find council chambers nonetheless understand what the HRC stands for moron.
Jeff Warren is decent and honorable. Hard working. Held more hearings than any other County Council Chairman this year. If other Members would have bothered to attend Economic Development meetings or even watched them on Tubi, they would have known about Jeff’s proposals.
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