NorCo's 2024 Independent Audit Available Online

At last week's meetings of Northampton County Council, they received a report from an independent outside auditing firm retained to examine the county's financial position in 2024. She gave the county an "unqualified" opinion, which is the best you can get. That report is now available online. Given the number of accusations of fiscal mismanagement, most of which are made here anonymously or by Council member John Brown, I thought I'd review it myself and suggest that you do that as well because that's the whole point of transparency. You might see something that others miss, or might be in a position to make a suggestion for improvement. 

Here are the "financial highlights" as reported in the audit: 

Governmental Activities:

• The assets and deferred outflows of the County of Northampton exceeded liabilities and deferred inflows at the end of the year by $174 million (net position).

• The County is reporting a deficit in unrestricted net deficit of ($20.7) million as of December 31, 2024.

• The government’s total net position decreased by $14.1 million. In addition, the governmental fund balance decreased $26.6 million.

• At the close of 2024 the County reported an ending net position of $174 million, a decrease of $14.1 million. In addition to the changes to fund balance discussed below, the following items also contributed to the changes in net position in 2024:

OPEB liability and related accounts decreased $2.8 million due to differences in actuarial estimates in both benefits paid and expected investment earnings in 2024.

Pension liability and related accounts increased $8.3 million due to differences in actuarial estimates in both claims paid and expected investment earnings in 2024.

Liability Due to P-3 Contractor decreased $2.1 million due to the near completion of the construction phase of the project discussed in Note #16

Long-term debt decreased $14 million during 2024.

Cash and Investments decreased $35.1 million due to the utilization of fund balance resources, aimed at maintaining a reserve equivalent to two months operating expenditures.

Unrestricted Net Position decreased $36.4 million due to the utilization of fund balance resources, aimed at maintaining a reserve equivalent to two months operating expenditures.

Governmental Funds:

• At the close of 2024 the County’s governmental funds reported an ending fund balance of $93.8 million, a decrease of $26.6 million. Significant governmental fund activity in 2024 is as follows:

Gracedale Nursing Home fund required a $9.9 million Transfer In from the General Fund in order to cover an operating expense deficit largely caused by an IGT shortfall that was not reported to management until late 2023. Expenditure and revenue shortfalls were also due to the use of agency nursing services to cover major staffing shortages and a lower-than-optimal resident census. The $9.9 million transfer is discussed in Note #1. (Brown's claim about the Gracedale deficit is accurate). 

Pending Medical Assistance applications cause a lag in collections of accounts receivable and are not included in current year revenue if collections exceed 90 days of year end. Payments collected after 90 days are included in included in the subsequent year revenue. Included in 2024 operating revenue is $3.5 million of 2023 Medical Assistance revenue while $1.4 million of 2024 Medical Assistance billings will potentially be recognized as revenue in 2025. The amounts are reflected on the Gracedale balance sheet as unavailable.

Real estate tax revenue increased $2.3 million mainly due to tax base growth.

• At the end of 2024, the unassigned fund balance, that which is available for spending at the government’s discretion is $7.8 million. However, the entire $7.8 million represents Financial Stabilization funds governed by Ordinance #526. The $7.8 million represents the minimum amount recommended by GASB, which is 5% of general fund budgeted operating expenditures, including transfers out. Additional information can be found in the Fund Balance and Financial Reserve sections of Note #1.

Some interesting points:

1) 59.3% of the county's revenue stream come in the form of state and federal grants.  

2) NorCo's total debt is $78.3 million. It has the legal authority to borrow $1.562 billion. 

3) Current year revenue plus $20.6 million in the general fund is sufficient for this year's operating budget (Brown has insisted several times that the county is cash poor, but the audit belies that assertion)

4) 85% of the county's spending is for human services as well as our courts and jail. 

5) There was an increase of $3.9 million in the drug and alcohol fund balance as a result of the national opioid settlement. 

6) County employees get between 10-30 vacation days a year, and from 0.833 to 1.25 sick days a month. Compensated absences cost the county $7.3 million per year. 

Please feel free to share your own observations. 

Robert Brooks And His In-Laws

It's been rumored for the past month or so that Robert Brooks, a retired Bethlehem firefighter and current President of the Pa Professional Firefighters' Ass'n, was going to be announcing his candidacy for the now crowded race for the Democratic nomination to the Pa.-07 Congressional seat currently held by Republican Ryan Mackenzie. Yesterday, rumor became reality. Brooks not only announced but did so with multiple text bombs. I got three nearly identical text messages from him, except for the ask. The first just requested a "donation today." A second asked me to be a "Founding Donor." A third asked me to split a donation between "The Next 50 and me." He also received the endorsement of Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders, who asked me to send $27. 

Brooks, who was able to retire and start collecting a defined benefit pension after just 20 years in Bethlehem, proclaims himself as an everyman. Aside from government employees, I know of very few people who have that kind of perc. 

Other things bother me much more. He has previously supported Lamont McClure in the Pa.-07 Congressional race and has even sent text messages calling him a "strong Democrat with a proven track record of putting out fires and a long history of standing up to corruption." Would an everyman suddenly stab someone in the back the way Brooks just did?

And is he even really a Democrat?  

In 2019, he posted the Clint Eastwood meme you see above, which stand for some well-known Republican ideals. I could understand a Democrat might endorse second amendment rights. He might think we need stronger discipline. He might want us all to tougher on crime. He might even think prayer in schools is a good idea. But if he supports all of these, it's time for him to change his party registration. What bothers me most is the skull with a Roman numeral III. This signifies the three percenters, "a decentralized, far-right, anti-government movement in the United States." 

Finally, he's simply not a very nice person. Let me explain why.

In 2008, his in-laws transferred a residential property to him and his then wife and even fronted the cost of subdividing the property to the tune of $55,000. Everyman Brooks promised to pay the money back but never did. Eventually, he and his then wife agreed to sign a promissory note for the money, with monthly payment of $630. He never paid a cent. He was sued, and a $130,000 award was entered against him in 2020. In an effort to string things along, he appealed but lost in a unanimous Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling. In 2022, judgment was entered against him for $130,000. 

That judgment remains open of record. 

After screwing over his in-laws, he and his wife eventually parted ways, with a divorce being granted in 2018. He finally quitclaimed his interest in the property to his ex-wife in 2022. But before that happened, two foreclosure actions were filed against him. And he was sued by two credit card companies. He currently owns no real estate. 

He's no working-class hero. A man who screwed over his own family and who dropped a candidate he said he supported is someone who will drop the working class he now pretends to champion. 

Other Democrats in this race include NorCo Exec Lamont McClure, Susan Wild- puppet Carol Obando-Derstine, blatant opportunist Mark Pinsley, and carpetbagger and pretend-Democrat Ryan Crosswell. 

"Where's the money, Lamont?" Signs Appear in NorCo

 

Several of you have noticed yard signs like the one you see above popping up in some corners of NorCo. Are they nostalgia for the Sanford and Son TV series?  Do they suggest that, once your money is gone, you need to go to Gracedale? I believe a lot of people who see these posters would be hard put to understand the point. But a few do. Those few are Democrats and Republicans who follow NorCo government. And they'll understand the message - it's an accusation that NorCo Exec Lamont McClure squandered money intended for bonuses at Gracedale, the county's nursing home. The message implies that this money is missing and may have been pocketed.  Basically, it's misinformation. But is it effective as a negative campaign ad? By itself, no. But if it is combined with mailers that explain more clearly what actually happened, it can be effective. 

As much as people say they hate negative campaigns, they do work if the information is accurate. 

Let's summarize the details. 

Back in March, NorCo Council wanted to know what happened to $5 million in retention bonuses they set aside for Gracedale employees, and tasked Controller Tara Zrinski with finding out. She did. She conducted an audit and learned that, of $5 million approved for retention bonuses, only $2.36 million was actually paid to employees. The rest was used for operating expenses at the nursing home.  Because this money was commingled with other Gracedale funds, it is impossible to state exactly how each dollar was spent. 

Based on what Zrinski learned, we know that Council's directive was ignored, which was undoubtedly a blunder. But we also know that no money is missing, as the sign dishonestly suggests. Based on what we know, McClure can be tagged for several mistakes. He failed to spend the bonus money the way Council intended it to be spent, at least with respect to career service (nonunion) workers. He failed to ensure that the bonus money was in a separate fund to prevent it from being commingled.  He also failed to alert Council of the problem in an executive session in which he could freely describe how some Gracedale staffers basically blew the money on unneeded overtime for non-nursing staff.  

What we learned is, quite frankly, damaging. But the suggestion that any money is missing is a bold-faced lie designed to appeal to low-information voters.  

LVNB Draws Attention to $20 Million Deficit at Lehigh Valley Public Media

Lehigh Valley Public Media (LVPM) is home to PBS39, WLVR FM 91.3 and LehighValleyNews.com. It claims its mission is to "engage everyone in our community through our public media resources to make the Lehigh Valley better tomorrow than it is today." It's pretty much failed miserably on that level, at least when it comes to radio and television. But even more importantly, as Jeff Ward's Lehigh Valley Business Briefs has been warning for some time, it's losing money. Lots of money. His latest report chronicles a $20 million loss over the past three years. 

As Jeff Notes in his most recent story, LVPM cuts its losses to $4.6 million in FY 2025, so that's a positive sign. But the amount of cash showered on its four top dogs (Tim Fallon - $299,000; Yoni Greenbaum - $264,785; Andrea Cummis - $224,094; and Arthur Troccoli - $212,459) in 2024 is staggering. In that year, LVPM lost $7.2 million. 

Those four are now gone, and the new CEO and President is Hassana Birdsong. Her background is in marketing and sales when what LVPM really needs is a strong comptroller. 

In addition to spending like drunken sailors, I'd maintain that PBS39 and WLVR have both failed miserably in providing informative broadcasts about local issues and local government. Programs like "1A", "Here and Now" or even "All Things Considered" are never local and are rarely even topical.  WHYY in Philly actually has the NJ governor call in periodically to answer questions from the public. It devotes an hour each day to in-depth discussion of local issues. There is precious little of that from WLVR.

I would agree that LehighValleyNews.com has become an invaluable resource for local news. It provides much better coverage of local government than you can find in our dailies. But overall, public media outlets really make no effort to connect with the community. 

Jeff notes that LVPM has lost about $1 million annually in federal support. I'd much rather see that money used to shore up or social security system or ensure that kids can get their school lunches. 

Steve Has An Emotional Support Teddy

NorCo Fiscal Affairs Director Steve Barron is the administration official that Council members love to hate. They've called him condescending, a bloviator and worse. But the ugliest rebukes come from comments on this blog. Anonymous, of course. Is all this venom taking a toll?

All I'll say is that I caught him a few days ago with an emotional support teddy bear. He was having a nice conversation with it, too. 

Immigration Enforcement at LC Courthouse

Ron Beitler is a Lehigh County Comm'r. He's a Republican, by the way. He recently posted about how Lehigh County handles immigration enforcement. I'm going to share what he has said:

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

First background.

Lehigh County Commissioners do not set immigration policy, including anything involving ICE. That is the Federal government. For Lehigh County residents, that means Congressman Ryan Mackenzie, Senator John Fetterman, and Senator Dave McCormick contribute to those decisions.

Federal immigration policy intersects with Lehigh County in two areas:

• Lehigh County Jail

• Lehigh County Courthouses — Main and Historic

-The Courthouse is a public facility that contains both private and public areas.

This post deals with the Courthouses. Courthouse policies, protocols and operations are set exclusively by the President Judge in consultation with the District Attorney and County Sheriff. This is due to provisions of the State Constitution establishing an independent judiciary.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀:

• ICE agents CAN legally make arrests in the Courthouse under applicable federal law — but only do so for people in the facility for criminal, not civil, matters.

• ICE agents do NOT wear masks in the Courthouse.

• ICE agents DO show identification.

• The County does NOT provide ICE with holding facilities in the Courthouses.

Court policy is designed to keep the Courthouse safe for hundreds of employees and visitors who use the facility daily. The President Judge and Sheriff are responsible for that safety. Specific security decisions and practices remain confidential for obvious reasons. Safety is the primary concern.

Per federal law, as a law enforcement agency, ICE is permitted to take individuals into custody in a manner laid out by federal law. (That law is NOT our jurisdiction)

**𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲** The President Judge, DA and Sheriff do not treat law enforcement agencies in the Courthouse differently based on jurisdiction. This means county and out-of-county municipal police, other county law enforcement (such as county detectives), out-of-county sheriffs, State Police, or federal agencies (such as the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Homeland Security, and ICE) are all treated the same.

𝗜𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴:

a. What is legal, based on applicable statutes and caselaw?

b. What is safe, with an emphasis on prevention being the best approach to ensure safety?

c. What manages risk most effectively?

I agree with this criteria.

Sheriff Hanna takes his responsibility to protect nearly 1000 employees and visitors each day very seriously. It’s a duty he will not compromise on. I completely agree.

Commissioner Antonio Pineda and I independently met with the President Judge, District Attorney, Sheriff and Court Administration to fact-find — to clearly understand what, if any, role we have, to be abel to dispel any bad information out there and lastly to establish a factual starting point for any conversations other Commissioners may attempt to move forward.