tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post4989366074967400752..comments2024-03-28T21:38:40.389-04:00Comments on Lehigh Valley Ramblings: Callahan Pitches Single Hauler at West Bethlehem Block WatchBernie O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-2304599559593092582012-12-11T14:48:43.625-05:002012-12-11T14:48:43.625-05:00http://www.pills4men.net/cialis.html#cialis-no-pre...http://www.pills4men.net/cialis.html#cialis-no-prescription-6 cialis online - cialis 30 day free trialAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-3641832265338000562012-12-11T12:30:00.017-05:002012-12-11T12:30:00.017-05:00http://www.pills4men.net/b_levitra.html#generic-le...http://www.pills4men.net/b_levitra.html#generic-levitra-93 buy generic levitra - levitra how does it workAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-4127031091889314412012-12-11T12:12:42.222-05:002012-12-11T12:12:42.222-05:00http://www.xanaxbuyonlinedrug.com/#buy-cheap-xanax...http://www.xanaxbuyonlinedrug.com/#buy-cheap-xanax-without-rx-41 Purchase Cheap Xanax Without Prescription - xanax g3720 drugAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-81198266196292970552012-12-11T10:28:11.751-05:002012-12-11T10:28:11.751-05:00http://www.pills4men.net/cialis.html#buy-generic-c...http://www.pills4men.net/cialis.html#buy-generic-cialis-online-90 cialis generic - buy cialis pakistanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-32933422722431095612012-12-10T11:38:02.033-05:002012-12-10T11:38:02.033-05:00http://stop-ed.org/#viagra-purchase-online-61 viag...http://stop-ed.org/#viagra-purchase-online-61 viagra buy - purchase viagra united statesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-74042478283039517042012-11-29T16:26:10.225-05:002012-11-29T16:26:10.225-05:00Government is good. The Country has spoken. You pe...Government is good. The Country has spoken. You people harp about "trash" collection but will the USA to tell you when to piss in a cup for your own good. Makes me ill. Everyone here griping about a single hauler keep the neighborhood cleaner and safer system probably voted for 0bama and supports the national healthcare system. Crawl back under your rocks and let the City do what it needs to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-33442028710639995642012-11-29T08:52:26.957-05:002012-11-29T08:52:26.957-05:00Todd Harris, what trash hauler do you operate?Todd Harris, what trash hauler do you operate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-88972050438558542982012-11-27T19:36:15.970-05:002012-11-27T19:36:15.970-05:00Oh and my name is Todd Harris and I live in Bethle...Oh and my name is Todd Harris and I live in Bethlehem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-4197932826855635372012-11-27T19:34:51.752-05:002012-11-27T19:34:51.752-05:00Anon 6:25 pretty well sumed it up. There is really...Anon 6:25 pretty well sumed it up. There is really no need or desire by the community for a single hauler. The Mayor through his own incompetence has screwed up the city to the point he needs lots of money to come close to balancing the books. Even with the Casino fees, over wich he promised we wouldn't need a tax increase for "years" to come he has run the city into the red.<br /><br />This is a gimick just like selling the water and sewer systems. No more, no less.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-78122299551400978592012-11-27T18:38:22.559-05:002012-11-27T18:38:22.559-05:00Excellent comment! Thank you.Excellent comment! Thank you.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-75626891691282082712012-11-27T18:25:48.714-05:002012-11-27T18:25:48.714-05:00Bernie -
A few points:
1) By going to a single ...Bernie -<br /><br />A few points:<br /><br />1) By going to a single hauler, individuals are giving up any chance of being charged for the actual service they use. A elderly senior living along would pay the same as a home with a family of eight living there. Obviously, the trash output is likely much lower for the senior citizen.<br /><br />2) Residents will never have the opportunity to see their bills go lower. By contracting on their own, they might find a hauler with a lower fee than what they are paying. Not likely once the government is involved.<br /><br />3) Residents will have no choice as to when their trash is collected. Some might like having it collected on a certain day(s) of the week. With a single hauler, you will be told when it will be picked up.<br /><br />4) I saw you mentioned 1,000 trash complaints a year for Bethlehem. I'm not sure how many Allentown gets, but I'd guess it is plenty more. An entire bureacracy has evolved to handle questions, missed collections, etc. Those issues are likely handled by the individual customer now, but building the bureacracy will come with a cost.<br /><br />5) With a private hauler, if you don't like the service you're getting, you make the change. With a single hauler, you're stuck.<br /><br />6) In Allentown, the trash bill is separately stated and collected with the real estate taxes. Thus I believe that it becomes part of what can make you lose your home if you don't pay on time.<br /><br />7) Going back to the service issue, the Brain Trust in Allentown shuts down curbside yard waste collection every Thanksgiving. So that means that after the four day Thanksgiving weekend, when many are home to work on their yards, there is no longer curbside pickup. You then have to wait until the yard waste center is open and get it there yourself. Just another example of the customer-friendly decisions made when the government makes the choices and sets the terms.<br /><br />8) In Allentown, they've actually raised the trash fee to cover FUTURE increases. Want to make a bet as to whether that "extra" money is being stored away for its stated purpose?<br /><br />9) I'm totally confused by Callahan's comment about having to come up with $500,000 if the single hauler doesn't go through. As another comment mentioned, the revenues collected should equal the cost of the service. Thus, there should be no excess or deficiency. Charging more than the service costs is just a disguised tax.<br /><br />10) As someone who doesn't live in Bethlehem, I have to say I've never noticed that there was a problem. The city certainly doesn't seem to have an issue with trash strewn about. That would be Allentown, which has a single hauler.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-36985336415936269732012-11-27T16:49:19.410-05:002012-11-27T16:49:19.410-05:00Todd Dietrich, I apologize for the anonymous perso...Todd Dietrich, I apologize for the anonymous personal attack launched at you. Several trolls infest this blog, and their sole agenda is to prevent meaningful discussion of any topic. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-26715283431460780802012-11-27T16:43:41.720-05:002012-11-27T16:43:41.720-05:00The comment at 4:34 demonstrates exactly what hap...The comment at 4:34 demonstrates exactly what happens. People are bullied. They are shouted down by an unruly mob. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-51703801948046349322012-11-27T16:43:23.004-05:002012-11-27T16:43:23.004-05:00The issue here is a $500,000 inflow to the Budget....The issue here is a $500,000 inflow to the Budget. Why is there a profit for the City? Single hauler makes sense. Imagine what the fee would be if the CIty only paased the actual costs through to the consumer. Bernie checks with the municipality and see what their profit is on a single hauler. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-59946768543960723312012-11-27T16:41:42.793-05:002012-11-27T16:41:42.793-05:004:06,
I am not familiar enough with Bethlehem...4:06, <br /><br />I am not familiar enough with Bethlehem's HRC to know whether initiative and referendum is even an option. Assuming that it is, one would have to ask whether single v. independent trash haulers is such a weighty issue that voters should have the final say. It is pretty controversial in Bethlehem, but I don't know that this is a matter on which people really want to have the final say. <br /><br />What Callahan was saying is that the people elect people like him and City Council to make these decisions. If the people don't like what happens, their remedy is at the ballot box. We are not a direct democracy. <br /><br />I thought the Mayor was pretty clear. I thought I was, too. <br /><br />As a general rule, I oppose initiative and referenda. I do believe the water and sewer lease in Allentown should be decided that way bc the HRC expressly permits it and democracy there is dead. But all too often, these movements give rise to mob rule and demagogues. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-63895305374914823852012-11-27T16:34:15.225-05:002012-11-27T16:34:15.225-05:004:09,
That's the way you sheep seem to vote, ...4:09,<br /><br />That's the way you sheep seem to vote, as well. Just follow the herd and never ask questions. Good little sheep. Good little sheep. Baaaaaaa.<br /><br />Remember: all around a pig's ass is pork. But all around a sheep's ass is ewe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-40102816939564499242012-11-27T16:09:27.431-05:002012-11-27T16:09:27.431-05:00People want choice? With trash haulers? Give me ...People want choice? With trash haulers? Give me a break. PEople want to carry their stuff to the curb and have it be gone in the morning. After living in Allentown for a number of years, I never once thought about my lack of "choice" of haulers. I put the trash out and it was gone - TWICE a week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-67799916210395466452012-11-27T16:06:55.846-05:002012-11-27T16:06:55.846-05:009:02, Anon, First, I am not a resident of Bethlehe...<i>9:02, Anon, First, I am not a resident of Bethlehem or a member of the West Bethlehem block watch. The people in that room had plenty of questions, and it would have been wrong for me to take away from their time by interjecting my own questions. Second, the Mayor made it pretty clear why he does not want the public to weigh in on this issue. He feels they weigh in at the ballot box at election time.<br /></i><br /><br />I'm not understanding you or the mayor. The referendum would be AT the ballot box. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-23420742232515917412012-11-27T15:41:53.747-05:002012-11-27T15:41:53.747-05:00The city has always been overcharging for recyclin...The city has always been overcharging for recycling and the grants covered most of the costs..The recycling fee always found it's way into other city coffers..Now that grants have gone down , maybe there was a need for a fee increase but certainly not to $ 60.00.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-91644766090546687342012-11-27T15:36:41.140-05:002012-11-27T15:36:41.140-05:00Perhaps the city should pass an ordinance restrict...Perhaps the city should pass an ordinance restricting trash collection to a certain day or days; with reasonable flexibility for holidays. It would be similar to ordinances restricting open burning on Wednesdays (i.e. laundry day) to protect hanging laundry from airborne ashes. Let citizens make their own trash collection contracts. They are big boys and girls. Politicians usually assume the worst of their constituents and view them with contempt. It is why politicians are viewed with contempt and mistrusted. In a one party town, however, voters have already indicated a willingness to take whatever passes for government of their city.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-2038389458538925932012-11-27T15:08:35.784-05:002012-11-27T15:08:35.784-05:00Joe Kelly and Callahan look like evangelicals in f...Joe Kelly and Callahan look like evangelicals in front of the alter. Too bad they are preaching the word of bullshit.<br /><br />I fear for the saftey of the Church after God sees how it was used.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-7829705398552139552012-11-27T14:49:06.480-05:002012-11-27T14:49:06.480-05:00Or maybe it's Mark Baker. There is a Mark Bake...Or maybe it's Mark Baker. There is a Mark Baker in Bethlehem. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-9473377747734610562012-11-27T14:46:03.744-05:002012-11-27T14:46:03.744-05:00Yes, and we all know how wonderful life is in Alle...Yes, and we all know how wonderful life is in Allentwon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-25150936982106991192012-11-27T14:39:05.888-05:002012-11-27T14:39:05.888-05:00Mark Baker = Jim Hickey or Joe Kelly, hard to say....Mark Baker = Jim Hickey or Joe Kelly, hard to say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-45863060851197879552012-11-27T14:29:20.859-05:002012-11-27T14:29:20.859-05:00As someone who lived in Allentown for over 30 year...As someone who lived in Allentown for over 30 years before moving to Bethlehem, it still baffles me how Bethlehem has 19 trash haulers. In Allentown trash is collected twice a week and recycling once a week (on one of the trash days). The scare tactics being used about prices going through the roof because of a monopoly are unfounded.<br /><br />Also, Bernie, what is it with the spineless anonymous commenters on your blog?<br /><br />Anyway, I'll be at the City Council meeting tonight to hopefully hear some common sense being spoken on the issue.Todd Dietrichnoreply@blogger.com