Andy Roman Helped Bring "Systemic Reform" to Lehigh County

Instead of running for a third term as a Lehigh County Commissioner, Andy Roman instead opposed popular Sheriff Ron Rossi and ran into a brick wall. Roman will now rejoin the vox populi, where he has always excelled as an orator.

I've disagreed with Andy more than I've agreed. We've butted heads here and on at least one other blog. But I like that about him. He is open, accountable and always willing to listen.

In his 8 years as a Lehigh County Commissioner, Andy Roman claims he helped bring "systemic reform" to County government. In his final address, he was happy with these accomplishments: (1) consolidation of four row offices under a Clerk of Judicial Records; (2) privatizing the Nature Preserve into what is now known as the Lehigh Valley Zoological Society; (3) a major courthouse expansion that "saved us a considerable amount of money;" (4) Coca Cola Park; and (5) luring Olympus into the area.

Dave Jones, pictured with Roman above, joke about stealing Andy's plaque. They are political opposites, but are still good friends.

Andy Roman: Support Your Local Sheriff!

Although state law sets the fee for concealed-carry permits at $25, Lehigh County Sheriff Ron Rossi was charging $38 until very recently. County lawyers ruled this higher fee was justified because those permits are encased in plastic and will last 1,000 years. Last week, Commissioner Andy Roman called Rossi the "stealth sheriff" when he failed to appear at his Inquisition on this very, very, very important matter. Like the Energizer Bunny, Roman keeps going and going and going. Yesterday, he fired off this strange mass email, addressed to other commissioners, the DA, and Colonel Sanders:

"With all due respect there seems to be a concerted effort here to cover the Sheriff's mis-deeds at all costs, even if it defies logic.

"The Sheriff, according to this Controller report, charged $38.00 for thousands of applicants, and did not give an option to pay $25.00, thus violating State Law according to Mr. Sorrentino's own legal opinion, and I quote; 'However, so long as the Sheriff has always offered a paper permit for the $25.00 fee, an additional charge for photographic and lamination services is compliant with the law'.

"So. if he DID NOT offer the $25.00 option then he is NOT compliant with the law. Period.

"Now if someone violates State law, do we as a County sweep it under the rug or does the Sheriff face consequences and refund those over-charged? Common Sense says yes!"

Hmm. Would you like coffee or tea, Andy? "Common Sense says yes!" Should the County raise or lower taxes, Andy? "Common Sense says yes!" Andy continues with his indictment:

"The evidence includes an instruction form that outlines a fee of $38.00 dollars with no other option, a Controller report outlining thousands who paid $38.00 and a Sheriff who has not explained or justified his actions but has hidden behind others who make excuses for him.

"I hope we are not being asked to ignore the obvious. I was born at night, but not last night."

Exasperated, Chairman Dean Browning lays the smack down on Andy

"Using 'With all due respect' at the start of your email doesn't excuse your claim that 'there seems to be a concerted effort here to cover the Sheriff's mis-deeds at all costs'. There have been numerous emails on this subject, most of which have been copied to the County Executive, to the District Attorney, to the Controller, to the County Solicitor, to the entire Board of Commissioners and to me as Chairman of the Board. The fact that no one else sees the issue in the same fashion as you do should be an indication that your view might not be correct rather than being used as the basis for making an irresponsible and inflammatory claim that we everyone that I listed above is engaged in a cover up. That accusation simply is not supported by the facts some of which are as follows:

"* The District Attorney, who is the chief law enforcement officer for the County, has responded to an email stating that there is no basis for criminal charges.

"* Subsequent to that and following a review by Legal, I asked our Solicitor to make a presentation of his findings to the Board of Commissioners. This presentation was made at a public meeting that was covered by reporters from two separate newspapers and was also filmed by a member of the audience.

"Exactly what part of the above process leads you to conclude that there 'is a concerted effort to cover the Sheriff's misdeeds'? Was it the fact that the issue was discussed in a public setting? Was it the fact that there were reporters present? Or was it the fact that a State Representative (who is intimately involved in this issue) was present?

"With all due respect, the claim that there is a cover up in this matter not only questions the integrity of everyone on this email it is also absolute rubbish."

Andy Roman: Got Public Health?

Andy Roman is a conservative Lehigh County Commissioner who nevertheless supports the proposed Lehigh Valley Health Department. Here's why, in his own words.

A modern Health Department would be a strong guardian of protection for the residents of the Lehigh Valley. This isn't Mayberry. The Lehigh Valley is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in PA.
And yes, a quality health department would be instrumental in Lehigh/Northampton County fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities of providing for the Public Health & Safety of each County resident. Safety, which certainly includes Emergency Management.

Just ask the director of the Allentown Health Bureau and she will tell you the wide spectrum of catastrophe scenario's that we must be prepared for.

Imagine the panic of a bio-terrorist act of our food supply being poisoned and 5,000 people flock to area hospitals with high fevers, vomiting and convulsions and we had no capacity or command and control to handle such an incident because we were so shortsighted and foolish?

Right now there is no central authority to direct such a response effort. Our current system is fragmented and incapable of addressing a significant event. A Health department would provide that central authority.

If the County government doesn't provide for public health & safety in an age of terrorism, then what exactly is the primary role of government?

What better method than local government and local control over protecting our citizens?

Just ask the victims of Katrina who were waiting on the State & Federal Government.

I believe this debate should start with the "value" a modern health department would provide given the threats that exist before we argue about the "cost".

Cost is only a primary issue in the absence of value.

Once value is established then a cost/benefit analysis should be conducted and only then can an intelligent decision be made.

I hope this entry will add to an intelligent discussion of a very important issue and that is Public Health & Safety in an age of Terrorism.

LC Comm'r Andy Roman: Behind the Scenes

For the past four years, I've been posting an annual committee attendance record of Northampton County Council members, showing the workhorses and showhorses. This year, for the first time, I also posted a blog about the 2009 committee attendance of Lehigh County Commr's.

Lehigh County Comm'r Andy Roman 56% attendance record measured poorly against Dean Browning's 100%. That's something Gloria Hamm mentioned when she decided to vote for Browning over Roman as the new Chairman. I happen to agree with her.

Andy Roman has eloquently explained what I consider a poor attendance record, and in fairness to him, I'll post it here.

Congratulations to Dean & Dan on their election to chair and vice-chair respectively. I will support them fully in 2010.

We all know the REAL WORK for 2010 begins with doing research, phone calls, on-site visits, interviews with County workers, conference calls, communication with other counties, acting on Home Rule Charter responsibilities, and other "leg work" to get something done.

The other public "meetings" are perfunctory in nature and everyone knows it, but most won't admit it.

So the Workhorse/Showhorse analogies are backwards and upside down.

The idea that "grunt work" is done only at committee meetings which average 15 minutes in duration is comical and uninformed.

So I will continue to do the work behind the scenes and let the rest argue over who is actually doing something for the good of the County.

I measure success with results, you can measure success by appearance, attendance and good intentions, that's up to you.

Maybe he'll persuade some of you. He did not persuade Gloria Hamm.

Did LC Comm'r Andy Roman Just Slam Candidate Jeanne McNeill?

Andy Roman is an at-large Lehigh County Commissioner, but is nothing like most politicians. Instead of being gregarious, he's a bit on the shy and retiring side. Reserved. He expresses strong opinions that often make sense, as he did in support of webcasting public meetings, and I've never witnessed him launch a personal attack against anyone.

That's why I have to question whether the "Andy Roman" who commented on Ken Petrini's blog yesterday is the Lehigh County Comm'r or someone else. If this is actually Andy Roman the Commish, he needs to move and run for Northampton County Council, where mean-spirited and childish remarks are expected. Get a lot of this unnecessary swipe.

"Daniel McNeil who was thrown out of office as a Whitehall Township Executive in 2006 because of an ethical cloud surrounding his appointment in violation of the Whitehall Home Rule charter is now hoping to have his wife Jeanne do his bidding for him at the County level and have Don pay for it.

"Daniel McNeil, who was subsequently appointed to a cushy County position is now hoping to bring his brand of "political hack" politics to the County level through his wife, who has no government experience and has never attended a Commissioner meeting.

"By the way,isn't it a bit unsavory to have hubby calling the shots while being on the County pay-roll? Conflict of interest maybe??

"If Daniel McNeil wants to be a political player at the County level, why doesn't he run himself instead of making his poor wife do his bidding?"

Tacky. Maybe Andy should try blogging. Speaking of unsavory, is it appropriate for a Lehigh County elected official to speak this way about a County employee?

LC Comm'rs: Instead of Webcasting, How About Online Minutes?

In what Commissioner Dean Browning calls a "tactical retreat," he withdrew his webcasting initiative at last night's meeting of Lehigh County's Board of Commissioners. "It's apparent from the first reading and subsequent discussion that there's not enough votes for this to go forward."

But public transparency advocates will be happy to note that Comm'r David Jones has descended from his pulpit with an answer. Claiming to have had a "stroke of conscience" over his previous complaint that a camera might destroy the "integrity" of their proceedings, Jones has suggested filming a budget hearing or two to see "what the public appetite might be." He's even offered to bring some teenagers in from his church, claiming they won't cost much.

Budget hearings are probably the most important work done by a legislative body, but sitting through them is a lot like root canal. What Jones is really doing is trying his best to kill a transparency initiative, while getting a few bucks for some kids from his church in the process. When the Lehigh Valley Zoo funding was in trouble, that would be a time to gauge public interest. When Don Cunningham's safe streets proposal became controversial, cameras would have informed the public.

Browning's webcasting initiative may have temporarily failed, but commissioners were very eager eager to demonstrate a commitment to open government. Like Jesus in Gethsemane, Bill Leiner was once again up all night pondering the problem, something he mentioned three times. Then Glenn Eckhart proposed posting minutes on the county's web page, something that Lehigh County has amazingly never done. That motion, seconded by Dean Browning, carried unanimously.

Andy Roman still chastised his colleagues.

"I'm just disappointed to see that this measure is being withdrawn and we are dickering over a few thousand dollars to communicate what we do in a county government to the public. This falls under the category in my mind of majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors. We had a $6 million pricetag on a Linden Street bridge project that could have been delayed and paid for by the state. And we decided to pick up a $6 million tab for the Linden Street bridge. We decided to spend $200 thousand to pour cement down a sinkhole at the juvenile detention center. We didn't bat an eye on any of those big ticket items. ... Now we are spending twenty or thirty minutes over whether we should allow cameras to allow the public to view what it is that we're doing. In my mind, we have reverted to majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors, and I'm sad to see it."

For Dean Browning's withdrawal, click here.