NorCo Council Defeats Rate Hikes For Weights and Measures

John Keppel, NorCo Dep't Weights
and Measures

By a narrow 5-4 margin, Northampton County Council voted on July 8 to defeat a rate hike sought by Weights and measures,the department that makes sure you're really getting a gallon of gas and that a pound of balogna is not just baloney. Northampton is one of just 13 counties with its own Weights and Measures Department. Everywhere else, including Lehigh county, that functions is now performed by the state Department of Agriculture. Three members of Council - Hayden Phillips, Seth Vaughn and John Cusick - made clear that they would like to abolish the department.

"I do not think we need this service, this cost, this additional government in Northampton County," said Hayden Phillips, arguing instead for "less governmental oversight."

Statewide, there are only 37 inspectors. Northampton County's Sealer, John Keppel, told Council in June that the state simply lacks the manpower "to do the in-depth testing that we do. Once you're two blocks off Main Street, for the most part, they don't know you exist."

Keppel went on to say that the state is so strapped for manpower that it actually certifies sellers and installers of scales, pumps and timing devices in use in many stores.

"That's like me coming into your store and saying, 'This scale or timing device is not any good. I'll sell you a new one.' It's like having the fox in the henhouse."

But that obvious conflict of interest makes no difference to Council President John Cusick. Noting that this is no longer a  "mandatory county function," he "just can't square the fact that this is something that we do that 3/4 of the other counties don't."

Executive John Brown previously told Council that this is a "matter of consumer protection." Ken Kraft drove that point home in a withering criticism of the trio who wants to pass off this department to the state in the name of  less government.

"You want the state to protect our citizens from being ripped off when they buy a gallon of gas or they weigh something on a scale that could be tipped the other way and you're going to put your faith in the state when they can't even pass a budget for 15 months and they can't do anything like fix their own bridges and their own roads. That's a foolish road to go down."

Agreeing with Kraft, Peg Ferraro doubts that the state would hire more inspectors for Northampton County.

Mat Benol noted that in New Jersey, everyone was buying gas at a station whose prices were lower than everywhere else until the state determined that customers were getting short-changed. He said this department plays a valuable role "for the citizens." He added, ""I have no faith in the state to handle the business of NC."

Glenn Geissinger agreed that the department is "valuable" and "pays for itself," but opposes fee increases. Matt Dietz echoed Geissinger's argument.

With Geissinger and Dietz opposed to the increase, and the Cusick-Phillips-Vaughn trio opposed to the department itself, there were five votes against the rate increase when Council voted.

Beaten but unbowed, Ken Kraft made a promise. "As long as I'm here, there will be a Department of Weights and Measures."

In other business, Council introduced an Ordinance calling for a $5 hike on vehicle registrations every year, a measure that Cusick advocated in June as a source of revenue for bridge and possible road repairs. He named himself and Bob Werner as co-sponsors.

There was no discussion of the ordinance. But Pen Argyl's Jeff Fox urged Council to vote it down when it votes on this matter in two weeks.

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," he said. "These hurt the poorest the hardest. Many of the biggest users have vehicles not registered in the county. You can call it a fee or whatever you will. It is indeed another tax. If you call yourself a fiscal conservative or care about the less advantaged within our county, vote it down."

PayDay Lending: A NIZ By-Product

Like dandelions, Cash America offices at one time littered the Lehigh Valley, offering short-term, high-interest payday loans to those who can least afford them. People needing quick cash could borrow money and secure their loan with either a post-dated check or a pre-authorized withdrawal. Annual interest rate? Just 368%. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court put a stop to this practice in 2008, and Cash America cashed out.

It's about to make a comeback.

Last year, the state house adpoted legislation that will authorize a 419% APR on a two-week loan passed earlier this month, in a 102-90 vote.

It was opposed by Democrats Joe Brennan, Bob Freeman and Steve Samuelson, as well as Republicans Marcia Hahn and Joe Emrick. Under incredible pressure by party leadership, Hahn called Jennings from the house floor three times before deciding to vote against the legislation.

But Democrat Jenn Mann supported the bill. Why?

Sounding very Republican, she told The Morning Call that government "can't control an individual's finances."

In the Senate, former payday loan opponent Pat Browne is now a payday loan proponent.

Mann and Browne, as you know, are the architects of the NIZ, a special district we now know is only available to the rich developers like gazillionaire J.B. Reilly, not mom-and-pops. To get the support they needed to help out their rich pals, Mann and Browne agreed to support Payday lending.

Browne is now sponsoring a gentler, kinder payday loan bill in the Senate. The APR is only 300%.

He calls it a "micro loan."

CACLV Executive Director Alana Jennings likens that it to stabbing someone in the back and calling it surgery.

Never mind that, from AARP to United Way, payday loans are condemned as just another stepping stone in the march to delinquency on other bills, bank account closures and bankruptcy.

Will this pass? Locally, State senator Lisa Boscola voted No. But since this screws the consumer, just like the NIZ, my bet is it passes.

No Cash Advance offices will be permitted in the NIZ district. But I'm sure they'll be allowed everywhere else.

Joe Brennan: Time to Regulate Rent-A-Centers

State Rep. Joe Brennan, D-Lehigh/Northampton, whose legislative district includes some of the poorest residents in the Lehigh Valley, has introduced legislation to regulate interest rates at rent-to-own centers.

Retailers suffer in this recession, but places like Rent-A-Center have seized on what they call "a window of opportunity," and are cleaning up with financially-distressed customers unable to get credit anywhere else.

Here's how it works, as recently explained in Toward Freedom: "A TV that sells for about $700 at a regular store is priced by Rent-A-Center at over $1500. By paying $39.99 a week for 77 weeks the TV is yours – at a final cost of almost $3100. That amounts to a 68 percent annual interest rate, or much higher if you compare it to financing the same TV you can buy for $700 at another retail store. (There may also be other fees involved at a rent-to-buy store, like a 'loss/damage waiver fee.')" Instead of paying interest, you're paying "rent."

"Since the rent-to-own industry began in the 1960s, their sales tactics and interest rates have come under scrutiny at both the state and local level," Brennan said. "Many centers charge interest rates that average 100 percent, and they often fail to disclose those rates."

Brennan's bill, H.B. 2247, would toughen rental disclosure guidelines to benefit consumers. Under the legislation, rent-to-own centers would be required to:

· Reveal all fees in the original rental/purchase agreement;
· Provide statements outlining a consumer's right to terminate an agreement without charging additional fees not previously outlined in the original rental contract as long as the property is returned in good condition;
· Provide account statements to a customer upon request without an extra charge; and
· Follow the interest rate cap in Pennsylvania's criminal usury statute that prohibits charging more than 25 percent interest.

Locally, state reps. Rich Grucela and Karen Beyer have signed on as co-sponsors.

"Most customers of rent-to-own centers are working Americans earning weekly paychecks who rent household items like televisions, major appliances and computers," Brennan said. "The rent-to-own industry often markets to the poorest 40 percent of the United States population, the segment of the population with the fewest purchasing options and who may have the greatest difficulty understanding the complicated terms of their rent-to-own agreement."

Brennan said his legislation will help protect consumers who utilize rent-to-own centers from unknowingly entering into contracts which they cannot meet.