Another County Sells Its Nursing Home

In their latest attempt to persuade us that all is well at Northampton County nursing home Gracedale, a new culprit is being blamed for the fiscal woes - accounting. If they only stopped using a cash basis and went into an accrual form of accounting, in which predicted revenue could be claimed, all would be well. While County officials slapped each other on the back for finally solving the problem, Montgomery County voted to sell their home.

Montgomery County, incidentally, is a Commissioner Board with a 2-1 Democratic majority. Josh Shapiro, the chair, is a former State Rep touted as a potential statewide candidate among liberal Democrats. The vote was unanimous.

While Northampton County discusses keeping two sets of books despite the advice of those nasty independent auditors, Lebanon County has begun exploring privatization of its nursing home.

At the beginning of 2013, 28 counties still operated 33 nursing homes (some counties have more than one home). So far this year, five counties have now sold their homes, while another two weigh their options.

Perhaps someone should tell them it's just an accounting problem.

Lamont McClure Shows His Mean Streak

Lamont McClure and Ken Kraft have been telling everyone that their amendment to Northampton County's revolving door ordinance (see my story here) really has no application to county employees who serve on the boards of nonprofits like CACLV, which receive county funds. They deny it is an attempt to punish CACLV Executive Director Alan Jennings or the two County employees who serve on his board. They claim this ordinance only applies to entities that do business or provide paid services with the County.

But let me clue them in. CACLV does business with the County. It does provide paid services. Their attempt to pretend it has no application to nonprofits is completely contrary to the plain language of the ordinance as well as the Council discussion on Thursday night. Moreover, it is completely contrary to what McClure himself said to Jennings in an email exchange on Friday.

I filed a RTK request with Jennings, figuring he would ask McClure what was going on. Sure enough, he did.

Below is Jennings' email to McClure, followed by McClure's insincere reply, in which he demonstrates pretty clearly that he is punishing Jennings over the Marcus hire and is kicking around two County workers who look out for our money on his board while the Controller does union organizing.

Jennings to McClure:

Hi, Lamont –

I had no idea that Council was considering the ordinance it adopted last night regarding County employees’ service on boards of directors. I was away on vacation when the first reading occurred and never learned of the proposal until someone told me about the post on Bernie's blog this morning.

I didn't realize how much our hiring of Ross Marcus disturbed Council members. I sent President Cusick an apology but got no response.

The federal law that authorizes the existence of Community Action Agencies like ours requires us to include elected officials or their appointed representatives on our boards. In fact, at least one-third of our board must represent that public sector.

For more than 40 years, we have had designated seats for representatives of the two counties and the three cities. For 30 years we have also included representatives of the communities with the next highest poverty rates; that means the Slatington area, Fountain Hill, and the Slate Belt, particularly Bangor.

The concept behind the federal law is that anti-poverty work should grow out of collaborative discussion involving all sectors of the community, which means the public sector, the private sector and low-income people themselves. I believe that process has served this region very well. You know from your own experience, for example, that it was CACLV that stepped up to take on the foreclosure crisis. I hope you know that we have many, many other examples of CACLV agility in taking on new community challenges.

It would be very unfortunate if Northampton County removed itself from that process. For that reason I will be encouraging the County executive to veto the ordinance.

As an aside, I had no idea that you had such disdain for this agency or me. If there is anything I can do to heal that relationship I hope you will give me that opportunity.

Best –

Alan

McClure's Reply to Jennings:

Frank Flisser [Council Clerk] forwarded your email to me. It’s always unfortunate, when people personalize an issue. Indeed, while the genesis for this Ordinance was the Ross Marcus hiring, this issue has little, to nothing to do with CACLV, in my mind. I don’t have any personal disdain for you or your organization. As you correctly noted, I’ve worked successfully with your CACLV in the past to help folks threatened by foreclosure. As you may remember, I was the author of the Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program in Northampton County and I fought to get it passed. I will work with CACLV again when it is in the best interests of the people of Northampton County.

With respect to the substance of the issues you raise in your email, Northampton County law was violated when you hired Ross Marcus. That violation of the law will not be addressed in the short term as CACLV is essentially a sole source provider for certain of the human services that it provides to the County. I understood you to have said that you had no fear of the contracts being put out to bid as you would mostly likely be the only bidder or the lowest bidder. That tells me you understood what the law in Northampton County was, but due to your leverage, you chose to hire Mr. Marcus anyway.

As for the provision that was passed last night, it is your right to advocate for a veto. In many ways, after the issues Mr. Stoffa raised last night, and that you reiterated today in your email, I look forward to the opportunity to attempt to override the veto as I don’t believe the manner in which Mr. Marcus came to be employed at CACLV in violation of Northampton County law, has been adequately vetted. Heretofore, the role, in the hiring of Mr. Marcus, of the board members who are also employees of Northampton County, has not been thoroughly explored.

We have also recently just passed through a situation where the County Controller was forced to resign a teaching position at the Community College. I certainly think teaching the leaders of tomorrow at a community college is a public good. However, the classes were during the regular work day, and while the Controller did not violate any law, he wisely chose to give up the post. In the override fight, it would probably also be important to review how much time Northampton County employees spend on CACLV business during regular county working hours.

While this Ordinance, was not meant to be personalized, you and Mr. Stoffa have done so, which is very unfortunate. This Ordinance was inspired by your actions in breach of your contracts with the county, but what it is meant to do is prevent county employees from serving two competing interests. The intent of the law is to ensure that county employees have the taxpayers best interests in mind at all times. I also believe you are technically mistaken regarding one point. Elected officials are not impacted by this Ordinance. Therefore, the County Executive, any of the 9 members of County Council, the Controller or even the DA could sit on CACLV’s board. Therefore, Northampton County will not disengage from the process.

Should you wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to call.

NorCo Council Candidates Will Debate Next Monday

Although it's unclear whether all ten Northampton County Council candidates can make it, Northampton Community College is hosting a debate on Monday, October 28, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the College Center, Room 146. Students and faculty did a great job putting it together, along with the Lehigh Valley LWV.

Angel Diaz, NCC's President of Student Government, will introduce Beverly Hernandez, President of the League of Women Voters of Northampton County.

Dr. John Kincaid, Professor of Government, at Lafayette, will be the moderator.

Clare Polanki, LWV, and Wes Smith, student at NCC, will be the official timekeepers.

LHS Athletes Raise $1,700 to Fight Breast Cancer

Middle schools from all over the Lehigh Valley invaded the Bethlehem Steelers' complex on October 21. While football players hid, seventh and eighth graders competed in two-mile cross country races hosted by Liberty High School's own cross country team. These athletes also managed to race $1,400 for another kind of race - the race to cure breast cancer. Another $300 was scraped up by the girls' volleyball team.

They did so in honor of cross country athlete Emily Cecchini's mother, Robyn, who lost her battle with breast cancer in March at age 44. Emily (center) along with assistant volleyball coach Melissa Waldron (right) presented a $1400 check to Dolly Woody, Executive Director of the Susan G Komen Foundation NEPA, whose mission is to find a cure. To date, that foundation has invested nearly $2 billion in research and outreach.

Liberty's entire cross country team, coached by the legendary Mark Will Weber, relax below with the fruit of their labors.

The Whitehall Zephyrs ham it up before their race.

East Hills were all business.

Nitschman Middle Schoolers thought the race was next week.

Move Over, Jim Gregory

I don't quite know how Jim "Graterford" Gregory is going to take this, but there's another write-in candidate for Bethlehem Mayor. His name is Todd Dietrich, and appears to be upset by the "disgracefully negative campaign" run by Bob Donchez in the primary, in which he bested Willie Reynolds. So he figured he might as well run himself, and announced via a news release from aptly named Blabbermouth Communications.

Though he claims to have won a pie-eating contest, this will be Dietrich's first venture into politics. An Independent since age 18, his Facebook page indicates he has attracted far left supporters like the unbearably smug Jonathan Geeting. Together, they will create Shangri La.

Except even Geeting is sure the dude will lose.

Dietrich has lived in Bethlehem for two years, and thinks that's long enough for him to know how to run the City.

No word on whether Dietrich, like Gregory, believes there's a vast conspiracy to keep people from finding the truth, involving Donchez, DA John Morganelli, Mayor John Callahan, the Bethlehem police, all the judges, the Vatican and Colonel Sanders.

This Thursday, you can ask him. He's hosting a Meet'n Greet at Tapas on Main from 5 – 8 PM.

Don't know if he's booked any air time on WGPA.

Does Scott Ott Have Executive Qualifications?

Lehigh County Executive candidate Scott Ott is blowin' oil over a Tom Muller campaign ad that compares Muller's experience to Ott's. Muller is an accomplished Executive, while Ott was apparently a part-time school bus driver. Unlike Ott's campaign literature, which appears to be deceptive at best, the Muller ad is accurate.

My proof? Scott Ott. He's sent out a mass email entitled, "All I Really Needed to Know About Being County Executive I Learned as a Bus Driver, Camp Director and People Greeter." In it, he explains that we all start out low and learn valuable lessons along the way.

The problem, for Ott, is that he seems to have stayed there.

His camp director job, for example, is a position he held just four years ago, in a failed campaign against then Executive Don Cunningham. I understand that his salary there depended on how many "prayer buddies" he could recruit. He was kinda' like  an Amway for Christ.

One thing Ott fails to talk about is the still unopened Embassy Theatre in Lewistown. Just two years ago, he was taking credit for saving it. The truth is he left the place in shambles, and in a bad position financially.

Paul Fagley, President of Friends of the Embassy Theatre, tells me,

When I came on the board in the fall of 1992, Scott was already gone from the group, and things were falling apart. The original purchase deal with the local banks was that, although they had enough to purchase the theatre, they were given a 2-year demand mortgage of $35,000 to tie the group over (to pay the bills, so to speak) while it incorporated and raised funds to get the project moving. At the end of two years, the mortgage was to be paid off. However, there was no followup to the original appeal, and no significant funds had been raised. The new roof that was supposed to have been put on the building was only half completed, with only tarpaper on the other half, which caused more interior damage. When I took over as President in August of 1993, the ship was literally sinking. After rebuilding the board, and finishing the roof, it took a few years for the board to stabilize the finances of the project just to keep it afloat, then working with various agencies to do the necessary work to bring it back. We are now poised to begin the major work. The mortgage is still there, 20 years later, although we have paid it down to $25,000.

So do you want an accomplished Executive who understands how government works? Or would you prefer a person who couldn't pout a roof on a theatre and then blew town, leaving it with an unpaid mortgage?

Howard Kutzler Going to South Whitehall Township

South Whitehall Township should be charged with theft, First, they stole Bethlehem Township Manager Jon Hammer. Now they've grabbed his successor, Howard Kutzler.

In a late Friday afternoon memo, Hammer reports that Kutzler will start in South Whitehall Township on November 4 as their Director of Administration. He'll be taking over Tony Ganguzza's job as he transitions to part time status.

On October 8, I told you that Kutzler was resigning as Bethlehem Township Manager. He denies his decision has anything to do with politics. But I wonder.

In the primary, long-time Commissioner Paul Weiss was defeated by two candidates backed by developer Abe Atiyeh. One of his employees, Mickey Thompson, is running for Michael Hudak's seat. Atiyeh helped elect Felix "Phil" Bernard and Marty Zawarski. It is all but certain that, come November, Atiyeh will be in effective control of Bethlehem Township government.

Stray Dog Meeting at Same Time as Exec Debate

While Northampton County Executive candidates growl and bark at each other on Tuesday night, the rest of the County will be going to the dogs. Cats, too. There will be a 7 pm meeting at the Charles Chrin Community Center, where the tea party usually meets to cast spells on Democrats.

Should the County take over stray animal control? Should we have a shelter to ease the burden on local law enforcement, and the tie and expense of shipping animals several counties away? Why are so many of the strays in the no-kill shelters a pit bull variety? Why does Sheriff Randy Miller and Easton Police Chief Scalzo feel so strongly about this issue?

This meeting will include an overview of two reports already prepared for the County on this issue, which include possible solutions to alleviate the situation.

For more information contact Lori Sywensky, Community Development Administrator at 610-559-3200, or lsywensky@northamptoncounty.org.

NorCo Exec Debate on Tuesday

Northampton County Executive candidates John Callahan and John Brown will square off in a debate on Tuesday night, 7 pm, at Northampton Community College's David A. Reed Community Room (in the College Center). Set up by the Lehigh Valley LWV and The Express Times, this is the only time that the voters will have to see the person who ultimately will hold the highest office in Northampton County.

Brown, a Republican, is Bangor's Mayor. He ran unopposed in the primary.

Callahan, a Democrat, is Bethlehem's Mayor. He obtained a majority of the vote in a three-way primary against former Executive Glenn Reibman and Council member Lamont McClure.

This race is beginning to heat up. Finally. A Brown mailer attacking Callahan's "alarming fiscal record as Mayor of Bethlehem" was delivered to my estate on Saturday morning. That tells me Brown is behind.

How the Tea Party Bargains

Unions Thanks Stoffa For Rollback on Healthcare Hike

Ken Kraft

I lost a $5 bet last night. Unions swooped down on County Council after Northampton County administrators announced plans to increase health care costs to avoid being classified as a "Cadillac" plan under Obamacare. The changes were draconian, and in many cases, would have erased any financial gains made by workers in the past several years. Executive John Stoffa put the brake on these plans, opting instead to seek a second opinion and form a committee to see if there is some way out of the mess. I bet County Council member Ken Kraft that the unions would not thank Stoffa.

I lost.

Though the crowd was not as huge, a fairly large contingent of county workers came to last night's Council meeting and thanked Stoffa. AFSCME union agent Justus James and union leader Sean Carson (sp?) both gave Stoffa credit, even shaking his hand. James acknowledged that "The Affordable Care Act is complicated,"  and said that he is praying for better communication.

Nobody seemed to notice that his Director of Human Resources, Pat Siementioski, was absent. She did not appear at Wednesday's budget hearing, either.

I paid Kraft with a marked bill.

He is currently in custody on bribery charges.

Lamont's Revenge Law Will Jeopardize County Preparedness, Hurt People

Lamont McClure

Last night, a seemingly harmless ordinance sailed through Northampton County Council in a 6 to 3 vote. It's an amendment to the revolving door law, which was originally designed to prevent County workers from benefiting financially from their county service. On the surface, it looks good. In actuality, it will weaken county government. It might even jeopardize our emergency preparedness. It was adopted with virtually no consideration. In my opinion, McClure intended it as an act of revenge. It might even be a shot across the bow of Executive hopeful John Callahan, letting him know that Lamont McClure is in charge. Let me tell you the story.

To do that, I have to go back to Ross Marcus, Executive John Stoffa's Director of Human Services. As Stoffa entered the twilight of his second term, Marcus sought employment elsewhere. He accepted a position with Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV).

CACLV

What is CACLV? It is a community action agency made possible by LBJ's War on Poverty. As explained by CACLV itself, its impossible mission is to combat poverty by developing programs that involve all sectors of the community — from elected officials and public sector representatives to low-income residents.

Naturally, CACLV administers County programs designed to help low-income residents, including homeless shelters and food banks. So when Marcus went to CACLV, he was continuing the work he had already been doing for eight years in human services. He was getting no stock options or bonuses in exchange for getting CACLV a deal on being the County's sole provider of poor people. He did not go there to get rich.

But when CACLV hired Marcus, it breached its contract with the County by hiring someone within a year after he left County employment.

The Revolving Door Ordinance

The County has a revolving door ordinance. It was adopted after a Director of Fiscal Affairs managed to snag a computer company as a County vendor. He then went off to work for and eventually own the business. That's not all.  Another former Director of Public Works went to work for an engineering firm that he brought into the County. 

Under this law, a County vendor may not hire an employee who has a say in its contract for a year after that person leaves County employment. Doing do is a breach of contract. 

This local law is aimed at preventing people from using their positions in County government to get rich instead of serving the people.

The Marcus Hire

Ross Marcus, as Director of Human Services, did have discretion over CACLV contracts. Because CACLV hired someone who has a say in whether they get the County's poor people business, they breached a few contracts. Not Marcus, but CACLV.  Never mind that nobody else can do what CACLV does.

It is a breach of contract, but the evil at which the revolving door ordinance is aimed, simply did not exist. There's not a lot of money in the poverty business. 

Moreover, CACLV Executive Director Alan Jennings pledged that Marcus would have no involvement in any Northampton County contracts for at least the next year. County Council was made aware of the breach, and Executive John Stoffa informed them he had no intention of pulling the plug on any CACLV contracts. Because Council has no authority to pursue breach of contract action, that's Stoffa's sole call.

Council appeared to acquiesce, but appearances can be deceptive.

The McClure Ordinance

Fast on the heels of this hire, Lamont McClure proposed changes to the County's Administrative Code. Though he chairs the County's legal and judicial committee, he conducted no hearings on his proposal. He added a section to the revolving door ordinance.

No officer or employee shall serve on any authority, board or commission, or any such entity, that does business with and/or provides paid services to the County of Northampton for a period up to and including one (1) year following the termination of the employee from County Service.

Why did he propose this? Good government? The answer, quite simply, is revenge.

Angry about the Marcus hire, McClure wanted to punish those who he thought were behind it. Lori G. Sywensky and Alicia Karner, both of whom are County employees, serve on the CACLV Board. He wants them to suffer for the Marcus hire, even though Karner and possibly Sywensky did not even participate in the vote. He wanted to make their very existence on the CACLV Board illegal.

Community action agencies like CACLV are supposed to include representatives from the public sector. Lori Sywensky is there as a watchdog for Northampton County, just as Lehigh County employee Frank Kane is a watchdog for his County's interests. These are unpaid positions. 

Alicia Karner is there as a representative and resident from Northampton County's poorest community, Bangor. 

The McClure amendment actually deprives Northampton County of financial oversight over the money sent to CACLV. It also denies a voice to the County's poorest community.

When some began to express concern that this would impact both Karner and Sywensky, McClure sanctimoniously responded that he wanted to keep personalities out of it.  But it is his disdain for Marcus, Stoffa and CACLV that prompted the ordinance. Why else propose it so soon after the Marcus hire? Moreover, he's sending a signal to Executive hopeful John Callahan, who is considering keeping both Karner and Sywensky.

What amazes me is that only three Council members saw the folly of the McClure maneuver. Peg Ferraro expressed concern about both Alicia and Lori, and suggested that the amendment should have no application to nonprofits. But McClure wanted a vote. Bruce Gilbert and Barb Thierry joined Peg Ferraro to vote against this change, but the rest went along blindly to adopt an ordinance that was never properly vetted.

The Negative Impact of the McClure Amendment 

In addition to depriving the County and its poorest community of any representation on the area agency designed to fight poverty, Lamont's Law will have other very negative impacts:

* Bob Mateff, Northampton County's Director of Emergency Management, will have to drop out of several emergency management boards on which he serves, including various first responder and HAZMAT teams. This jeopardizes our security and readiness for emergencies.

* Lori Sywensky, our Community Development Director, will have to resign from the Northampton County Housing Authority Board, which assists in community development. This negatively impacts those in need of affordable housing.

* Tom Harp, Northampton County's Director of Administration, will have to resign from the Board of DiscoverLV, which is designed to promote the Lehigh Valley. This compromises our ability to attract potential employers. 

* Executive John Stoffa would be required to resign from a host of boards, including the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and LVEDC. This will hurt us in almost every area of County government, and weakens the authority of the Executive.

This is what you happens when a law is prompted by malice instead of a desire for good government, and is pushed through without proper consideration.

Will Stoffa Veto? 

Though the amendment passed with six votes, this clearly is a mistake. Hopefully, other Council members will see they were played. I have no idea whether Executive John Stoffa will veto this legislation, and neglected to talk to him.

NorCo Democrats Unite Behind Senior Job Fairs

John Callahan proposes return to Senior Fairs

Yesterday, one of my readers contacted me about a long-time friend of his, a veteran who needs help with mental health issues. I told him to call the County's Human Services, but don't really know what Department is best. Today, another friend told me about an 86 year old organist at his church. She has no family and no income aside from the $5,500 she gets from her church every year. She never even applied for social security. Once again, I know she needs help, but don't know exactly where.

These are the people who can be helped by a return to something Northampton County used to do in years past - Senior Fair Expos. Today, that's exactly what Northampton County Executive candidate John Callahan proposed. He did so standing outside Gracedale Nursing Home, the very place from which he launched his campaign on a cold Winter day. This time, he was joined by the entire slate of Democratic County Council candidates.He was introduced by a Dean of Northampton County Democrats, former State Rep. and NorCo Council member Rich Grucela. Incumbent Council member Bob Werner, who was at Gracedale on County business, joined Callahan. Even AFSCME union boss Justus James, who supported a Callahan opponent in the primary, was there.

Council candidates Ron Heckman and Jerry Seyfried

The second-term Bethlehem Mayor believes in a government that delivers "essential services at higher quality and greater efficiency." Noting that seniors rely on county government for protection from elder abuse, prescription drugs and the increasing confusion about health care. And he reasoned that since many seniors are reluctant to use the Internet, these senior fairs are a good way to make people aware of the resources available to help them.

"It's also a chance for us to learn from them," observed Callahan, noting that the information exchange is a two-way street.

Council candidates Christen Borso, Tom O'Donnell and Deb Hunter

He plans to have these fairs at least once every year, and in different areas of the County. He will plan to have all levels of government - local, state and federal - available to help seniors. He will invite local hospitals, assisted living centers and nursing homes to be sponsors in order to defray cost. He even discussed the possibility of using campaign funds if that is considered a legal use.

When they opened the floor up for questions, I had one.

"Do you have any credentials? asked Callahan.

"None at all," I answered.

Then Council candidate Jerry Seyfried had a question for me.

"As an outsider, what do you think of the human race, Bernie?"

These are the people I support.

Bob Werner, Ron Heckman, Jerry Seyfried, John Callahan, Rich Grucela, Christen Borso, Tom O'Donnell, Deb Hunter

Transit Czar: Passenger Rail Not in Our Future

WFMZ-TV69's Randy Kraft reports that Bethlehem has joined Allentown and Easton in adopting a resolution calling for the formation of a rail transit authority to restore passenger rail service to the Lehigh Valley. This is in response to repeated efforts of rail advocate Kirk Raup, who has been pursuing this dream since 1992.

A dream may be all that it is.

A $250,000 regional rail study, released in 2010, revealed that it would cost $1 billion for a passenger rail line to New York City, serving about 800 riders. In a floodplain.

Besides, we already have a regional transit authority. It's called The Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA). That was a point made by NorCo Council president John Cusick during yesterday's budget hearing. "Why wouldn't we use the authority we already have?" he asked.

"Give us enough money, and we'll give you anything you want," answered LANTA Executive Director Armando V. Greco. But he called it an "expensive proposition," noting that "economics override our desire to see passenger rail." He indicated that might change at some point, but "I don't see it in out future."

Bob Donchez Unable to Rest Easy

You might think Bethlehem Mayoral candidate Bob Donchez can rest easy. He overcame a powerful primary campaign mounted by J. Willie Reynolds. No Republican ran. The only independent in the race dropped out. But according to Morning Call columnist Bill White, the Jim Gregory machine is still hard at work on his write-in campaign, although Graterford State Correctional Institution must present some tactical problems. He's gonna' have a helluva' time scheduling a Meet 'n Greet.

Based on Bill's article, it appears that Gregory has learned nothing from his time in state prison. But if I were he, I'd stay there as long as possible because West Easton Wacko Tricia Mezzacappa has claimed in court papers that he is both her "boyfriend" and "significant other."

If he thinks he has problems now, wait 'till he gets out.

Laughing at Ott Campaign Ads

Lehigh County Executive candidate Scott Ott likes to portray himself as a religious man. He even teaches Sunday School. But like many who wear their religion on their sleeve, he seems to have trouble practicing what he preaches, particularly when it comes to that little "Thou shall not lie" commandment. Not being as well versed as some of you in the ways of the Lord, it could be that Jesus has an exception for campaign ads. But I am well versed in local government, and Scott Ott's literature is deceptive. He laughs at Obama. maybe he's laughing at you, too.

In his primary ads, Ott claims to have cut taxes by $3 million per year. Now he's saying he cut spending by $3.5 million. Is this true?

Yes and no.

Taxes were cut by $3 million. Ott actually wanted to cut $5 million. But in the process, he added $3 million to what was already a $7 million deficit. When he and his so-called reform team first ran for office, they insisted they would roll back the 16% tax hike. That translates to $21.5 million in tax reduction, and Ott has not come close.

Ott's claim to have cut spending by $3.5 million is false. Instead, he has presided over an increase in spending from $109.3 million in 2012 to $110.9 million in 2014. had he cut $3.5 million in spending, I would expect to see spending go down. It's gone the other way.

Ott did work to enact a $3.5 million reduction in a proposed budget. But that's not the same as cutting spending. He's still spending much more than the County was spending before he arrived on the scene.

In his primary ads, Ott claims to have saved residents $500,000 per year by stopping the Bi-County Health department. Now, he's claiming he saved $9 million. Is this true? 

Instead of calling it the Bi-County health department, he's now calling it a "new bureaucracy." That way he won't offend public health advocates. After all, nobody likes bureaucracy But is his claim true? Did he save $9 million or $500,000, as he contends?

No. he actually saved $1. Lehigh County's 2012 budget set aside just $1 as a place holder for the Bi- County Health Department. The actual cost is speculative.

Charlie Dent's Finest Moment Helps End Government Shutdown

Back when I first started blogging, people loved to refer to Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent as an "empty suit." Nobody says that anymore. In this fiscal crisis, Dent asserted himself as he never has before. He bucked Speaker Boehner and spoke up for the American people, as opposed to some rump group of dissatisfied Republicans. he attracted national attention and emerged as a man who leads from the front. Thanks in part to his efforts, the crisis is over. Here's Dent's own comment.

At a town hall meeting in Allentown in late August, I was asked by one of my constituents if I would be willing to shutdown the government in order to defund Obamacare.

I said “No.”

I told the people gathered there it was a flawed tactic that would not actually defund Obamacare.

Specifically, I said tying defunding of Obamacare to a short term government funding measure would result in exactly two things: a government shutdown and Obamacare remaining funded.

When the time for the vote came, I did what I said I would, and voted against shutting down the government.

Today, 16 days after this misguided tactic drove us into a government shutdown, I voted to reopen the government and prevent a devastating roiling of our markets, a likely credit down grade and an imminent default.

This legislation tonight needed to be supported but should not be celebrated; there should be no victory laps or spiking the football. It is my hope that the temporary conclusion of this difficult period will demonstrate to many of my colleagues the need to affirmatively govern this nation.

Over the past few months, particularly the last two weeks, I have worked tirelessly with both Democrats and Republicans to find a solution and break this impasse. These discussions have laid a strong foundation that I will continue to build on as we look to address America’s out of control spending, increasing debt burden, and challenges associated with Obamacare.

I am pleased that cooler heads have finally prevailed in this instance, and now it is time for all of us to come together to handle the many difficult problems our great nation faces.

Updated 11:30 PM: The Lehigh Valley's other Congressman, Matt Cartwright, deserves credit for voting to end the shutdown, too. Here are his remarks:

“Today, the American people have seen Congress reach a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government and avert a default on the nation’s bills. While the compromise that has been reached will provide our economy with the stability it needs, we must move forward together and do more.

“After more than two weeks spent facing off across a partisan divide differences were set aside to prevent disaster.

“Part of this agreement instructs leaders to name conferees to a budget conference committee. The hope is that this action will assure Congress continues the work of setting this country on a path to job growth and fiscal sustainability. The conference committee, which is charged with producing its negotiated budget package in December, is the appropriate place to discuss our differing views on the best way to chart a course for economic growth.

“Now we must return to our most important job – expanding the economy and protecting middle-class families.

“Let’s get together and actually pass a budget.”

Stoffa Will Not Penalize Workers For "Regressive" Obamacare Provisions

A memo From Executive John Stoffa to NorCo Council:

Dear County Council,

After much deliberation, I have decided to rescind the Administrative decision to dramatically increase employee co-insurance contributions for healthcare benefits. We remain very concerned about penalties that can be levied against the County in 2018 for having what is categorized as a "cadillac plan" under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many employers including Pennsylvania's counties are struggling with this provision of the ACA. It is my intention during my remaining term in office to work with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) to advocate for changes in the law, to increase the threshold for "cadillac plans" or to eliminate this provision. It is unfair that employers who try to reward their employees with good health care coverage would be penalized for doing so. County employment, like most public service, does not provide big salaries, bonuses or other incentives. Our hard-working, dedicated employees value the excellent benefits provided by the County. They have tolerated and understood our need to limit pay increases due to tight budgets, and the need for them to contribute higher percentages of their pay for quality health care coverage. However, a 900% increase for some employees but not for all employees, (this would not apply to all unions) in their co-insurance contributions in 2014, is not the answer to the problem we are facing with the ACA. I am suggesting that necessary changes be considered for calendar year 2015, when the ACA has been thoroughly researched, as well as reasons for the increased medical costs in employee utilization. We need to work together, with other counties and the unions representing our employees, to facilitate changes in this law.

I will be forming an ad hoc committee to help us develop a strategy to advocate for changes in the ACA and to be prepared for the consequences in the event those changes cannot be achieved. I hope that this effort will be continued during the next County administration. But until then, we need to work together with our employees, their representatives and other Pennsylvania counties in finding solutions in the regressive provision of the ACA.

Thanks,
John

John Stoffa
County Executive

Will County workers come to today's budget hearing en masse to thank him? They had no problem trashing him last week over a law that was not his making.

On What Planet is the House GOP?

Though the government is scheduled to go into default on Thursday and credit ratings agency Fitch has already placed the United States of America on a "negative ratings watch," House Speaker John Boehner seems powerless to stop the madness within his own party.

Josh Barro at Business Insider remarks, "There is no serious argument for Republican governance right now, even if you prefer conservative policies over liberal ones. These people are just too dangerously incompetent to be trusted with power.

But we're all consumed by the dating life of Julian Stolz.

NorCo Dems Propose Senior Citizen Expos

On Thursday, NorCo County Exec candidate John Callahan and the entire Democratic slate for County Council – Cheryl Borso, Ron Heckman, Deb Hunter, Tom O'Donnell, and Jerry Seyfried – will appear alongside former State Representative Rich Grucela at Gracedale Nursing Home to announce their "Renewing Our Commitment to Northampton County Seniors" initiative.

They will announce their intention to introduce Senior Citizen Expos, informative sessions to educate Northampton County seniors on the various services available to them through the Human Services Department. These expos will take place at least once a year at different venues around the County.

"One of the reasons I'm running for Northampton County Executive is because I know we can do a better job providing essential services to our Senior Citizens," said Callahan, who is also Bethlehem's Mayor. "With the guidance of my friends running for County Council, I am proud to announce that under my administration, we will renew Northampton County's commitment to our Senior Citizens."

Candidates are supposed to be available for questions after the announcement. If you have any, post them below, and i will ask as many of them as they allow.