While Mayor Pawlowski spent the weekend in New York City auditioning for governor, Allentown got zapped with an ice storm. Previous to the Big Water Sell Off this summer, here in the Little Apple, all departments would help out during a storm or other emergency. With the loss of the water department to the Lehigh County Authority, that system has been disrupted. Although we loss some efficiency, we will not see a corresponding savings. A previous undisclosed expense involved in the water transfer was creating a new department for the storm sewer system. Furthermore, apparently $150 million has been designated for the pension fund, as opposed to an earlier projection of 160. What's $10 million among friends and taxpayers?
photocredit:Tay Ney/The Morning Call/December10,2013
with the loss of experienced employees that went to work for LCA has resulted in many street not getting plowed until sunday nite or monday morning as compared to prior snowfalls residents saw their streets being plowed during and a few hours after a snowfall.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and neighbors couldn't understand why our streets looks so awful and I reminded my hubby that the water department cleared our neighborhood. Now I wonder what is going to happen when the new and not improved Youell's opens up. We'll have spent 3 hours digging out for Youell's customers. A vote for Pawlowski is like a vote for Corbett. They adhere to the robbing peter to pay paul form political perspective: short sited and apathetic to constituents.
ReplyDelete..as reported in the Mcall, $20 million went to the pension bond.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what you're complaint is here Mr Molovinski, please explain farther and clearer thanks you.
ReplyDeleteSo what?
ReplyDeleteThe City Without (Spending?) Limits now has the transformational $ 177.1 million dollar PAWLOWSKI PALACE OF SPORT.
The good times are officially here and this is only a LITTLE slice of the "New Heaven".
(Not to be confused New Haven, the home of the unique Yale Whale and the defending NCAA national champions, of course)
It IS time for you to stop the senseless grumbling and get on board the Free Money Train known as the Neighborhood Improvement Zone. It IS all about the power play and Chairman Pawlowski IS in charge. Because elections can have serious consequences, Comrade.
Sincerely,
COL. VIKTOR TIKHONOV
Soviet Red Army (retired)
Speaking of less with more, I notice the 15th Street Bridge is still closed. It was supposed to be done this month, but we're closing in on Chrisrmas with the pedestrian guard rails and street lighting still apparently missing.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have an update on when we'll actually be able to use the bridge, or will it depend on Pawlowski's availability for a photo op?
Thanks for covering this Mike, but where is the media? Why is it that a handful of blogs seem to regularly scoop the media on the biggest stories around? The Pension debacle and the "lease" or our public water system was national news. I ran into a college student in central Pa where they are actually lecturing about Allentown as an example of public pensions gone awry. WHERE IS THE LOCAL MEDIA?
ReplyDeletewhere is the media. the answer could be pawlowski controls the media in allentown. bad press by morning call leads to pawlowski ignoring the reporter. so there will not be any information in morning call that is not favorable of pawlowski. pay to play.
ReplyDelete@5:39, there has been a history of denying access to reporters deemed hostile, but i do not believe that pawlowski controls the media. i believe that there is a certain degree of media apathy for scrutiny. the public for the most part doesn't care, that reality doesn't give the morning call much motivation.
ReplyDeleteHow much did the LCA plow? (Just curious)
ReplyDeleteAt City Council this evening, the Managing Director announced that the opening ceremony for the 15th St. bridge is this Friday. Around noon? The Allentown Band and some antique cars will lead the way.
ReplyDelete...
Also, I presented information to City Council this evening that shows how Allentown now stands to lose more than $113,000,000 over the 35-year Delta Thermo Energy Incinerator contract.
I plugged the recent $40.44/ton that Easton's Mayor Panto signed with Chrin into the financial projections that Mayor Pawlowski and PFM presented to City Council and the Public.
The original projections from the Mayor and PFM used a starting landfill cost of $92.29/ton. The Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association has told the PA DEP that the public was given false and misleading information regarding tipping fees.
Quoted from the PPWIA letter to the PA DEP:
"Representatives from Delta Thermo Falsely Exaggerated Landfill Tipping Fees". landfill fees that the Mayor and PFM used were "Falsely Exaggerated"
I have warned the Mayor and City Council that the financial projections from PFM were useless. Only Eichenwald and O'Connell voted against this incinerator.
A $113,000,000 LOSS after the Mayor claimed a $25,000,000 SAVINGS seems like an issue for the citizens of Allentown.
$40.44/ton Landfill cost to Easton from 2014 to 2020. Allentown will pay DTE $119.37/ton in 2020. Almost a $3,000,000 loss in 2020 alone.
These numbers are real losses in my book. The Mayor and PFM used the wrong starting assumptions. They were way off. Did they lie?
I agree that the media is neutral.
ReplyDeleteI can't say if they are paying their reporters or can even afford to pay reporters.
At tonight's Council meeting there was reporters from Morning Call and WFMZ. No Express Times.