Last night, the Vic Mazziotti Traveling Ethics Show arrived "fashionably late" to the Allentown City Council, according to Bernie O'Hare. We learn that
Pay To Play must be legislated away. I'm not impressed with such proposals, naive me thinks I should be able to take such basic concepts of honesty for granted. Last week, in the comment section of O'Hare's post on Mazziotti's showboat ordinance, I took Vic to task. I think that ethics should be on display in every public decision, and that Vic has been lacking in that department, when it comes to Cedarbrook, the county nursing home. Last year, Mazziotti and his fellow reform slate Republicans rejected the proposal to remodel a wing of Cedarbrook into a rehab center, which is the profitable avenue employed by the industry. Instead, after stalling for a year, they now want to re-employ a former consulting firm to repeat a previous study. Last week, when I suggested that the Reformers were stalling until it's time for the bulldozer, Vic sent a message that I should call him. Apparently, he wanted to send me to the Reeducation Indoctrination Camp, operated by the Reform Team. However, yesterday, even the Morning Call noted the stalling on Cedarbrook.
"That quest for knowledge has dragged on for months, and commissioners still find themselves in a fact-finding mode."
Vic was late to council last night because the Commissioners were also conducting their own meeting, on Cedarbrook, to decide
what kind of questions they should again ask their rehired consultant. Vic states that
"We're making a 25-year decision here." It's unclear if he means that the decision will affect the county for 25 years, or if it will take him 25 years to make the decision. At any rate, it's clear that he doesn't want to make any decision before the election in November. I'm actually being kind. The refurbishment could have been completed already, and Cedarbrook on it's way to being viable.
Play to Pay regulations don't impress me, especially when an elected official still play games with a public trust like Cedarbrook.
of course it would be nice if Vic actually had legislation. he's been parading this horse for 2 weeks with nothing to show for it. He's playing games.
ReplyDelete@8:46, his proposal on pay to play will be enacted. it's a meaningless "feel good bill about your legislator" that any elected official would endorse. while lisa scheller was upfront last night about not being sure that the county should operate the nursing home, mazziotti stuck with his charade. "There is nobody in this county who wants to get the decision made more than I do"
ReplyDeleteWho said the farce was a dead form?
ReplyDeleteSpeculation only but I think the board wants to sell it just like the majority of counties have done. They don't want to renovate an old building and don't want to build a new one. They will ask the question until the right answers present themselves.
ReplyDeleteProblem is that the sale goes through just fine but there is a mess in the aftermath - the private company runs it like a business. They cut staff, cut dead weight, raise the cost of employee benefits, bring lower cost employees in and that gets everybody upset and that's a hot potato come election time.
Both sides haven't done well on this problem. Muller wants to spend money the county doesn't have on an old building and the commissioners won't be honest about their intentions so there is time and money wasted doing a ton of studies.
Just get on with it already.
@12:29, i certainly agree with your observation about the commissioners. as for remodeling of one wing into a short term rehab unit, it will pay for itself within a few years. in my opinion, the county has a historic covenant with it's citizens to maintain such a facility. we also maintain a prison, by mandate, which provides no benefit to contributing citizens. from a book keeping viewpoint, perhaps the county would be better off not being in the nursing home business. many counties have come to that conclusion. but then let mazziotti be upfront, and state that viewpoint. these studies, one after another, are disingenuous.
ReplyDeleteMuller's the one that's used this as a political issue, delaying and preventing any analysis by county staff of the other options available.
ReplyDeleteAs Director of Administration from 2006 to 2013, he's also the one responsible for card-checking away (to buy votes) monies that could have been used for renovations, and balancing the county budgets with surpluses from Cedarbrook that also could have been used for renovations. Those four-person rooms didn't just spring up yesterday.
One of the alternatives is to build a new Cedarbrook, which is the route that many other counties have taken when they've retained their own nursing home. Surely Cedarbrook residents deserve consideration of a similar proposal.
I'd much rather see the time taken to get to the solution that makes Cedarbrook as self-sustaining as possible. If that takes more time, so be it.
Years ago Lehigh County privatized its prison medical. It cost peoples lives . Iknow firsthand. it was a charge for a theft then a parole violation but it turned out to be a death sentence. Today we are picking up the pieces of our shattered family.Sure sell of the county home but ask yourself would you trust the care that's going to be provided say to your loved ones or yourself for that matter.Think hard Vic M
ReplyDeleteVic's a smart fella. One of the smarter fellas in Lehigh Valley politics. He's also on the line to the Richie Riches of Lehigh Valley politics.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame.
ONCE AGAIN...here is another case of neglect..an institution that was built to the highest possible standards of it's day, and gradually allowed to deteriorate until finally it becomes Z"necessary" to consider destroying it. This time, not only is the institution historic in nature, but continuity of medical care and the most vulnerable of human lives are at stake.
ReplyDeleteSound familiar?