The Morning Call headline says that Lehigh County has an eviction problem. Actually, what Lehigh County has is a controller problem, a county government problem and a newspaper problem.
Eviction should be of no concern to the county, and I fault the commissioners for allotting funds for tenant legal costs. These funds were recommended by Controller Mark Pinsley, who has now recommended that they be increased ten fold. Pinsley is a perpetual candidate for higher office. Tenants do not pay county real estate taxes, but their landlords do. However, meeting their debt service, which includes real estate taxes, is dependent upon a cash flow...which means having tenants who pay rent.
Just as it is irresponsible for the county commissioners to be facilitating Pinsley's campaign strategy, it is likewise partisan of the newspaper to be reporting this scheme as proper government. The reporter doesn't have the institutional knowledge to see Pinsley as the opportunist he has always been,* but the editors and commissioners** should know better.
*new reporter from out of town, only on job one month
** with three Republicans, the majority Democratic commissioners seem to be dancing to Pinsley's political tune
*new reporter from out of town, only on job one month
ReplyDelete** with one Republican, and appointed at that, the commissioners seem to be dancing to Pinsley's political tune
Two comments on the above:
1) I'd argue that the first point is further proof that we don't have a local paper. It's been a while since we had a local reporter who actually is from the area and had ANY institutional knowledge.
2) As to the second point, I believe there are 3 elected Republicans on the LC Board. That would be Dutt, Beitler & Pineda. I would hope that all three would be against Pinsley's proposal, although it still wouldn't make a difference since the democrats currently control county government and seem hell-bent on making county government as much of a failure as Allentown's.
Voters need to start to reverse and remove the latter problem - including Pinsley - in next year's election (2023).
anon@10:08, thank you for the correction about the commission's composition.
ReplyDeleteRather than govern in the public's best interests Pinsley prefers to serve his own.
ReplyDelete“Publicly funded private enterprise@ is an oxymoron. Thank you Michael for the clarity.
ReplyDelete