Blight Lights in the Big City

We are examining the effects of "historic" lighting on blighted properties.


Maybe these pigs take different shades of lipstick.

Council Meeting Audio 03/22/06

The first 30 minutes of the audio was so noisy that it was unusable. I will get that from Spike's back-up ASAP. The Sollman presentation and the Mayor's comments on the grand jury findings were lost. Mr Brown's embarrassing tirade, however, was preserved.

Maybe I have too much time on my hands throwing stone... Nah! I beg to difference.

City Council Meeting 03/22/06


http://eastonundressed.org/eufiles/begtodifference.mp3

Fair is Paying Your Share

The contributors of Easton UnDressed are occasionally are accused of being “whiners”. We catch flack for pointing out negatives. And we have been cited for episodes of delusional creativity. But after all is said and done, we evaluate our EU efforts by the actions we influence.

We pride ourselves on the fact that we don’t just talk. EU has an action wing that is building a nice little track record. We have some very real projects working as you read this (swimming pools and Charter Commission), and we have had many social victories (11 member Charter Commission, logo contest, and full pool season). This blog is a real tool, and we have used it as well as we could for the past 5 months. We use this blog to spread information and facts, to solicit audiences and participation, and to develop priorities and strategies.

We go to meetings. We go to meetings as members, as observers, and as guest offering testimony. We go to Council. We do our absolute best not to miss a public meeting sponsored by the City Council, and we are working to spread the EU presence to more of the City’s public meetings each month.

Our mission is clear:

To provide a clean, crime-free, and safe environment with competitive services that allows residents to enjoy a high quality of life, while providing commerce an environment to thrive.

Our focus of effort is also purposefully narrow. We advocate for the residents of the City of Easton. It was the City’s neglect, and failure to maintain services to the residents that created Easton UnDressed. The convoluted and illegal development of our Amusement Tax was the spark that lit off the EUniverse.

The battle to reinstate the City’s Amusement and Mechanical Devices Taxes was a victory and a loss for the people living in the city. The concessions that the Executive Director of the State Theatre for the Arts negotiated with City Council was not only in violation of the tax laws that govern IRS 501(c)(3) sheltered organizations (IRS publication 557 page 45 column 3), they were unfair to residents and other taxable organizations.

We, the people, fought hard to keep the amusement tax fair. But our efforts were lessened by the editorial power of people who do not even live in our city. Our working class concerns were consumed by posh elitist whims. The editors of the Express-Times lobbied against the tax solely because of their sentiments for the Theatre. Sentiments that mean very little to 26,000 people who lend their dwindling resources to support the significant human footprint placed upon us by visiting theatre-goers.

Now the editors of “our” paper have decided to complete their assault on our burden relief by attacking the Mechanical Devices Tax. This time they are championing the starving bar and coin-op laundry owners. They are arguing that our rights to enjoy punch cards, jukeboxes, and a higher profit margin on laundry are being oppressed by making someone pay $25 dollars a year on a machine that makes the money back in a day. (estimate 9 loads at $1.50, 40 minutes/load, open at 7am = $27 for 2 washers by 1pm)

The argument that a coin operated laundry is simply a public service to low and fixed-income residents is a bit of an obfuscated exaggeration. They left out the struggling Lafayette students. Laundry owners should not be “left alone” because they offer service to lower income Eastonians. The laundry owner on 6th Street was billed $1,370 (Express-Times 3/19/21). The tax is costing him a WHOPPING $3.75 a day ($3.74 on a leap year). One load of whites, 2 loads of colors, and Walla! The tax is paid.

It is our heartfelt opinion that the editors of the Express-Times need to stop trying to affect our usage taxes. These taxes are going to allow more of the public’s burden to be shared. We always seem to miss it when the editors are standing up for the overtaxed homeowners in the city. We know it’s not that they haven’t mentioned our ever-increasing tax burden; it’s more likely that the lack of follow-up articles causes us to overlook their support.

The tax is what it is. It is a way to share the costs of municipal services in this county-seat city with the visitors, transients, College, county government, undisclosed population, and the renters.

New Documents on the Website

Friends & Neighbors,

We have updated the Documents and Media area of Easton UnLeashed (aka “the webpage”). If you aren’t familiar with Easton UnLeashed it is our website proper located at www.eastonundressed.org . The “website” is where we archive the more functional parts of the EUniverse. If we record a meeting or reference a file, then we store it and make it forever accessible on the webpage. The old top ten lists, comics, and Easton UnPlugged (podcasts) are also archived there.

The new additions to the D&M include:

• The Citizen’s Guide to Enforcement of City Ordinances


• Zoning Pamphlet


• Residential Permit Pamphlet


• Commercial Zoning Pamphlet


• The Citizen’s Guide to Enforcement of City Ordinances


• Recreational/Outdoor Fire Regulations


• Swimming pool donation forms

Check

Credit Card

• City Swimming Pool Flier

Remember if we referred to it or recorded it it will be stored on the webpage.

NOTE: If there is any document or media that you would like us make available email us or let us know on the tagboard. If you have the document or recording send it to us. And when you send us stuff; paper, pdf, doc, txt, wmv, mp3, wav, and avi are the preferred formats, but we will take what you have. And ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN FAXES OR COPIES FROM FAXES. But we will work with those too. If you don’t have it we will scour the city to find it.

Your Neighbor

Phone Listings For Easton Police

These listings and advice were sent to us courtesy of SGT Matthew Lohenitz of the Easton Police. These listings are also available for download as a word file. EPD Numbers

PHONE LISTINGS FOR EASTON POLICE

If you have an EMERGENCY CALL 911 immediately
If you wish to make a police report and it is a NON-EMERGENCY: CALL 610-330-2200

Internal Phone Numbers

Command Staff:

Chief/Commissioner: CALL 610-250-6630

Captain of Field Services: CALL 610-250-6631

Captain of Auxiliary Staff: CALL 610-250-6641

Criminal Investigations Division (CID):
Lieutenant: 610-250-6634
Inspector/Sergeant (CID):610-250-6667
Vice Investigations Division (VID):

Lieutenant (VID): 610-250-6658
Vice Detectives: 610-250-6645
610-250-6644
610-250-6780
Records/Traffic Division:

Lieutenant: 610-250-6664
Traffic Officers: 610-250-6657
610-250-6943
Neighborhood Policing/Special Enforcement Unit:

Sergeant: 610-250-6660

Patrol Shift Supervisor:

Lieutenant/Sergeant:610-330-2200 (Easton Dispatch)

Police Department Call Protocol

-If you have an emergency DIAL 911 immediately, DO NOT WAIT.

-If your call does not require an emergency Police Department response, please call the NON-EMERGENCY number.

-If you need to speak with a Crimes Detective or contact someone regarding a case that is being investigated for you and you do not have the phone number of the Detective assigned to the case, call either the Lieutenant or Inspector/Sergeant of Criminal Investigations.

-If you need to speak with a Vice Detective or you have a complaint that involves DRUG ACTIVITY or PROSTITUTION, please contact our Vice Investigative Unit.

-If you need to get a copy of a Police Report or other documentation please contact the Lieutenant of Records.

-If you have a question regarding traffic, parking situations or abandoned cars, please call either of the traffic officers.

-If you would like to advise the Police Department about quality of life issues or need to be fingerprinted for employment or school, please call the Sergeant of Neighborhood Policing and Special Enforcement.

-To speak with the Patrol Shift Supervisor on duty, please call the Northampton County Dispatch Center (610-330-2200) and ask for the Easton Dispatcher.

Wishes & Dreams

The City of Easton has been in revitalization mode for the past 40 years. The techniques and ideas so far have failed to increase our quality of life. Much of the energy has been invested in caring for buildings instead of caring for people.  

The decline of our quality of life has resulted in the decline of our consumer market. Many of our residents have left the problems of the city for the quiet of the suburbs.  Many left not because they chose the suburbs over City life, but because they were forced out by an environment no longer conducive to the pursuits of happiness.

We have created many artificial individual attractions, based on the hopes that an influx of tourism would solve our problems. Some of the more expensive projects include The Two Rivers Landing, The State Theater, and The Bachmann Publick House. These projects together cost the taxpayers and private contributors millions of dollars, but our overall economy and quality of life has at best remained stagnant.

This is flawed methodology, yet we continue to promote efforts that follow the same model. We keep trying to artificially reinvigorate businesses in order to excite the economy. The result is a short term rapid growth followed by decline and failure. It’s like entering a sprinter in a marathon. When the starter pistol sounds the sprinter quickly takes off and pulls ahead; but as the race progresses the runner begins to tire, loses energy, and starts to fall behind. We need to stop funding the sprinter and invest more in the marathon. We are continuously falling behind. We need promote the basics; clean and safe, the foundations of any vibrant City. Without a solid foundation anything we build will be in danger of collapse.

When I say we are at fault I mean all of us. We have made mistake after mistake and we have failed to recognize why. We all have had personal agendas which we have put ahead of the systemic problems; we have worried more about supporting self-centered interests (which individually mean nothing) instead of pulling our energy and resources together to fix the rot and deterioration that prevents us from realizing our wishes and dreams.  

We need to rethink the way we expend our resources, we need to stop funding individual projects. The focus must be on shared resources that keep our city clean, safe, and competitive. We must clean our streets, rid our city of those who want to use it to cultivate illegal businesses, we must educate or punish those who break the rules of society and negatively effect our quality of life, we must ask every property owner to enhance the appearance of their properties, or we must enforce the codes that regulate them without tolerance. And we must invest in community infrastructure that benefits everyone.

It is time to agree on a new action plan, to stop advancing our individual agendas, and to bolster a solid foundation to build our wishes and dreams upon, only then will we thrive.

BadApple

Council Meeting Audio 03/08/06

Here is the audio from the March 8, 2006 City Council meeting. This meeting was a rehash and settlement version of the last meeting. Chucky's, Landlord Licensing, Logogate, and 501(c)(3)s were all followed up on by either Council, the Mayor, or citizens.

Landlord Licensing was passed, and to the dismay of some of us Lafayette College gets a licensing bargain of $100.00 per dormitory building. The evidence of increased police presence at Chucky's on South Side was discussed. The Stevenson Group's logo was rejected (mostly because of the dirty dealing that secured Stevenson's services). Council has decided to open up the City logo process to the citizens of Easton. And the charitable not-for-profit conflict of interest issue gains some momentum. Enjoy.

Your Neighbors

Planning Commission Audio 03/01/06

Here's the audio from March 1st Planning Commission meeting (12.6Mb). This was our first foray into a public meeting outside of City Council. The commission seemed very capable. They handled Abraham Atiyeh like unflappable professionals when he tried to steam roll his Marquis Theater condominium plan past them.

Man on the Job

It's always our fault, huh? The Sollman tragedy was just that, a tragedy. You want to complain about not getting answers? Talk to the Attorney General. Thanks to the old "chief" Mazzeo, they are turning their investigation into personal witch hunts. We have nothing to do with that. You all know what I, and every other cop in Easton, knows. As for the lost handgun, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find any one of us in the department who do NOT think that he should have been fired. However, we don't make that decision either.

I'm also tired of hearing about all of our "infighting". There is no more of that. That problem is now gone. There are a few more people that need to go; A few who are literally a cancer to the department.

You want to complain about the crime as well? Complain to the Mayor. We can fall out for a weekend middle shift with four of five guys. When you go from call to call, it's hard to be proactive. Thank your neighbor who calls because a parked car's inspections sticker is two days expired. Or your other neighbor who calls because two people are "talking loudly".

And to person who doesn't like that fact that we are given certain things in our contract, where do you work? If you weren't given a raise in three years you'd be the loudest yeller.So, I'll continue doing what I like to do. Going to work short and getting ridiculed in the newspapers. I guess I, all of us actually, HAVE to do it so people that like to complain and point a fingers can sleep at night. Don't worry you people........ We'll keep you safe. Hey, maybe along the way we'll make another mistake to give you something new to complain about.

Comment by eastoncop February 27, 2006 Read the whole thread at Eastonwatch.com


House of Crayons chimes in:
This is what condemning a whole organization for the sins of a few does, it wears hard on the entire department. We need to yell about how deficient their manpower and training is. We need to care about how many public servants we have and how well they are managed. We need to make the Mayor and Council treat the policing of the City's residents as a priority. We need to understand that a City's sole responsibilty is protecting and caring for its tax payers. The City is not a club or a business, the City is a home to 26,000 people that need clean streets, protection from crime, and protection from disaster.

New Audio Posts

Today is the audio post DAILY DOUBLE!!!! Not only do we bring you last week's City Council meeting (18.6Mb late due to technical issues), we also have a freshly canned Easton UnPlugged (podcast 12 Mb). So get 'em while they are hot (or lukewarm in the case of the Council Meeting).

The Council meeting is a very interesting 3 hour marathon. The begining of the meeting was the public hearing for the Landlord Licensing Ordnance. Needless to say the audience comments are very informative and entertaining. Because of the hearing there were 3 audience comment periods. The people discussed Chucky's on South Side, Logogate, 501(c)(3) conflicts of interest, swimming pools, and the purchase of a street sweeper. The Mayor tried to pimp the "On the Edge" logo for the Stevenson Group (he failed); I guess negativity won out.

The podcast is Bad Apple, House of Crayons, and Just Asking going over the Council meeting and recent news like the Marquis Theater proposal, curfew, police hiring, and the (unsubstantiated) rumor of the Mayor's resignation. It is the clearest of any recording we've every done, and we believe it is the best podcast to date.

A Positive Move Forward?

A Positive Move Forward?

Many would be surprised to hear me say that the recent happenings in our city government have caused a positive move forward for our city. Positive, you say, she must be demented! It is my contention that the idiocy that we have witnessed has brought forth our citizens to stand up and pay attention. Now it is February, a time for council to lay low and go home early. But not this year, the citizens demand their say. From the oldest man to the youngest child, we have come forth, one by one. Speaking on issues such as violence, drug dealing, Eddyside Pool, the street sweeper, landlord licensing, and more. Our citizens are coming in numbers and will continue to make each and every leader of our city accountable. Yes, I say, a positive move forward.

Why would our Mayor refuse to answer a citizen who is concerned about the drug dealers at a neighborhood convenience store? Maybe because he was preparing a speech on the new logo which came to fruition through an unethical process? I don’t know, I’m just asking!

Why would council vote to buy a new, very expensive, street sweeper without a written comprehensive plan for street cleaning? I don’t know, I’m just asking.

Why are the gangs taking over our City, dealing drugs, shooting and killing one another? Why don’t we know the answers behind the death of Easton Police Officer Jesse Sollmon? Why does the City of Easton have the highest municipality taxes in Northampton County? I don’t know, I’m just asking!

These are the questions that we want answered. We will not forget, the questions will not go away, and neither will we. Yes, when we continue to expect answers and expect ethical accountability, it is a positive move forward for our city.

Your neighbor,
Just Asking

Two Steps Back

Where is all of this bad luck coming from?

That question in itself is a bunch of crap. Over and over again the people in the EUniverse talk about the issues, direct blame, and demand accountability. And the themes are always the same. The incestuous business practices of the city’s stewards, the abhorrent propensity to skirt the intent and letter of rules and laws, and the lazy administration of the people’s day to day business.

Yeah, I know exactly what some of you are thinking… “Who the hell are you to sit behind your keyboard and point fingers.” While that may have been enough of a defense in the past; today it is neither a barrier to criticism nor true. This whole EU movement was born out of sitting around pointing fingers. We got tired of speculation without any validation. Now we are in the business of validation by way of investigation.

Now, do not for an instant be so quick to think that our agenda (Oh yes, we wholeheartedly subscribe to an agenda¹) is to be an electronic tabloid. This, the EUniverse (the blog, podcast, forums, etc), is the information served up in the most entertaining and thought provoking ways we can think of. We would hope that the embarrassment of exposure would make some people reevaluate what they do and how they do things with our (the people’s) resources, but life is seldom that simple. So the EUniverse has an action wing. And the action wing will set the example. So for right now just sit back and enjoy the show.

OK, back to this bad luck… Any of you remember reading these words before?

“As anxious as we are for good news, we also have the distinct tendency of being
victimized by bad luck, bad decisions, and a strange combination of bad luck
spawned from bad decisions.”

Just this past week the city’s oldest building, the Bachmann Publick House, financially folded. And it did so in what has become known as “the truest Eastonian fashion”—in a veil of mystery, sprinkled with generous portions of ethical controversy, slathered in mismanagement, and garnished with the same old names. Mmm Mmm, if that don’t make for some delicious tabloid entertainment, just give us a couple of days (something else is bound to happen).

That’s enough fluff; here’s the point. People are talking. And just like always the key players are not talking. This statement perplexes the mind in many ways:

''It does come as a major surprise even to me. But perhaps it's a blessing in
disguise. This may actually bring other Lehigh Valley support out of the
woodwork for some reasons that are unbeknownst to me.''

Anyone’s guess is as good as mine. It’s like he has a magic eight ball that was manufactured in a fortune cookie factory. He may as well have not said anything. Wait, did he say anything… Perplexing isn’t it? Oh and there is a companion statement:

“I'm afraid I'm not going to be of much help”

Have there ever been truer words? People that we all suspect and expect answers from once again insult us and dare us to seek the facts.

The Bachmann is crap, nothing; it is just another building. The things that led up to this past week's happenings though are not inconsequential and should be looked into. There are rumors of contract cronyism and board room bullying. One thing looks to be certain, someone did something wrong. Morally? Ethically? Legally? We are pretty sure no one will be held accountable in any substantial way, but I can’t help to think of the phrase, “You’ll never work in this town again.”

It makes us uncomfortable knowing that the administration and its confidants are patrons of this embarrassing failure. What are we in for next?

¹Our Mission: To provide a clean, crime-free, and safe environment with competitive services that allows residents to enjoy a high quality of life, while providing commerce an environment to thrive.

Easton UnPlugged Audio Blog (podcast) #7.5

Here's Easton Undressed Audio Blog Episode #7.5 (8Mb)-- Anything worth doing once.
All the way live from Bawstun, Mashatooshuts our soon-to-be new neighbor Boston Bean joins Bad Apple and the House via Skype. This part 2 of a 1 part podcast. It was so good we had to do it twice. The first take of this podcast was done six days earlier. It had unsurmoutable technical issues.
The podcast covers the Bridge to Hope march, a bid to make Captain Smith Chief of Police, The Bachman Tavern, as well as the pool turnout for the last two Council meetings.
Enjoy.

Take a peek at what you'll be missing from the first take:

And please send your comments.

Your Neighbors

Council Meeting Audio 02/08/06

Here's the audio of the February 08, 2006 regular session City Council meeting. The meeting was well attended thanks to the efforts of Merri & Diane. We witnessed what could be construed as pulpit bullying. And some of our concerned citizens may have been less than fully enfranchised. The public comment (before and after) along with the impromptu evacuation are the only substance in the meeting. The rest was resolutions and ordnance readings with no discussion.

It was disappointing that the Mayor was not in attendance.

Audio (12Mb)

Easton, On the edge of Ethics

Since the second Visioning Meeting, I have been involved with the Main Street Program. Working on the Marketing and Promotions Committee, I volunteered two hours a week for several months. The majority of our effort was focused on identifying what Easton is – essentially, in marketing speak, our Brand. This process was led by Peter Stevenson, the committee chair.

While many people were anxious to start developing logo and tagline ideas, we were told by our chair that we had to be patient, there was a specific process that had to be followed. Once the research phase was completed, nothing else was mentioned about the branding project except that it was to be a line item in the Main Street budget. We were not aware that our chair, in conjunction with the city, was going to seek a grant for his company alone to do this work, and profit.

Last fall, an email was sent out stating that the Stevenson Group had been awarded this contract. I was confused and concerned. When I began asking questions about what was happening with the project, I was repeatedly told that the logo must be for the city [gov’t], but had nothing to do with Main Street. Meanwhile, the Stevenson Group remained involved with the committee.

From day one, the Marketing and Promotions Committee believed that we would be involved in the process. That minimally we would be involved in hiring anyone who would be hired and in reviewing their work. After months of silence, some, but not all of the committee members were invited to the presentation. At this presentation two weeks ago, as was done here tonight, Peter Stevenson admitted to having used the research done by the committee. In essence, we had been volunteering for him. To not include the committee at all is an insult, and brings into question the role committees are playing in the Main St. Program. The committee I was on had no knowledge of the development of this logo.

In good faith, I volunteered my time. In order for initiatives like the Main St. Program to succeed, volunteers need to feel empowered, not disenfranchised.
I don’t understand how or why this process happened the way it did. I respectfully ask you, council, to seek the answers to these questions:
1. Why was the Main Street Marketing Committee excluded completely from this process?
2. Why didn’t this grant go through the Main St. Program, but instead through the city?
It is my understanding that the Main St. Program is to be led by volunteers, not the city, not the employees of the program, and not a select few. It only seems right, that at this point, the process be opened up. The future identity of our city should not be decided by a select few, especially when it’s important to so many.

In closing, I just wanted to share a creative idea of my own. Since a grant awarded to the city paid for something that’s probably still in the Main St. budget, why not take the same amount of money from the Main St. Program and donate it to something that would benefit the people of Easton – like the pools.

Laini Abraham

How to use the Forums

Forums are online discussion groups. A forum is generally set up like a series of long chain emails. The forums are divided into several topic areas. And within those topics areas people post area specific material. If you are reading a particular post and wish to add to its subject you simply "Reply". By "replying" to the post you add your post to the bottom of the discussion or "thread" A forum can contain several threads of conversation. When you enter a forum, find the thread that best matches the message you want to post to the forum. If register as a member, you can start new threads or add to existing threads.

Registering is easy, and a very minimal amount of information is required. You can choose to hide your email from the public, or if you are terminally paranoid set up a new google gmail or yahoo mail account and use that to register.

The forums are a great tool for team problem solving. They've been around the web before web browsers (you may also hear them called Bulletin Boards or BB for short) they are very effective customer support tools. People post problems and symptoms on a board that is appropriate to their issue, and they wait for people to reply (this creates a thread). There are forums for almost every topic or hobby imaginable.

Our forums have several topic areas. There is a general area, a suggestion area, a technical support area, staff only areas, and several specific discussion areas like: Letters to the Mayor, Think Tank, and Letters to Council. Topic areas cane be created, modified, and deleted by the forum moderators and administrators.

There's a lot more to using forums but this is a quick and dirty just to get you working post. So PLEASE use the forums at http://eastonundressed.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl

Thanks
Your Friends

Illegal-- No Way, Immoral-- I'd Say So

I am not and have never been a member of the Main Street Marketing and Promotions Committee. I am however a member of the Main St Organization Committee.

I would like to speak about the process by which a volunteer chair of a volunteer committee ended up profiting by the work done by his volunteers.

While I am certain that the City has done nothing illegal, I am equally certain that something immoral has occurred.

I am speaking publicly because two previous private conversations – one in the Organization Committee and one with the Main Street Manager – have not produced visible results.

I volunteered for Main Street because I wanted to effect positive change in this community. I’m certain this is why all of us who came forward with our time did so. As grant money flows into our city, for Main Street and other initiatives and programs, it is important that we make sure that we have proper procedures in place for awarding contracts, and that fiduciary issues are made transparent.

It was a conflict of interest for a volunteer chair to solicit funding for his company to produce a logo based on the work of his committee, pure and simple. But what’s done is done. I only fear that this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and that the City has awarded other contracts despite potential conflicts of interest.

I therefore ask Council to work with the administration to put into place a conflict of interest policy for all employees and volunteers, be they on Main Street or any other program or committee in which public monies are involved.

I ask Council to work with the administration to put procedures into place to ensure that not only volunteer committee members but also the community at large is aware of how the money that helps fund Main Street and other committees is being spent.

I am empowered to do no more than speak on these issues, so I ask you who are empowered to act to do so on behalf of us, your constituents.

El Warner

Clear the Agenda

This budget season, council showed their hand.  They believe they have no responsibility. They think their only job is to install the administration’s agenda. Council wants to sit back and blame the administration when things go bad, and join in and celebrate when things go well. This is unacceptable to us taxpayers. Council does have responsibility for the outcome; good or bad.  

     This year, council must identify those responsibilities, and assure the public that they will carry them out; starting with the budget. It was sad to see the administration again backing Council against a wall by not putting forth the necessary information early enough. That would have allowed Council to review and comment on the budget, and send it back to the administration for repair. The need for several months to provide for the negotiation of a real and acceptable budget is obvious. This delay tactic has been used for several years predating even the Mitman Administration, and each year Council says, “We are not going to let this happen”, and every year it happens again. The formulation of the budget must start now.

     The rules must be followed by everyone. Council must set an example by being sure they are operating under the rules and laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. They have to make sure that the administration also operates under the rules and enforces the law in a fair and equal manner. To do this each and every member has to be knowledgeable on the rules, not dependant on the solicitor and the administration to feed them the rules. This practice allows for dubious manipulation.

     In this budget review one thing was apparent, revenues were not being collected. In order to complete the necessary tasks we must have all of our revenues. So Council must keep a very close eye on this process. They cannot wait until October to realize again that we are behind on collection. Council needs to demand that the administration and the Treasurer give them a monthly report on revenue collection at a City Council meeting. It has to be put in the open, for it to be a priority. I think it is only fair to the taxpayers who pay regularly and in a timely manner to know the status of the delinquencies.  

     Then Council must hold the Mayor’s feet to the fire. Have him prepare, with the input of Council, a list of goals with a time line to be met in 2006, and present it to the public in a State of the City address. This will give a measure of progress that can be shared with the public. This will allow everyone-- the Administration, Council, and the public to focus and assist in meeting those goals. The agenda will be clear. If the administration starts to lose focus it can be reminded of the agenda.

     It seems like we’ve been flying blind for the past two years. It’s time we opened our eyes, cleaned our windows, and cleared the air. The status quo is out of fashion. Know that, when you offer the same old excuse next time, you may just be resigning from office. We are watching, and EVERYTHING is on the record.

Bad Apple
     

Bad Decision In = Bad Result Out

City Council’s deferring the floor to the Stevenson Group ahead of residents with children was a subtle reminder of where we (ordinary residents) are ranked. Yes, it is true that The Stevenson Group may have been first to request an agenda spot, but we here at EU are no strangers to Council proceedings. We have seen deference given based on age, status, and the length of debate.

As anxious as we are for good news, we also have the distinct tendency of being victimized by bad luck, bad decisions, and a strange combination of bad luck spawned from bad decisions. In this case it may have been a poor decision offer the floor to a marketing firm over children out on a school night, and coincidentally bad luck struck. True to the saying that “no good deed goes unpunished,” the logo campaign has been saturated with the stink of impropriety.

When will the bloodletting end? Over and over again, some among us fail to let common sense be their guide. During the meeting, Ms. Heffley commented, “Maybe Mike Krill brought this up before, and we didn’t listen.” How many embarrassments, I told you so’s, and uncomfortable moments must we endure before we do something right? Rules and procedures are there to be followed not avoided. When you encourage a system or culture of getting around the rules, you are asking for trouble.

Let’s take the campaign to hire a police chief as an example. When the administration decided to be “creative” in order to get around the laws that pertain to the head of Easton’s police department, they opened Pandora’s Box of bad precedents and waste. Joe Blackburn made the Mayor and our city a laughing stock, and there is still no one running our police force. The common sense contingency says, “MAKE CAPTAIN SMITH POLICE CHIEF.” Give the job to Capt. Smith, give him the full authority to establish change, and if you continue to search for a “Chiefmissionor” at least we won’t be in limbo. What else needs to happen? The scapegoat pen is close to empty.

So, as you make plans to give a private, closed-door State of the City speech to the Chamber of Commerce, please be aware that the excuse that it’s been done this way before will not make it right. We are aware that the Optional Charter of the Third Class City Code doesn’t state the format or forum of the State of the City report, but we don’t believe you’ve earned the luxury of shutting us out. Give us a break; the Chamber members don’t all vote in the city. Address your constituency.

Please Mr. Mayor, use a good measure of common sense, and spare us all the embarrassment of another bad decision.

City Council Meeting Audio 01/25/06

The audio from the January 25, 2006, meeting is ready. This was one of the best City Council meetings I have ever attended (with the exception of the overblown logo presentation). We had interaction on every level from small children to native children returning to help-- from residents to resident business owners-- from the alive and well to the spirit of Mr Kleppinger.

Logogate was officially unveiled, and the wind was sucked from the Stevenson Group's sails. Some citizens demonstrated the power of the petition (hmmm I wonder who they were?!). And the droves of families that attended and spoke to save the Eddyside pool were impressive.

The bad part... This is probably the worst audio we have to date. The microphone wasn't placed well, so we did what we could to enhance the volume. Sorry, we'll get better.

It's three and a half hours. The first hour of monotonous drivel about the makings of an already stigmatic logo campaign has been separated from the rest of the meeting. Logo Presentation (5.7Mb)

The rest of the meeting is here. Meeting (19Mb)