DROP, Roll, and Sue: The Allentown Pension Meltdown

The Allentown Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) filed a lawsuit against Allentown City Council for failure to implement the DROP program for its officers. I have spoken on this topic and have seen plenty of you comment on it. The DROP allows eligible officers to retire, take their pension and put it in an interest-bearing account, and remain working under current salary. Say their pension is $75k, that is being saved while they continue to make $100k. Sounds fair right? How about you just retire and go get another job? 

The City Council completed a financial impact study with Maher Duessel on the fiscal health of the city. This study included the impacts of enacting a DROP program, something that Matt Tuerk didn’t complete before blindly signing the DROP agreement. The study concluded the city would be obligated to roughly between $1.1 million to $2.8 million in its first year, and up to $3.5 million annually after five years, depending on how many officers opt in to the program. $1.1 million to $2.8 million initially and then $3.5 million a year forever. For-eeever!! The report also indicated that by 2030 the DROP implementation would be a serious contributor to significant depletion of the reserve funds.  

FOP President Matthews tried to persuade city council by first saying with the DROP, APD would lose so much knowledge and wouldn’t be able to provide all the necessary functions of safety for the citizens. He painted a doomsday scenario where it was proclaimed "30-40" officers will be leaving. I find it very interesting that there is a repeat of no succession planning in the city, at all levels, and the problem is now at the feet of the taxpayers to solve with more taxes. When council showed concern about the administration’s current level of spending tax dollars and paused large expenses to have an independent study, FOP Matthews thought it would be a good idea to become ignorant towards council. Remember that he told Council President Napoli ,“you can go tell the all the guy's families who are trying to plan their lives that you aren’t going to pass this”?

The financial study was released last Wednesday, and it showed what I mentioned above. DROP = no good for the city. Chief Roca said at a council meeting that there are 15 officers looking to retire. Wow, that’s way down from 30-40, Matthews stated. Then Roca talks about how he has reduced his budgeted staff from 230 down to 210. Hold up. So, you’re saying you can work with less officers? Then it comes out the new police station isn’t going to be built, but instead the city will renovate the old one. After they spent millions if not all the $9 million in ARPA relief funds on blueprints and computer renderings among other bullshit they have NOTHING to show for. How do you explain the wasting of all that money Chief? Please explain what happened to it. 

Chief Roca then says how the city shouldn’t keep kicking the can down the street and just build the Trump Tower police station. He then begs for the DROP program. Surely because he wants it for himself. $20 says he retires soon once this doesn’t happen. But. And there’s a big fucking butt. He says he committed to being financially responsible to the taxpayers! Yo! Robocop, do you listen to yourself? You want a DROP that minutes earlier was proven it will bankrupt the city. You want a shiny police station named after you. Bankrupt the city twice. And you blew millions on designing a station and have nothing but a projected photo. Oh, maybe a couple of white and orange spray painted lines? Each line probably costs a million each. 😆  

Now for the finale of this DROP pension parade. How did this DROP get talked about more than any other issue? No other issue has received this much of a focus. This has been a topic at least 5 times at a council meeting this year. Does any other topic get this much attention or podium time?  

The FOP decides to sue or what I can see threatens to sue the city council if they don’t approve the DROP. Citing the mayor has the power to implement any contract without Council review or concurrence. News flash, first off if this was the case. Why did you go in front of the council and beg for them to pass it? Why is the Chief trying to negotiate contract benefits to council at a public meeting? Not your job or place too. Lastly, as shown by the agreement, the FOP and the city or mayor signed clearly states the agreement would need to be approved by the city council.

How can it be possible that the mayor can decide alone the terms of a binding contract when his role is administrative and the Council has control of the funding? Allentown specifically operates under the Home Rule Charter, the answer turns on what the Charter, Administrative Code, and labor-relations provisions say regarding collective bargaining agreements and contract approval. If the FOP or any other Union can have a nervous breakdown and fail to hear the concerns of the governing body, resulting in a temper tantrum with threats and screaming, then why have a mayor or council? It seems to me like the true rulers of Allentown are the unions. They seem to think they decide how the city authorizes and commits tax dollars.  

The real issue isn't whether police officers deserve fair compensation. They certainly do. The real issue is whether Allentown can afford another long-term financial obligation when independent analysts are warning about reserve depletion and future budget pressures. City Council asked for a financial study before committing taxpayers to millions in additional costs. That's called due diligence. If the DROP program is truly as beneficial and affordable as it is being claimed, then APD leadership and the FOP should welcome scrutiny, not threaten lawsuits when questions are asked. In a city already struggling with spending priorities, vacant boards, deferred projects, and financial uncertainty, “trust us” is not a fiscal policy.

Apparently in Allentown, asking how to pay for something is now considered an act of aggression.

Financial doom

This evening’s meeting delivered the much awaited Council initiated city financial health audit report. They delivered a very similar version of what this blogger has been saying about the financial health of Allentown. The financial study concluded that if the city continues to operate as they have in prior years they will be screwed. There is no argument that the city has been operating in an irrational fashion for years and it is time to wakeup and make hard decisions.

Have we been here before? Why yes! In fact it was during the O’Connell administration. The city had an auditing firm give a very similar assessment of the city. Then COVID money happened and the city went on a spending spree and the Novak report was used as a booster seat for Patel. It was just ignored. So why are we surprised that a new firm is telling us the same thing 5 years later? The Novak report warned of personnel costs. 

 The Administration hired more people. Matt Tuerk’s administration has grown the city by over 100 positions, probably closer to 200. The Novak report warned of pension concerns. Matt Tuerk signed a DROP pension. The Novak report warned of healthcare costs. Matt Tuerk and his administration have done nothing to make employees pay more or cut city costs. The city employees have great insurance for a price far below what most people are paying today. Whoopdie doo! You cut GLP-1s. Shut off the elevators, that will help.

The city spending has to be controlled and departments should have had to cut 10% over last years budget. Not the exercise they did this year. They cut their presented budget for 2027 which surely had inflated costs from tbe start.  

No police DROP program. That was a highlight of how to bankrupt the city. Also if the stormwater fee goes away, that is going to crush the citys finances. Building a new police station is a no,no. The fire station is now going to be moved and scaled back. The health department building will no longer be a part of the project.

However, babbling brook Bina Patel spoke and fell back on her usual tactics. She did not disappoint— she had no idea why the Building Code fund was excluded from city funds. She said she had to get back with Council on that one. Forgive me, but shouldn’t the finance director know what accounts are used for and why they would be restricted? Why does she never have any fucking answers!!!! I'll get back to you, Ill get back to you. Useless.

Most of her presentation I believe was designed to confuse people. Whenever she speaks I feel like I am tripping on LSD or something. Im sure some people in attendance know what Im talking about. I mean I am physically here but mentally i have absolutely no idea what is going on. I don’t know if she is trying to sound more intelligent than she really is or if talking in circles and confusing everyone has always worked for her and she sticks with that approach? She literally, just moves and switches money around.  

Patel did state the city will float a 30million dollar bond next year. Great idea. I think Frank stated it was down from like the 50million bond they originally wanted. You know the old "we're saving the taxpayers money" speach. 

Who was this guy

sitting aside of her with that awful hard part? Bro!!! I mean Chief Roca has a weird slicked bowl cut but your hair part is more like a fault line. 

Chief Roca spoke about how great and vital the Allentown police is….I replayed last year’s speech and it is essentially the same talking points.  

He stated violent crime is down and that was his big stat of the day. Down like 3%. He didnt speak on the rest of the crimes that arent down. He begged for the DROP program though the financial study showed a DROP program would basically bankrupt the city in a few years. Roca tried to state that the their are 15 officers looking to retire this year. Didn't the FOP President say 30-40 were going to retire? No one said cops were honest. Roca stated the DROP program would keep them and he predicted it would be cheaper than the overtime it will cost to replace their duties. I highly doubt 15 officers at 105k plus will be cheaper. 1.5 million is alot of overtime. Affa had it right. We need patrolman, new patrolman. Not senior staff.

He stated the city shouldnt keep kicking the can down the road and invest in a police station. The proposal for the new station has now been reduced to remodeling the current station. Hey Chief how much ARPA money did you waste on your golden station you wanted that is no longer going to happen? Millions. Millions to Butz and Alloy5 that produced nothing but more wasteful spending. No one needs to kick the can. There are plenty of them lying in the street as it is and the real issue is that the city keeps buying more cans. You need retire my man. 

Chief Agosto presented a not so stellar presentation. I think tonight was his first look at the 2027 budget. He highlighted that AFD goes to like 15,000 calls a year but when asked by councilman Pungo to see if he could tell him which calls were assisting EMS or straight fire calls, Agosto couldn’t <insert Patel’s “i can get you that information” statement here>.

Of course he couldn’t. That would show that the firefighters have enough staff and equipment. They probably respond to like 3,000 actually fire calls. Maybe 15 are legit structure fires. Yes firefighters are necessary, but remember AFD has like 140 firefighters and APD has 210ish officers. I did find it funny how the one assistant chief stated a chainsaw used to be $500 and is now $6,000. Unless Im way out of touch, what chainsaw is $6,000, and why does AFD need one??  

After the AFD budget I stopped watching. I couldnt sit through the EMS budget. But I do bet they are a little short staffed. And probably need another ambulance. Im not being sarcastic either. Mutual aid is often used, because city paramedics are tied up on calls.  

Every tax payer knows police, fire, and ems want or need more. More training, equipment, raises, etc. But explain why? You cant say crime is down but you need more men. You can say we would like an extra firetruck because they break down all the time, thus shorting the fleet. You cant state how great the Allentown Police Department is or basically pat yourself on the back, but leave out all the complaints of quality of life issues and how you are "Actually" addressing them. 65 confiscated dirt bikes in a year isnt that impressive in a city.  

Both chiefs wanted glarious stations, more men, more equipment, more, more, more. Why? Seems like you can manage with what you have and do so. Besides that huge fire, AFD can handle most house fires by themselves.

Council should look into all the excess positions and spending within AFD and APD. Start with all the take home cars. Positions that civilians could handle. They can both do more or the same with what they have. 

One thing was clear from this first night of budget presentations. It has become glaringly obvious why the auditors delivered a real warning tonight concerning the city financial health report - just look at the people in charge of these budgets and departments. The city suffers from poor and weak leadership from the mayor to bureau management and they are perfectly fine driving the city into darker territory.

Gloves off. Go vote!!

 

Voting is next week. This election like all of them is a big one.  

First you have up the state representative spot. The socialist liberal Ce Ce Gerlach is facing off against Robert Smith Jr. I will try to stay neutral on this, but I can see if Gerlach wins this being comical. I dont like people with agendas and worse yet, people who are unable to see beyond their flawed agendas. She wants the homeless to be able to live in your backyard. She basically feels that the worker class people owe those that are either less fortunate or just don’t want to work something.  

If you recall, Gerlach has never voted for anything that benefited the police including hiring. She marched along with Siegel when there were anti police marches. She could be seen saying "Fuck the police." Classy gal isnt she? I’m afraid she is going to try and instill some of her radical views in Harrisburg.  

Then there is Robert Smith Jr. There is not much know. About him other than he is as a long serving member on the Allentown School Board.  

Obviously, Gerlach is a Democrat and Smith is a Republican. With Salisbury in the voting district on this election it is possible Smith could pull off a win. However, there are way more Democrats in center city. If they vote, Gerlach wins. 

The next big election is Ryan Mackenzie and Bob Brooks for Congressman. This could determine who controls the house of representatives. I have got so much election mail, that I started to use it to big up my dog's shit and mail them all back to Brooks campaign headquarters. It’s obnoxious. Yea both candidates have dirt. But I have to say, Brooks seems like a scam artist to me. The fact he wouldnt debate the other day really has me suspect of his ability to do the job. People need to hear the candidates speak. Tell us what you’re about. Defend yourself. Not bullshit ass commercials or mail flyers.  

I think people need to vote for the lesser of evils and leave the political party out their decision. Sadly, politics has become voting for the lesser of two evils in the modern age. I will tell you I have voted for the opposite party many of times because I liked the candidate Not all Republicans are bad and not all Democrats are bad. As for this new wave of socialist Liberals? Well, I think some of their ideologies are unrealistic and outright insane. Kinda like how the Tea Party from years ago was out of touch and crazy.  

Allentown's Board Game: Half the Pieces are Missong

 

We heard if from the mayor when he used to “show up” to council meetings.  Now we hear it from Frank Kane.   The administration loves to talk about transparency, public engagement, and representative government. The mayor does the most on social media to proclaim his commitment to citizen participation.  But is this nothing more than another element of his poorly crafted public mask?   I am sure.

Many of the very boards and commissions that are supposed to provide that participation are sitting half-empty, functionally crippled, or completely vacant.

At what point does neglect become the Tuerk administration philosophy?  Well, it should become clear that the issues with the staffing of the commissions and boards is directly at the feet of Mayor Tuerk’s five-time promoted and waste of space Manager of Civic Innovations, Michaela Boyer.  It seems anything this person touches turns to shit and fails.   Before reading on, I should point out that the information below is directly from the city website for Authorities, Boards, and Commissions so the information may be incorrect.  It is possible that the website is also neglected.

A review of the city's boards and commissions reveals the sad level of vacancies across bodies that oversee everything from public health and historic preservation to homelessness, parks, nuisance enforcement, and youth representation.

The Council of Youth has 13 authorized seats and 13 vacancies. Not one member. Not a single voice representing Allentown's young people. The entire board will probably only ever exist on paper.  Matt Tuerk paraded the Council of Youth around just a few months ago stating ‘"It's incredibly important to me that young people feel seen and listened to by Allentown's City government” …so important that you have no one chosen yet?

How does a city that constantly claims to care about the next generation allow its youth council to disappear entirely?

The problems don't stop there.

The Human Relations Commission, responsible for addressing discrimination and promoting fairness, has six vacancies out of thirteen positions. Nearly half the commission is empty.   That works for Matt Tuerk because it has been alleged time and time again that his norm is to operate in a retaliatory, discriminatory and hostile way. The absence of this commission allows him to continue without being held accountable.

The Arts Commission has six vacancies out of fifteen seats. Probably too busy finalizing the sale of the 10th Street station to the Allentown Art Museum so JB Reilly can obtain yet another NIZ property.

The Disruptive Conduct Board of Appeals operates with five vacancies out of ten positions.

The Electricians Examining Board has five vacancies out of seven seats.

The Property Rehabilitation and Maintenance Code Board of Appeals has five vacancies out of five seats. That's not an understaffed board. That's a non-existent board.

The Noise Hearing Board has four vacancies out of five positions.   The mayor probably doesn’t want this one staffed because he would have to do something about the noise violations in Allentown.

The Building Code Board of Appeals has four vacancies out of seven positions.

The Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) has four vacancies out of eleven positions.

The Commission on Homelessness has four vacancies out of fifteen positions.   Where are you, Cece Gerlach?  

The Planning Commission has 1 vacancy out of seven positions.   Ah yes, the Planning Commission.  The board of much debate at Wednesday’s council meeting.  This is the same board that the favored and anointed person in the mayor’s office tried to push her partner on to serving.   Claiming that there is “nothing to see here” regarding nepotism, favoritism, or impropriety.  Not possible.

What we learned from the City Council this week is that this same person runs the selection and nomination process for these boards and if you can’t pass her quality check which probably involved discriminatory qualifiers, you will never be considered.   If you pass her test, you will be expedited ahead of filling any other vacancy.  Frank Kane indicated that this person will no longer be working on these boards as they shift duties.   I bet Frank realized that she can only be counted on failing and collecting her check and removed the duties.   He is not a dumb man at all, and I have grown quite fond of him and his sassiness.

I was pleased to see that the Ethics Board which Councilman Binder mentioned was non-existent does exist and has 5 members; only 4 listed (Maria Canon-Tjeltveit, Ed Yarrish, Carol Halper, Sarah Hernandez ) and one vacancy. 

Does anyone at City Hall think this it is acceptable to ignore these vacancies?

These aren't ceremonial committees created to make people feel involved. Government functions better when citizens, subject-matter experts, and community members participate in decision-making. They provide oversight, expertise, and accountability.

The administration continues to speak about engagement while failing to fill the seats where engagement happens.

The mayor cannot claim to represent the community well while leaving dozens of community seats empty. Citizens cannot participate in institutions that no longer function. Accountability cannot exist where there are no people left to provide it.

Citizen voices matter in Allentown right up until there's an actual seat available for them.

And in Allentown, far too many of those seats are sitting empty.  If these were airline seats Matt would have had them filled a long time ago, that is for sure.

Why the cover-up?

I wouldnt write about this, but since it mysteriously hasnt made the news but yet is all over Facebook, maybe we should talk about it.  How many of you saw the shootout at 3rd and Hamilton St. on sunday morning?

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPLAB351w/

It was a great display of alot of things.  1st the gangstas cant shoot for shit. 2.  I couldn't count fast enough but I'd say atleast 50 bullets were fired. 3. Shows someone has an automatic weapon and wants to kill someone. Lastly, where were the cops?  

Here are some other thoughts.

Why didnt this make the news? Why didnt the chief or mayor make a statement on this? What if innocent bystanders were shot walking home from a late mass or something?  Or the kid who gets shot at 3am while he was minding his own business.  Also was an inspiring DJ.

We are talking two blocks from the damn police station!!! Yet the mayor and chief brag about how crime is down.  Maybe it is but seems no one should dare walk their dog after midnight or you may catch a stray bullet.

My finale of thoughts.  Was this kept quiet because of the election in two weeks?? Hmm

I won't Debate???

 

Its funny how BoB Brooks suddenly got offended by a Ryan Mackenzie ad.  The ad claiming Brooks didnt have workers comp insurance during a time period of owning his lawn care business. Yet Brooks’s son had posted on his Linkedin account he did work for his dad during the contested time period. Thus violating state law.

Regardless, the ad had been running for two weeks before Brooks took offense.  But, more importantly two days before him and Mackenzie were scheduled to debate.

So now there will be no debate.  Is Brooks using this as an excuse because he is scared to debate?  Get the ad taken down and go debate.  How will anyone know if this guy can handle pressure and questions while on tv?  How can anyone vote for someone who wont challenge their opponent?

All these political flyers and ads are jabs.  Who knows how much shit is true.  People vote more for their party these days vs the candidate. Thats obvious by who is on city council and who is the mayor.  

I just dont think Brooks is fit for Congress.  The guy might mean well, but if you cant even debate how qualified are you?  Being a firefighter and lawn care owner and the other 20 jobs he claims he has done isnt good enough for me.

When the house fire isnt the only thing smoking

Someone commented on this so I wanted to write about it.  This is unbelievable the mayor would sign this and even more unbelievable the stupidity of the fire union to ask for this.  Like are the police going to get in on this action?

The IAFF agreement on marijuana use that Matt Tuerk signed is very interesting.   My take is that a firefighter is going to be able to use medical Marijuana and not get in trouble if they test positive.  Now if they are working and test positive they could be subject to discipline.  But, if someone has a card and smokes hours before their shift they will test positive.  Even if they smoke up to 3 days prior, they will test positive since it stays in your system.  So allowing them to smoke legally it’s going to be tough to figure out when someone last smoked.  

If a Firefighter tests positive and has the card it is recorded as a negative?  These guys can be high whenever they want.  Wait until one of them crashes the truck and hurts someone or doesnt save someone because they are too high.  Will the fire union pull out this MOU and say not guilty? Of course they will.  

This direction from the IAFF site is concerning:   “If you currently have a medical card or are prescribed one in the future any urinalysis that shows positive for marijuana will be treated as a negative test.”

A positive is a positive and should be recorded as such until verified by a medical official and Human Resources that the employee is not impaired and has a medical card on file.

Union prez Jeremy Warmkessel is solely out for himself and other firefighters.  They dont give a shit about the taxpayers.  Jeremy is so far up Mayor Tuerks ass, if the mayor farts, his dome shaped head pops out.

Budget Presentation Clown Show

The dissection of the budget is here. I don’t want to disappoint anybody any further, but how did we get to this point? I’m not surprised because they cut the APD, AFD, and GLP-1s, and retirement medical for Non-Bargaining only.  Matt would NEVER take from Fire, EMS and Police. I mean, who would send money to his PAC and pay for his fancy billboards? 

The GLP-1s were a smart move and could potentially prove to be a huge savings. Personally, I don’t think the city should have ever been covering this, and I will be watching closely to see if the Fire and Police department are exempted from the GLP cut mandate because…..well, money and billboards.    

I’m awful, but you will be able to see which co-workers were on the fat injections. Just look at who starts to gain weight. They also removed several other large expenditures. 

I had to write about this. Not to offend my female followers but, the city of Allentown had Period Day. 

I'll say it again, period day. Very sexest if you ask me. 

Basically, Mayor Tuerk and volunteers packed lots of feminine products for woman in need. Now I believe this is a worthy cause. But to have admit Matt seemed a little out of place.

Onwards to some of the budget presentation highlights. More to come.

The mayor seemed to highlight several projects that are barely successful, but when you have nothing else to tout, you choose something to distract, right?

The former Controller, Jeff Glazier, had a nice in memoriam moment at the beginning of the mayor’s speech.  It was touching to see Mr. Glazier mentioned, even if it was not genuine.  I will leave my comments about how they both didn’t even like each other later.  

The city has dedicated the 2027 Budget to Mr. Glazier and included what looks like a funeral program front page to the budget book.

Is the intended message that if you don’t agree with this budget, you shame the legacy of Jeff Glazier?

Vision Zero, should be renamed to Absolutely Zero Vision, was one of his proud accomplishments? Vision Zero isnt his idea.  First off this project exists in several cities throughout the country.  

He took the idea from the Swedes. 

Seriously though, how has this worked out?  We have had more accidents and deaths in Allentown than any previous years.  I found this out by using the APD dashboard, and I doubt anyone in the administration verified the mayor’s speech beforehand.  If they did, heads will roll this week.

The mayor mentioned that during his many taxpayers funded all-expense paid job hunt, ehehm conferences, that he is routinely approached by leaders about how amazing Allentown is doing.   Then he corrected himself because Allentown is not even thought of, and he knows it.   They are talking about how the Lehigh Valley is doing well, specifically Upper and Lower Macungie, with the large investment by Chobani and Eli Lilly, NOT Allentown.  Allentown has seen mostly decline and increased spending, and he knows it.  What does Allentown have?  A lot of failing new buildings.

The Mayor then started to try and say that jobs at Chobani and Eli Lilly were for Allentownians.  How is that possible? How many people in Allentown have college degrees with industry experience? Your administration has done nothing to use the Allentown Works grant money towards training residents or enhancing their chances. 

What you have done is allow your CED Director and her minions to continually waste the money for overhead, websites, and office space.   Oh, I forgot — you also have people join a council meeting to talk in circles with no clear indication of direction or tangible results for the people of Allentown.

His priorities?   Community engagement.   Probably not the Allentown community based on his travels for sure, but community engagement.   His “One Man, No Visitors, and a Tent” sideshow has proven to be a joke, a big joke with a bigger joke of a mayor.

That’s all for priorities. 

There was a lot of kindergarten level schooling today.  We have a Spanish word of the day, and we were lucky enough to have the teacher Tuerk scold us citizens.  We need to read the budget and educate ourselves before approaching him when he is out running the streets.   

So, Allentown, don’t come at him uneducated…be informed before you “show up”!

Tuerk then turned to the department heads to talk about how they had to cut 10% and how difficult that was.  Clearly Tuerk had no clue what has been cut from the budget because he has been out of town so much.  To cut 10% either means your giving way too much money to each department to spend or waste on raises and unnecessary positions or services will be cut. Only way that makes sense.

Sources tell me that he was not involved in the budget process at all and left it to Verizon Frank. 

The best was the comment from the APD Chief.  Right after the mayor said there were no personnel cuts, here goes Chief Roca pointing out the staffing cuts were the hardest pill to swallow and how it is hard to continue to provide the services when staff is cut.  

Tuerk looked like a deer caught in headlights.   Classic.

I am sure there will be a lot more to talk about as this budget season moves forward.  

 The  Allentown Police and Fire Stations continue to be a Top Secret plan that the city “is not ready to talk about right now”. 

A 3.81% increase is not that significant of an increase, but when it is added with the increased costs to our daily lives, it is an unwelcome contributor. Its only one less donut or a 1/3 a cup of coffee.  Sadly, this is what the City of Allentown leadership is missing.  

For now, I am taking my 2/3 cup of Iced Mocha Latte and my 11/12 donuts and rewatching the budget presentation — it is the best new clown comedy show out there, at least until the budget meetings.

Stay Tuned…..I'm leaving out other people I have to comment further on.

I will address Mark Shahda's fuel comment

Further address Chief Roca's staffing comment

Now that GLP1 has been cut a little deeper dive into medical costs relating to Bina Patels comments

Abe

Coming soon 2027 Budget Review

The truth behind the 2027 budget proposal will be out as soon as I can finish it.  

The Mayor never disappoints.

Stay Tuned!!!

Tomorrow its Fudging Numbers Day!!

Tomorrow the 2027 fudged budget will be delivered.  Watch this blog for my assessment in the coming days. In the meantime, this citizen is spot on.

Please copy and paste link

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Lm3A9ZU9b/

Well, Allentown, You Got What You Voted For

The same people who spent years voting for the same old lying politicians promising more development, more growth, and more business investment are now furious that a data center is coming to Allentown.

What exactly did everyone think "economic development" meant?

These developers and companies don't just randomly drop a billion-dollar project in a failing city. Allentown politicians were instrumental in forcing zoning changes and creating policies that make these projects possible. Matt Tuerk campaigned on his economic development background to bring growth to Allentown. Is this the kind of growth we wanted? Based on public sentiment, not at all.  

We can discuss his time at LVEDC where he was known to be a failure another time.  

Maybe the data center will be good for Allentown? Maybe it won't. Reasonable people can debate the jobs, tax revenue, environmental impact, and whether it's the best use of the land. No one should be shocked that the developer won here. They have money that demonrats need for their agenda. It is also just a little ridiculous to think that certain people on the Zoning Board and on the third and fifth floor weren’t staunch advocates for this neighborhood data center.

Allentown voted for officials who prioritized development. They delivered development. It just wasn't the type of development people imagined or expected. 

That's the thing about elections. They have consequences. Sometimes those consequences are exactly what was promised. VOTE for an idiot. Get an idiot. Sometimes they end up being a giant warehouse-sized building full of servers sitting there polluting the air, water, and land while consuming resources.

The silver lining in this new Allentown data center development is that Mayor Pee Wee will have more computing power and video capabilities to broadcast his prancing through the city while he talks about himself and ignores the issues plaguing the city. He will also be able to advertise all of his all expense taxpayer funded travels that have brought just soooo much to Allentown.  

Either way, Allentown continues to get exactly what it voted for.

A business in Allentown??

There isnt much to talk about until next week.  The budget extravaganza!!! Where lies will meet the truth.  Until then...

So I saw the Piano bar that is out west is closing.  The reason was not stated.  However, I would conclude because it wasnt doing well.  I could be wrong though.  

The jewelry store on 19th St. up and moved as well after being there for atleast 10 years.  Moved way out west into South Whitehall.

Bru daddys left, and Mcall's took over that location.  We will see how long that lasts.

In 2025 Karl Ehmers closed on the eastside.  A meat company for over 50 years.

Why do businesses leave?  Too high of taxes?  Not enough business?  The four I mentioned, to me, were great businesses.  

I am sure each business has its reasons and maybe they arent even bad.  But why would anyone want to open a business downtown anymore? 

Who wants to see and hear dirt bikes zipping down Hamilton St? Or the mobile concerts from loud music.

There isnt enough foot traffic downtown or out west anymore. The westend use to be a hotspot for small businesses.  Now that is slowly disappearing. You could blame the economy but the Hamilton crossings and even the Lehigh Valley Mall seem to be packed with cars when I drive by.  

Speaking of disappearing, where is Mayor Tuerk at?  Has anyone seen him?  Does anyone actually care?  I wonder if he will present the budget next week or if Frank the Tank will be tasked with it.  Seems the mayor hired Frank to do everything.  Probably so he could travel.  Dumb piece of shit.  Please propose to drop term limits.  I wanna see it fail.