Three hours and 40min of No answers

The sign on the classic Far Side comic above should read "City of Allentown - City Hall".  If there ever was a perfect summary of the quality and intelligence level of leadership in the halls of City Hall, this is it!  If you missed the city council budget presentation this evening for the Solicitor’s Office, Human Resources, Risk Management, IT, Controller Office, Mayor’s Office, and CED consider yourself quite lucky.  It was 3 hours and 40 minutes of absolute incompetence and yet another display of the wrong people being in important positions.   The city administration and management are running a circus at this point and now absolutely nothing about running a city.

The meeting started with the City Solicitor’s office.   I believe the person that presented the budget was the part-time city solicitor, Jack Gross from Gross McGinley.   He typically shows to council once a year to present the budget.  The solicitor pointed out that they “do more, with less” and need more people but they won’t be asking for any positions this next year.    It is quite interesting to me that the Solicitor likes to point out that they bring most cases in-house but that is simply untrue.   Most of the hard work is done by outside counsel.  We can take a look at any of the new articles from the newspapers or WFMZ reporting and there is always an outside attorney handling cases against the Police, the city administration and the mayor.   The city solicitor’s office really doesn’t handle the case workload they claim.     This is one department that is overfunded and a waste to the taxpayers.   The solicitor’s office could be minimized to a single attorney (who isn’t busy being an attorney for other municipalities and running his own business) and two paralegals. 

The solicitor mentioned that Right to Know requests are “growing at an enormous rate,” but the figures given were 1,300 three years ago versus 1,900+ now, about 46%. Another misspoken and misstated figure using the same tactics.  They are not growing at an enormous rate.  

I found it interesting that it was mentioned that affirmative litigation was something the legal office “has prioritized this year,” then “just can’t be a priority” a minute later.  Funny.  Use notes and don't wing it next time.

Overall the Solicitor presentation was following the same script that the city administration has given to all Directors this year “doing more with less”, “we were cut by a lot”, “we need more people”, “we need to invest next year in technology and people”.

Onward to the clearly dysfunctional Human Resources Department and the Director clearly illustrated that as well.  WOW!  The HR Director appeared unfamiliar with key budget details and could not answer several questions from Council. This director looks and acts as absent minded as Belle from Beauty and the Beasts father. 

I say with profound embarrassment that this is the person Matt Tuerk chose to be his Human Resources director after 3 years of searching.  

The man was lost and had no idea what the hell was going on.  His presentation wavered between incoherence and spin.  Sadly, he is indicative of all the Directors in the city. 

He is asking for $38,000 for training but couldn’t find it in the budget and spent a large amount of time looking for the expenditure.   It seemed the two account numbers and the amount being presented was incorrect, but Councilperson Binder seemed to give up asking the question because the HR Director couldn’t answer.  Then the Director stated that he didn’t remember writing the narrative section.  So, I guess as Director you also don’t review and familiarize yourself with documents going to the council and public? I mean the budget schedule has been available for months and it seemed that he just opened the budget book today.  Maybe if he wasn’t always “working from home” he would be able to put more efforts into his duties.

They pivoted to a discussion about DEI.   Director Velazquez seemed to not even realize he had a DEI person or that their title changed to People and Culture.  He originally started talking as if the position was eliminated and then a squeak from the background saved him and advised that the position changed to People and Culture last year and that they will now be known with the 2027  budget as People and Culture Manager – a manager of program, not people.  Excuse me but aren’t DEI/People and Culture personnel interacting with people anymore?  Has it become another waste of taxpayer dollars with a fancy title but no tangible or proven results?   My sources tell me that the person in this role, though a gifted saleswoman and spinner of the facts, really does nothing for the city.  None of her reports to the mayor have resulted in any changes.   The training that she was supposed to do was sporadic and mostly have been failures.  Another position that should be cut completely!

They briefly discussed a training schedule. Cultural humility training was described as starting, then as “maybe next year.”  It seems to me that the HR department, like the Solicitors office, has a lot of talk about “what will be done” but the same bullshit is brought up year after year and council falls for it.   Now they need a Learning Management System to provide training to employees because it is “just too much to manage”.  Strangely, I remember there being a Training Coordinator in Human Resources.  Are they doing anything or also looking crazy and doing nothing?  

The director had no evidence or numbers.  He talked in circles and was unable to answer or justify anything in his budget.  He is giving me classic Charleton and salesman vibes but that could be mistaken for inexperience and incompetence as well.  I really hope that council sees the city management as inexperienced and not serving the city well at all.

My favorite moment of the night is when council brought up the Tuition Audit where city employees were being overpaid by the HR department for tuition and they had no controls in place.  They were not even following their own policy and procedures.  The HR Director claimed that he wasn’t aware of this audit and it was before his time.  The controller pointed out that the report was just completed in 2026 and he was the director at the time.  Seriously man – memory supplements are readily available as well as good old-fashioned notebooks and pens.

Next up was the Risk Manager presenting the medical costs for the city.   Other than a push to get staff promoted and a new position, she didn’t offer much.   I don’t quite understand how a new position and a promotion are needed?   If it is two-person job requirement, why does one have to be promoted?   Keep them both at the same grade --- theoretically the work will be cut in half and a needed promotion for the person currently in the role doesn’t pass the commonsense test.  The Risk Manager said they need help with the “paperwork flow” and it requires two people.  She seemed unprepared and out of her element trying to talk about the department.   The healthcare costs are going up 11% but they only budgeted for 5%...where does she expect to cover the additional 6%?  Is there already a plan to ask for $6.5 million more for healthcare next year?  She stated employees pay 25% of the premium but finance presented 5-10%, which is it?   She also didn’t know the cost per person and that amount has been stated many times in many meetings, including the one where she asked for $6.5 million for healthcare about a month ago!   I don’t think she knows what she is doing….seriously.

She confused the hell out of me with the accident claims.  They put more money in the budget for driver training?  Doesn’t the city already put most employees through driver training?  They cover CDL costs, Fire and Police have very stringent training for drivers.   Then 20 seconds later she said it was free from the broker.   Did she budget for something that is free?   The same thing happened with the Stop Loss question.  She stated that Stop Loss premium went up “a lot” and then talked about the attachment point amount (the amount the city is responsible for before stop loss kicks in) and obviously confused the two or didn't understand the stop loss insurance works.   Jusy another manager that was not prepared or aware of the operations of their department.

And you will see that is a common theme in these budget reviews.

IT was next and I enjoyed this presentation.  The director was to the point.  Pointed out that the administration cut him and the cuts do not make sense.  They cut the InnerGov software move to the cloud putting the city at a disadvantage and no support from the software.   Clearly a Bina Patel move.  She loves to decide for Directors what they need and what they will be doing each year.  I appreciate his candor and direct talks about how the administration is making decisions that are not making sense right now from an IT standpoint.  The sad thing is that no one will remember his warnings and will blame him later for not speaking up.  An interesting fact, it costs $2200 - $6000 per person to set up a new employee.   Each year what that figure is for the budget year. How much has Matt Tuerk cost the city by increasing the workforce and how much has turnover cost the city?   I am sure it is an interesting number.

The controllers office can be summed up as the following:  We need a part-time to full-time position.   Finance didn’t let us put together our own budget and they haphazardly wrote our budget and didn’t let us make any changes.  We want our money back. Bina is ridiculous and should know better – READ the HOME RULE CHARTER, Bina!  

It was amazing that the Controller read the Charter to all in the room so that there was no question about what she would be adhering to it going forward.  How is it that the city has a finance department, but I continually hear that the controller finds uncollected money during an audit?  Then when the department is pressed for the failure to collect debt they say “we don’t have enough staff”.  

It then turned into a long discussion about nothing with Jackie Moore.  I took a run around the block, came back and she was still talking about herself. What a mess – someone should have cut her microphone.  She was presenting an end of career review and not a budget.  She spent a lot of time self-promoting. 

It was also discovered during the presentation that the Controller’s office was left out of meetings and ended up going to a conference to learn how to pull reports in the new system…meanwhile the Finance department had subject matter experts available and Bina left out the Controller on the initial discussions that discussed needs and capabilities.   Are we surprised Bina messed up yet again?

They did have issues bringing up all presentations tonight and it was funny to hear the IT director say to an open mic “I know what the problem is but I can’t fix it right now”.

The Mayor’s office…..insert comedy relief now.  If you are still reading this post – we saved the best for last.   HR, Risk, and the Solicitor’s office were entertaining but the Mayor’s budget, presented by Allentown Mayor Frank Kane was an utter trainwreck.

They couldn’t answer most questions and when it got difficult Frank Kane wanted to take it to a “private conversation” ….correct me if I am wrong but that is not a good look.   There seems to be some games going on with the budget and taking it offline is not transparency to the public.  The idea that a private conversation about publicly stated questions that are difficult is shady AF.

The mayor’s office has mentioned the same things as “next year” every budget year.   How long can they possibly talk about initiatives like strengthening communications, making government more accessible, CRM system (talked about for 5 years), the language access plan to city services and continue to do nothing? It is year after year and they can't even deliver on the providing language options for our diverse staff (hello DEI Manager!) Arabic? Nothing. Vietnamese? Not a chance. Pashto? Not yet. Spanish?  Hooked on Phonics level from the mayor because he thinks he can speak Spanish.  My guess is that Michaela Boyer was the Project Manager on this one but dropped the ball once again.

Then on to the Manager of Civics of Innovations Dept.  There is only one program that is running out of this department and it is $21,000!  Seriously?  That is the Love Your Block grant and Mayor Frank had no idea what the Love Your Block Initiative was and had to have another person explain.  Interestingly, it was not the actual manager, Michaela Boyer from what I am being told.  Was she campaigning for Hunter tonight and not able to attend, or was she painting a porch or a mural at La Placita? 

Councilman Binder asked a pointed question – why the budget of personnel and non-grant money of $161,000 for a $21,000 grant being presented?  Seems like a LOT of overhead. Seems to me like you could add the duties to another mayor staff member and save $161,000 and move that to the shortfalls in IT.  

Innovative Prototypes – What are they?  Frank doesn’t know.  He had no clue, and no one could explain these Mayor Tuerk buzzwords.   He said “these are the mayor’s key initiatives” like going out in the neighborhood.  Great!  You are here presenting the budget on his behalf — shouldn't you know Frank? 

The Civic Innovations department is suddenly external, and the DEI/People and Culture is internal and not external.     Yet no one told the DEI/People and Culture Manager because she mentioned that she is internal and external just 30 minutes prior.   Someone needs to update her or tell Ms. Boyer she is doing someone else’s job.  Seems she is doing the Constituent Services Manager and portion of the DEI/People and Culture Manager duties. 

Based on the presentation, I did not see any evidence that the position is producing results that justify its cost---not in the least bit.

This is where they wanted to move offline to discuss because it was embarrassing for the mayor’s office.  Why don’t we have a public meeting and let the manager explain what accomplishments have occurred in all her positions?

Council’s budget was boring and lean.   Quick and to the point with a large savings to the taxpayers.  Of course, the FOP DROP suit requires additional money for legal services.   If I was council I would welcome this expense because the FOP is stupid to sue the council and not the mayor for jumping the gun and agreeing to and signing an MOU authorizing the DROP by evading and avoiding procedure.

They brought forward legislation to renew the Cable Franchise contract.  The attorney mentioned no issues with any of the vendors (RCN, Verizon, and SecTV) and this is standard.  Council brought up concerns with the administration and thoughts on how to make it better.  Mayor Verizon Frank didn’t know that the agreement hadn’t been renewed for six years. So, the contract is so good that no one even knew it expired?   See my critique of the solicitor’s office above. Temu Attorney Rosenberger said that council can't table because it would require discussion with the vendors again.  Uhm?  Good.  Do your job loser!

CED Budget. 

Mostly boring and there is a lot of tap dancing.   Another straightforward budget with no upgrades and no new positions along with a strict adherence to the ten percent reduction.  Don’t worry – Vicky Kistler is very skilled at being evasive and not presenting information correctly.  This is the same person who asks for more positions and upgrades after the new year. She has done this every year and presents a sky is falling scenario if they are not promoted or added to the city rolls.  She WILL BE BACK!

Then Vicky told “Dan” that he needs to move “up to the mic” and explain a program on community business engagement.  He spoke too long and went around in circles and through out all kinds of statistics that meant nothing.   The fact that Vicky would order a staff up to the mic and then tell them they have 30 seconds was downright rude, and there is no wonder her staff routinely tells me how horrible of an individual she really is behind the scenes.  

Someone was literally hacking up a lung in the background and “Dan” kept talking about nothing.

I think what they are selling in their budget presentation does not align with reality.  Vicky tries to paint a picture that they are making large improvements and minimizing citizen wait times and better serving the community, but the community does not see professional inspectors out and about.  The wait time for inspections depends on who you are and how important your project is to key personnel and the inspectors are mostly rude.  These are easy metrics to track, and I encourage CED to publish a timeliness dashboard similar to the APD Crime Dashboard.   It is quite easy and the city has already proven they know how to publish data.

Tonight was the largest budget presentation, and it caused this post to go longer than usual.  If you are still here with me or if you skipped to the end to read the summary, let me summarize tonight like this:  It was a comedy show that wasn’t trying to be funny and I am sure other cities and towns look at Allentown leaders as circus freaks who are lucky to have the positions they fill.   What an absolute embarrassment to watch these leaders tap dance and dance around how they really use our money.

It seems that the administration loves to be its own roadblock and each year they keep saying ‘we are working on better ways but….’.  The sad thing is that the bring the same programs and ideas each year to get their budgets with no intention to enact most of what they talk about at these meetings.  

Mayor Verizon Frank had a catastrophic meltdown mid-meeting when his lie generator malfunctioned.  Luckily, he rebooted but the blue screen of death appeared, and he just babbled incoherently for the remainder of the meeting.  I give him more credit than traveling Matt Tuerk who couldn't "show up" for his own budget meeting.   

..... Still taking our 12th donut.

Who fills the open toilet seat

I hope everyone voted and their candidate won.

I'll stick to the big Allentown election and let you guys fight the rest out in the comments.

Ce Ce Gerlach won a state rep position.  I cant wait to see how Harrisburg will deal with a female Fetterman.  Im tired of her not being able to speak in normal sentences anyway, "Ummm, I mean, okay" promoting non profits, homeless, and hating the cops. The only thing I ever thought of her was she was consistant in her voting. I respect that. She didnt flip flop her votes like some people do.

My question is who will fill her seat?  Lets name some people.  

Daryl Hendricks? Ugh More of him saying how he was a police officer for 1,797 years. I can't. 

Ed Zucal? Well Id like to see him back because he really was the only one to attack the mayors administration. Plus his stare down was legendary.  He should have a good chance if he chooses to throw his name in.

Palmer? Well I think he would be good but the mayor would never advise his council friends to appoint him.  

Ed Pawlowski- too bad I dont think he is allowed. 

Id really like to see some real Allentonians on council. Like Eddie Aviles or Barb Redman. Or even Quinn Allen.  I'll never forget the time he made a semi racist comment, and people got quiet and he said "Oh be quiet." I fell off my chair. These types of people would bring the comedy.  Pungo and Binder may have good intentions but they are boring.  Affa needs to stay. I love her outbursts when she get mad.  Napoli when he gets nervous and panics is great.  Little church 🐁 Natalie, just sit there and be cute.  I mean we got Frank who is entertaining with his sales pitches.  So lets spice up this open seat.  How about Mr. Armstrong who is a frequent commentator on here?  Nate Hyman to bring some actual knowledge.  Enid Santiago would spice things up.  

I want council to be more like this again

I want to see Jerry Jerry Jerry up there!!!

Council meeting yaaawn

The council meeting had one thing that was exciting.  Council approving an attorney to fight the FOP.  I'm glad they arent backing down to that nonsense lawsuit.  However, now the tax payers have to fund the attorney fees to fight the greedy cops.

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 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.