Not my money, not my problem

The council meeting was exactly what should have been expected-Council disagreeing with themselves, Frank trying to justify the mayor's expenses without knowing if his own data is correct or even fact based, the mayor absent (probably booking his next trip), and of course Napoli nervously trying to figure out how to squash the bill and discussion. 

I would have to give Mota an 8/10, Affa an 8/10, and Binder a solid “meh.” Napoli easily receives a 1/10.

The resolution was introduced to audit all of the mayor’s travel expenses. What was lost here tonight is that the mayor is not above any rules just because of his position. In fact, he should be following the rules to the letter since he is responsible for their implementation and execution. The weak justification that Frank Kane tried to use to justify the mayor's travels is that it represents a small portion of the city budget. Almost like saying "so what?!? Who cares?" Sorry, a mismanaged penny is still mismanaged public funds and officials should be held accountable. Second, he stated the mayor is "boring" and only bought a candy bar and that the money was within the budget. The question isn't whether there is money in the budget. The question is what is the city getting for this trip?

 Why does the mayor continue to tap dance around his travels. Where are the travel reports?

Here’s my take on Managing Director Frank Kane’s defense:

Frank kicked things off by bragging about the mayor’s heavy social media presence and how he spends his days doing community outreach through his online activities.  

He even claimed that if you buy a house in the city, the mayor personally knocks on your door to welcome you. (If he knocked on mine, I’d sic the dog on him).  

496 homes were sold in April 2026 and he was out of Allentown for 2 weeks. I doubt he knocked on all doors...most likely only registered Democrats, if any. Please correct me- if you recently moved to Allentown and the Mayor knocked on your door to personally welcome you, add a comment below. 

Frank tried to tie all this travel to the mayor’s “outreach,” but traveling has nothing to do with getting tattoos or running marathons in other cities. 

He told people not to believe everything in the “blogosphere” (pretty sure he meant AllentownTruth). 

Frank admitted the mayor only spent about $5,000 on travel in 2022, but he refused to give numbers for 2023, 2024, 2025, or this year. 

Again, he wasn't sure of his own data. 

He highlighted the mayor meeting Buttigieg (grabbing him by the lapels and what sounded like just may have kissed him to get a grant) and attending the Conference of Mayors, where he gets to be in a room with “real mayors.”

Frank insisted all this travel brings in tens of millions in grants for the city. Yet when pressed, he couldn’t point to any specific new ideas the mayor has brought back and actually implemented. If the mayor is single-handedly pulling in that kind of money, why are we still seeing tax increases? The connection feels unprovable.

Why doesn’t the mayor go to auditors’ conferences instead? Those are probably free. 

Although I highly doubt the Spain trip cost zero dollars to the city. Not saying that the mayor hasn't attended conferences for free, but I do not think Bloomberg paid for all attendees at its recent global conference in Madrid. Frank claims it was free - we shall see when the receipts are finally found and verified. 

Frank seemed very defensive about the idea of an outside firm doing a proper audit and that leads me to be suspicious of his intentions.

Bottom line: The mayor rarely reports back on what he actually accomplishes on these trips. It’s mostly nonsense. 

Frank’s numbers sounded wildly inflated. If the mayor was truly bringing back millions thanks to his travel and networking, he’d be bragging about it nonstop. If we know anything about Matt Tuerk it is that he loves to see himself on camera and truly loves to brag about his favorite subject -- himself.  

Council seems to be behind on this legislation. It is 2026 and they are only now deciding that mayors, council members, and others should have to report what they actually do on taxpayer-funded trips? I bet the policy already exists and no one enforces it. That’s wild.

On a personal note, I gotta say Frank you seriously remind me of a sleezy used car salesman.  Not just any salesman, one from New Jersey.