Council tonight was never ending.
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"This guy makes a $135,000 a year and comes to council disheveled, on his phone, and chewing gum"
Bina Patel delivered another Academy Award nominated performance and, as always, could not answer any questions and deferred to 'getting that data' and 'we will have that conversation'.
Council VP Mota asked some great questions, but I do think she is probably more confused after the explanation by Kane and Patel. Frank still chewing
Basically, what's the impact on the tax payers?. No answer. How much will it cost? No answer.
Basically, the police can double dip and leave with a done of cash after they retire. Costing tax payers millions. There getting a new 45million dollar station and want more.
Onward
Patel did state there is like 70 capital projects going on. So there is a cost for that. Yet as Finance Director she has no clue what financial impact these projects, including the DROP, will have on the taxpayers. Do your job!!!!
In between Frank being on his phone alot of the meeting, Frank stated the city will need to come up with $6.75 million for the lost revenue from stornwatee fees from the ruling in the state assembly. 6.75 million!!! That's without the DROP and whatever other expenses. But assured the administration will figure it out. Where are you getting all this money??? Quit borrowing. Administration is like a 20 year old charging everything with $15/hr job. Ridiculous.
There will be a Special Meeting to discuss the DROP probably on a Wednesday night at 3:30am. Bina is gonna avoid answering any and all questions VP. Mota asked, if she shows up at all. Im sick of her not knowing shit.
Mayor Tuerk missed another community impacting meeting. Don't worry Matt, we saw Vicky Kistler in the back watching people, taking notes, and names. She will send you a summary tonight. I do hope Disneyland California has wifi and good cell reception so you don't miss the her notes.
The main focus of the 2nd meeting was the proposed data center in south Allentown. Basically, everyone opposes it.
The basis of Bill 20 was to amend the code language so data centers can't be built in the city limits. But this is a complicated process.
How about how the City Solicitor who is hired for these types of issues sat in the back silent and the council solicitor had to answer for both the best she could?
There was a lot of discussion regarding a Curative Amendment. Now I am not a code aficionado, but I am able to “Google it” like Verizon Frank mentioned.
1. A municipal curative amendment is a legal process under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) that allows a municipality to self‑declare its zoning ordinance or parts of it as substantively invalid and then enact a new or revised ordinance to fix the problem.
53 P.S. §10609.2
Declaration and Proposal
The municipality formally declares its zoning ordinance or portions thereof as substantively invalid.
Within 30 days, the governing body must:
Pass a resolution identifying the invalidity (e.g., missing or insufficiently permitted uses, entire ordinance needing revision).
Begin preparing and considering a curative amendment
Enactment Deadline
The municipality must enact the curative amendment within 180 days from the declaration to validate or reaffirm the ordinance
Landowner and Hearing Board Exclusion
Once the process starts, the municipality is not required to consider landowner curative amendments under §609.1 or to issue reports on similar grounds
Limitation
After enactment, the municipality cannot use the same process again for 36 months, unless a new statutory duty or court decision requires it.
A municipal curative amendment is a statutory tool for Pennsylvania municipalities to fix zoning defects internally, with a set timeline and procedural safeguards, while shielding themselves from competing landowner challenges during the process.
Councilperson Gerlach came in for the win once again! She was saying what was stated with a simple Google search. A Curative Amendment for a Municipality signals that our zoning ordinance is flawed and requires amendment or expansion for clarification to address the issue. This action protects the municipality from entertaining landowners with curative amendments.
This all seems complicated with loopholes within.
Bill 20 passed 7-0 to be tabled. Hope it was the right decision. Im glad there was a huge turnout of citizens expressing their thoughts. I wish every meeting was like that.
Lastly and for the Irony
All I can say was that there was a ton of speackers tonight. Who are against these data centers, but I am curious how many used Chat GPT to write their speeches?
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48 comments:
Its really pathetic the administration Never knows anything. Bullshits everything and has no answers. Abe you do a fabulous job exposing their shitty performances but is their a way to get rid of them?
This is just start !! Wait until the budget comes out for 2027!! BIG TAX INCREASES!!
We all know why ! Incompetent leadership!!
Just an FYI, rumors are running rampant about a gangland style shooting in broad daylight at 25th & Fairview, deep in the Hamilton Park section of the City that occurred last week. It's being alleged that the City and the Police have deliberately avoided publicizing the shooting for public relations reasons. The home in question 2501 W. Fairview Street, is not-surprisingly a rental property owned by suburban landlords. The house appears vacant and has several bullet hole repairs on the windows, as it is alleged that up to 12 shots were fired at the house. I've never criticized the Police ever in my life, they are the good guys in my book. However, this alleged cover up feels like a blatant, politically motivated strategy to keep worried and concerned residents in the dark.
US Conference of Mayors
94th Annual Meeting
June 4-7, 2026
Long Beach, CA
That $25,000 travel budget is a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things....There should be no worries, Allentown is a very well funded unit of local government and the public reaps all kinds of benefits from sending the Mayor to these very important conferences. I'm sure all the other local governments in the region do the same.
So Abe what was the result of the drop discussion? Did it get passed or what?
It's deja vu all over again, we bankrupted Allentown two decades ago with a similar police pension scheme, (one so beneficial to the police that many suspected blackmail was involved), so why not do it again? What valuable city assets can we sell this time to dig the city out of certain future financial straights. Digging the hole deeper is what our voters and city government do best. Getting a clue is, and has been out of reach since Allentown became the epicenter of stupidity.
It’s really a joke and City better not approve the DROP program!
What was the stormwater fees ruling in the state assembly that reduced revenue (theft from us) by $6 million?
This blog is a tough crowd, but your reporting on the data center legislation was fair. I would like to point out that the question is whether a curative amendment protects the community if a party were to file an application for a data center tomorrow. Our counsel has advised us that it does not. We became aware of a range of opinions during the meeting.
During the proceedings, listening to public comment, talking to the zoning people, and researching, we realized that for at least a brief period, we are protected by the pending ordinance provision under planning code, so the best course of action was for us to take a week and figure out what most protects us as we move forward.
Want to know how I figured that out?… by googling…. During the meeting… while chewing gum… because the internet is where the information is…. And I quit smoking by chewing gum a number of years ago…. Which was also when I started telling people “I’m not fat, I just have dense bone structure.”
The point of me telling a room full of residents that they could google the same information that I did is because it’s what comes up immediately when you search. They have no reason to trust me, even though I am from the government and I am here to help, but everyone has access to the same information on the internet. At a point, I did find myself down a chatGPT rabbit hole… I am sure collectively we killed a few trees. If you don’t tell anyone, I won’t either.
I think that the way that the meeting unfolded over almost five hours showcases the best of what public service should look like. Elected officials listening, the administration listening, taking in new information, and making decisions based on good public input. Everyone has the same goal… to protect the rights of property owners during the zoning and land use process while implementing safeguards for the community to avoid undue adverse impact.
As far as the DROP discussion, when the board refers something to committee, I am just asked to make a brief introduction. It’s not really fair to imply that referral to committee was the time for a deep dive into the actuarial study. That will be next week. I also find that practice odd. We did it differently at the County. I think it makes more sense to start in committee, forward it to the full
Board for presentation, first read and a full discussion. But that is not the way it’s done here.
On the stormwater fees, we are going to work hard to mitigate the potential loss to our residents and taxpayers. We can look at changes to our ordinance that may make it possible to come into compliance with the Court decision and we could explore payments in lieu of taxes with some larger nonprofits… who probably have a duty to contribute in the best interests of the public good..but the bottom line is that it’s fair for residents of this city and members of council to know now that this potential loss is on the table as we all work together to make financial decisions.
I operate under the broad principle that we don’t have to have all of the answers but it’s fair to disclose things like this relatively early in the process. I prefer to make guarded, thoughtful and substantiated comments rather than just winging it.
I have always considered bloggers to be the media. You are welcome to ask questions and I will try to answer them. Some segment of Allentown gets their information here. My email is what you think it is, same as anyone else at the city. I hope that the result of your criticisms and commentary, even if they are uncomfortable for us, is better public policy that better serves the people who live in this city.
I consider myself accountable to you and to any taxpayer in the City of Allentown, even if you put me in a pink wig and point out that my intermittent fasting leaves something to be desired. But keep in mind that the camera adds 15 pounds. Everyone knows that. Maybe 20 pounds. And these meetings come at the end of a full day for me. By 9 PM, it’s something like my 15th hour since I have seen a comb. You aren’t going to get Brad Pitt. Maybe Jack Black is a more realistic expectation. Post Covid, Minecraft Jack Black not School of Rock Jack Black.
You don’t know this about me but I was one of the first public officials to include blogs in our media outreach when they were newer. I think I am the first person in the Lehigh Valley to have included LV Ramblings in our media pool back when that blog started maybe 2006 or so.
I think you serve an important role as other media outlets dry up, and it’s your city too.
And you could have done worse with my
Nickname… Verizon Frank is fair…. Doesn’t make up for the wig though. Nobody needs to see that.
The ruling stated that tax exempt organizations are also exempt from the fees because they amount to a tax and jot are not a fee. The tax exempt organizations that the city had been collecting the stormwater fees (tax) is $6.7million.
1. Superb respect for Frank fulfilling the role of public servant by joining our discussion and answering questions. Your wit is a breath of fresh air. Having never met you (or known you before this blog) I would gladly break bread with you. It seems as though Mayor McPronouns hit a home run with you. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
2. Stormwater fee legislation. Only when there are criminal penalties attached to these fees disguised as taxes for any use of the funds collected other than stormwater infrastructure can this be considered legitimate. Until then it's a cash grab to populate the social engineering slush fund. And no "borrowing" from the stormwater fund to fill budget holes. We indeed have a crisis with stormwater infrastructure but not for a lack of money but for a lack of fiduciary responsibility.
3. Congrats on quitting smoking.
You're a LOSER!
Could anyone really trust the City of Allentown to collect this fee and then properly use the funds specifically for stormwater management projects?? My guess is the City is relying on that money to fund general operations and that's why its a big budgetary issue. Otherwise, they should just cancel certain intended stormwater projects and the finances should balance out.
Verizon Frank sounds like a down to Earth, real human being. I am impressed that you had the courage to post here and face the many slings and arrows that will come your way.
Hopefully, you will remain a ‘normal’ human being and not become a deceitful, lying, storyteller. We already have a local newspaper, the Morning Call, that brings those kind of things into our daily lives.
I would not trust the advice of your counsel in the city solicitor's office. They have led the city in the wrong direction a few times prior to this meeting. I also wouldn't take any advice from a solicitor that sits in the back of the room with Vicky Kistler and fears answering any questions. The Council solicitor was left to answer because the city solicitor was obviously afraid.
It says a lot about Frank to take a moment to respond to the concerns and criticisms of this blog however, I think you are deflecting the blog criticisms with humor but that doesn't void the issues.
I do feel bad for you having to justify the stupid moves of an incompetent mayor and administration and that is probably why you are looking haggard lately.
I will caution against looking disinterested like you do at a public meeting. Do you know that 90% of communication is nonverbal? Your chewing gum, checking your phone, slouching, and tap dancing around subjects speaks volumes.
I heard about the shooting, and the city is silent once again. The residents must wake up and realize that Tuerk need to go, the social experiment with this communist defrauding the city is over -- he doesn't care about the city despite claims that he is the biggest Allentown cheerleader, he has done nothing but waste money, dream up stupid ideas, and vacation on taxpayer dollars.
I can't wait to see how he spins this latest rendezvous to California with Boyer. What money has this latest jaunt delivered to Allentown?
It would be a drop in the bucket, but we could sell the mayor's Mach-E and some of the numerous take home cars.
I don't even want to criticize the guy anymore!
Sounds just like the powlowski administration trying to sell the trash burning site? Data center land sales are just a pitch for the up and coming realtors that sign the deal there will be no public benefit.
The old saying is "when you're in a hole STOP DIGGING!!!"... but the once great city doubles down, ditches the shovel, and uses a backhoe.... such idiots at taxpayer expense.
Hi Frank. I do have a few questions for you in relation to this ridiculous DROP proposal. Why is the city offering this up for free during a negotiation year? Is the city prepared to also offer this the SEIU and the Fire Union because you know they will definitely be going after a DROP too and the city won’t have a leg to stand on to deny them one. I heard that the police are allowed to use their last 30 days including holiday pay and a percentage of overtime pay to calculate their pensions. Please, please tell me the city is not allowing guys who take the DROP to also use their last 30 days of pay to calculate how much they’d be getting in the DROP. Why are you even giving the police the DROP? Have they scared the city again with the old “a bunch of cops will leave if you don’t give it to us and the city will burn”? Crime is down according to the mayor and chief, if some officers leave, I’m sure no citizens will notice. Last time there was a DROP, everyone told us it was going to be fine, then we had to sell our water rights. The DROP will keep the highest earners on APD who normally have been replaced by the lowest earners (new guys). Why are you not using this as a negotiation tool if theywant it so badly, they’ve already showed their hand
Frank, is this DROP only for officers retiring this year? I’m under the impression that it’s forever which can’t possibly be true. The city can’t be giving away such a big perk for free the police union and then be stuck with it forever. What happens if it does start to bankrupt the city or cost more than the actuary says (see Philly Police Department), you’re going to have to offer the police union something even bigger in order for them to agree to get rid of the DROP. I’m hoping I’m wrong and this is just offered to officers leaving this year because if it has no end date, the city is screwed even more than I thought
The DROP will be indefinite unless negotiated otherwise. And your right, the city would then have to give huge raises or something to get the union to want to get rid of it. The city will be fine without the 20 plus year veterans. The police are always hiring, look at their Facebook page. So they will replenish the ranks.
My couple of cents (sense). Thanks to the guy who posted the conference link. Over 200 mayors are attending. So yes, the mayor the third largest city, from the 5th most populous state in the country should absolutely be involved in the organization.
Second, city council has their attorney who is paid to represent and inform council. The city attorney performs the same function for the city. So no,,he should not be expected to be a part of councils .meeting.
And third, Frank, you are far more gracious than the host of this blog.
Thanks Matt! The Mayer of the 3rd largest city in PA means absolutely nothing.
The data centers are going to happen in Allentown and the Lehigh Valley and there is little we can do to stop it, other than vote out these people that sit on councils and in our Mayor’s office. These companies come ready with a full team to fight community opposition. Tuerk is already trying to bankrupt Allentown. He will definitely support data centers and encourage council to do the same, especially if the passage comes with a generous donation to future campaigns or large profitable purchases at businesses.
We are so lucky that he is not able to run for Allentown mayor again!
Thanks for your questions related to the DROP and stormwater fees. I think the best way to address your concerns is for us to address them at the next meeting. I will ask our clerk to include them along with the questions from council as questions from the public. Comment size is limited here.
I appreciate your kind words. The tone of this blog is lighthearted. I am just following suit.
You give good life advice. It’s the same advice you would give to any fifth-grader.. sit up straight, don’t put your elbows on the table, pay attention… it’s good for brief interactions. Basic human behavior that shows respect for your audience.
But… I think you have to be reasonable.. that was almost five hours of public meetings…. it’s easy to cherry pick a couple seconds of me chewing gum or looking fat in the chair. I don’t think it’s me. I think it’s the chair. It’s not very slimming. And I am much thinner than the scale says.
I may not do a great job of looking interested being on camera every minute, but I can assure you that I do a good job of BEING interested. If I touch my
phone for a minute I am looking up zoning language or making sure my kids got picked up, I think that’s reasonable during an hours long marathon of public comment.
I guess I could go home at 4:30 and take a shower and change, eat dinner, maybe find my inner peace… do some affirmations in the mirror. But Is that really what you want your city manager doing instead of preparing for a meeting?
I am sorry to say that I don’t know how not to look haggard. But I know many of the other municipal managers who are my peers around the lehigh valley. We are serious, dedicated public servants.. but not a one of us is ever going to be cast on Love Island. If you don’t like the style of Allentown’s managing director, you had better never set foot in Bethlehem Township!
I will say this… if occasionally touching my phone or chewing gum during hours of meetings is a problem.. I think we all have to be prepared for the day when my nose itches and I scratch it and i say it was on the outside but you think it was on the inside and was it a scratch or a pick? Who gets to be the arbiter of what is a pick and what is a scratch? Let’s not find out.
I think we are all better off if we stick to the issues and minimize the focus on physical things people can’t really change.
Anon 11:08 said: “The ruling stated that tax exempt organizations are also exempt from the fees because they amount to a tax and jot are not a fee. The tax exempt organizations that the city had been collecting the stormwater fees (tax) is $6.7million.”
Then there’s a bigger issue: If the Stormwater Fee has now deemed to be a tax, then the city has been collecting an illegal tax since it was implemented.
Why is it illegal? Because the city charter (Allentown’s Constitution, if you will) prohibits the imposition of any new taxes. This is to protect the taxpayers from out-of-control, incompetent politicians who think the way out of a hole is to keep digging (as a previous comment alluded to).
I would urge all city property owners to request an immediate refund of their stormwater fees since it was first implemented. When refused, they then have the basis to file suit against the city.
If I were trying to build a data center, I would run to Allentown, where the City leadership is generally inept, the staff is experienced and/or incompetent and the solicitor isn't very great. In fact, Allentown's new motto could be "Send us Your Apartment Complexes, Warehouses and Data Centers".
Isn't it ironic that the California King was recently bragging about Allentown adopting "the most progressive Zoning Ordinance in Pennsylvania" and now the City itself is contemplating declaring his ordinance invalid. While the California King was making sure Allentown would allow back yard dwelling units by right, the suburban Township were quickly adopting amendments to define and regulate data centers. This is how Allentown always loses, incompetence and political activism over good, solid services to residents.
How about sending us another newspaper. The one we have doesn’t challenge anything done by this clueless city leadership. Actually, nor anything else Democrat related.
People incorrectly attribute the last DROP pension to having to lease the water company, which is not the case. Pawlowski leased the water company because of the retirement incentive given by Afflerbach in the early 2000s which caused the mass retirements and created the pension/ retirement issue that will plague APD every 20 years due to 1/3 of the department turning over all at one time. Many of the officers hired to replace the mass exodus are now reaching retirement themselves, which is why it’ll be a constant problem every 20-25 year cycle. It was completely foreseeable but entirely ignored. The DROP was actually the solution to bridge the gap, not the cause. The belief that Allentown is constantly hiring as proof they’re well-staffed is very flawed. They’re constantly hiring because they can’t fill the vacancies. It’s a sign of the hiring problem, not a plethora of candidates. The demand is much higher than the supply, but who can blame people for not wanting to be cops in Allentown?
Those towns that quickly adopted amendments to address data centers probably never even sent their elected officials on junkets to California.....
I have to agree with 8:27 above.....If Matt Tuerk was a smart and competent Mayor he would have been way out ahead of this data center zoning issue and instructed the staff to amend the ordinance ASAP. Instead he insists to waste precious time and money pursuing self gratification via tax payer funded junkets to California, Spain etc...The optics of these trips look even worse with the data center debacle...
Yea some of the cited factors may hold merit, the reality is that for multiple years, the Allentown Police Department hired only a handful of cadets some years none. Assistant Chief Gress, who oversees the hiring process, bears significant responsibility for this shortfall.
I acknowledge the broader national and local challenges in recruiting qualified police officers, particularly in Allentown amid ongoing negative press within. However, if recruitment is the core problem, that is precisely where focused efforts and resources should be directed.
It does not make fiscal sense to fail to retain experienced officers at competitive top-scale pay rates, only to later provide them with substantial retirement payouts that result in millions of dollars to the taxpayers. Furthermore, the police administration had approximately twenty years to proactively address staffing shortages and related operational challenges, yet meaningful action appears to have been taken only in the last few years or so. This timing of this is concerning that the situation may have been allowed to deteriorate in order to build support for the (DROP).
For these reasons, I strongly urge council members not to support this proposal. Responsible governance requires addressing root causes through improved recruitment, and long-term planning rather than approving costly programs that shift the financial burden onto taxpayers.
Sounds to me like another overreach of government. Tuerk and Trump have another thing in common…they have to refund money that should have never been charged an organization because they thought they were all powerful.
I wonder how the $6.7 million that won’t be collected anymore is going to impact taxes in 2027 and beyond? We already know from Patel that 3.96% brings an additional $1.5 million revenue. Get ready Allentown taxes are going up, up, ⬆️.
I recommend cutting the workforce starting with all the overpaid cabinet members, the mayor’s office, and those employees who sit in parking lots and at their desks all day and do absolutely nothing. It should be an easy exercise to find the dead weight.
I do believe that Tuerk is the clown 🤡 that so many community members say he is. Clowns like to dress up and pretend they are something else to distract from their sad existence.
This administration is structurally incapable of competent leadership
Got it. You’re clueless. Can you hear me now?
We need to retain top tier police officers like Chief Gress! Passing the DROP will help the city continue the great work under Chief Roca’s leadership.
It certainly doesn’t, especially when your stupid decisions and initiatives are making Allentown the turd of the Lehigh Valley area and ruining a once great city.
The hate directed towards Hermano Tuérk is shocking , here is a hip young bilingual public servant being routinely pilloried by a horde of angry white anon trolls who grouse about BIPOC youths enjoying themselves on bicycles and dirt bikes.
This ain't Mayberry and if you can't take the fuego vacate the cocina!
Well, I am not white so please do not speak for me. This is the problem with this country, race issues are mostly ignored until race can be used in an attempt to silence a group or individual. It cant possibly be that he is just not liked and people are seeing that he and his administration are frauds?
I am sure others would say the same. Hermano Tuerk is not liked and it is showing more and more in the community. I live on the South side, you know the forgotten group, and Tuerk is not popular or spoken well of.
Allentown Police does not have a hiring problem. Ask any officer and they’ll tell you they constantly have a list of candidates. There’s never a time where they’re like “oh no, there’s no officers to hire”. It’s definitely not a supply and demand issue. As stated above, you’d think the first thing the administration would do is say “oh, we need to hire a lot more officers because guys are retiring, let’s double the amount of officers who are doing the background checks etc”. Problem solved. Giving a DROP to kick the can down the road when the same amount of guys leave, just a few years from now when their DROP is done, is insane.
The word Hip hasnt been popular to describe someone since like 1990. No one cares he's rosetta stone bilingual. So are millions of other people. Even Hispanic and black people hate the dirt bikers and I am mixed. Shut up descrining that useless idiot
Finally!!! It was inevitable that citizens with legitimate concerns about the budget, violent crime, data centers, abuse of public funds, zoning ordinances, stormwater management fees/taxes, tax increases etc. etc. are called out as haters and intolerant racists! It's the oldest trick in the book and its a tiresome and redundant refrain.
As you know, 6:55 AM, a very common Democrat tactic of response, taken directly from the old Saul Alinsky playbook. The, “if I have no intelligent defense to offer, I’ll just call them names to scare them away.”
Sorry, not these days, folks.
11:15 it matters not whether Afflerbach's disastrous police pension deal was a drop pension, the result of that deal will be replicated by the drop pension being offered now. There are many ways to financially ruin our city, the end result rather than the means is the similarity that people are pointing out.
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