Mackenzie – Increase penalties for municipal theft

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We know all too well in Lower Macungie the damage a crooked public official can cause…. A former supervisor was accused of stealing $2.5 million in township sewer funds over a period of seven years. She later died before she was prosecuted and the township never recovered the full amount stolen. This disaster ended up being the driver for a successful resident led effort to convert Lower Macungie to a 1st class township since the 1st class code prohibits Commissioners from also being township employees.

Also this: Former South Whitehall Employee, Husband Charged with Embezzling Nearly $1M from Township

This is good legislation by Representative Mackenzie who represents Lower Macungie and South Whitehall in the 134th.  Elected officials who abuse the public’s trust should receive most severe penalties.

From Rep. Mackenzie’s facebook page. Mackenzie explains why he feels increased penalties for those who steal from municipalities make sense.

Smart Growth for Conservatives

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Proud to be a contributor at a new blog called “Smart Growth for Conservatives“. 

“Smart Growth for Conservatives provides analysis of transportation and land use issues from a center-right perspective, with an emphasis on fiscal conservatism and market-based solutions.”

Smart growth is an issue conservatives should rally around. At it’s core it’s a blueprint for building long term fiscally sustainable places. So why has it gotten such a bad rap from some in the conservative movement? I’m going to borrow heavily from some of Jim Bacon’s writing here. It’s largely Jim and Strongtowns Chuck Marohn who really hooked me on the underlying conservative rationale. Conservatives mistakenly equate smart growth with intrusive government intervention in the economy, with regulations, subsidies and  boondoggles. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

First, while conservative intellectuals are spot-on in their critique of mass transit subsidies, they are blind to subsidies for roads and highways. While they hit the bulls-eye in their critique of land use restrictions, they ignore the systemic subsidies for green-field development. Their critique runs only one way. – Why Conservatives (mistakenly) hate smart growth – Bacons Rebellion

Bacon identifies 4 broad propositions. Here are the problems and reasons conservatives should be concerned. 

(1) The pattern and density of development has tremendous impacts on the prosperity, livability and fiscal sustainability of our places.

(2) The post-World War II pattern of disconnected, low-density, suburban-oriented development was largely the result of government interventions in the marketplace at the federal, state and local levels. 

(3) That pattern is increasingly dysfunctional, creating congestion and driving up the costs and liabilities of government. (Esp local gov’t!) When up front costs for new development are paid for with transfers of state and federal dollars down to local governments this leads to an illusion of wealth. The problem is when one time windfalls lead to long term liabilities for maintaining the new infrastructure. This exchange — a near-term cash advantage for a long-term financial obligation — is one element of a Ponzi scheme and is the centerpiece of the Strongtowns message. There is no denying we have a ticking time bomb of unfunded liabilities in our communities. We are dealing with this issue in Lower Macungie today.

(4) While many people do prefer auto-oriented communities, there is a pent-up demand for walkable urbanism with access to mass transit. 

Two patterns of Commercial development. 1. Strip Mall, 2. Traditional Main St. One efficiently capitalizes on public infrastructure and public investments, the other is a resource hog, consuming large amount of of land usually in a towns most precious areas.

Two patterns of Commercial development. 1. Strip Mall, 2. Traditional Main St.
The traditional Main St. efficiently capitalizes on public investments in while the other is a resource hog consuming a large amount of of land in what should be a  towns most financially productive area but what ends up being the least efficient.

So we identified the problems and acknowledge why they are of concern to conservatives. What are the conservative solutions? Here are a few: (and relevance to Lower Macungie in gray)

1. Use the market. Market based open space preservation as a mechanism to keep taxes low. Programs such as Transferable Development Rights. Currently, in LMT we preserve open space primarily with agriculture protected zoning. This is fundamentally unfair to landowners and has failed catastrophically in LMT since it can be overturned by politicians. A TDR program pays landowners for voluntarily severing their development rights by creating a market for density. In a market, the community preserves valuable farmland which in turn keeps taxes low, land owners are fairly compensated for their property and lastly developers are able to purchase density to build in appropriate locations where the gov’t doesn’t need to subsidize their project.

2. Deregulate zoning codes and encourage value capture. We’ve largely regulated ourselves into the our current problems with Euclidean Zoning Codes. The opposite would be a form based zoning code. There will always be a need to separate certain uses. Warehousing is one that comes to mind. Unfortunately here in LMT we’ve allowed a proliferation to an extreme. Warehousing is one example where it’s in the public interest to mitigate impacts with regulations, buffers and costly super-sized infrastructure. But many of the uses we separate with unnecessary regulations don’t have to be if we allow developers to build in the traditional pattern. Think of Main St. Macungie. Here we have residents who live next store to banks, accountants and Doctors.  That’s the traditional pattern that worked for hundreds of years. It’s only recently that we steered away from it when we started building isolated pods. 

3. Do the math. Perform lifecycle cost and benefit analysis to see if development projects are being subsidized by taxpayers or if they “pay their own way” and indeed generate more revenue then liabilities they create. We’re currently considering subsidizing a massive strip mall project. We assume that it will be a tax benefit. Has anyone actually done the math over multiple life cycles? Sure looks great up front. Shiny new boxes and traffic signals. But what happens when the township has to pay for future improvements and maintenance of infrastructure when the bypass is inevitably so congested that it needs to be widened or we have to build a bypass of the bypass. Shouldn’t we be squeezing every bit of revenue out of our most valuable spaces rather then subsidizing the least efficient pattern? (see photo above)

4. Bottom up government. Build only what we can afford to maintain. As mentioned above top down gov’t distorts what a local municipality can actually afford to build with one time subsidies and windfalls. We need incremental economic development grown organically rather then artificially. We must ensure we can afford to pay for new infrastructure over the long run. (Do the math beyond the windfall) Here in LMT we’ve done a great job of securing millions of dollars in Gov’t grants over the years. I’m not arguing that was bad strategy. We’d be foolish not to seek top down money. But over the years we’ve avoided tough conversations about what happens when that money dries up. This conversation came to a boiling point this past Nov. during the tough tax conversations. We came to the realization that we must account for the long term fiscal sustainability of our township if we want to avoid lump sum huge tax increases in the future.  

Interested in learning more? Add www.smartgrowthforconservatives.com to your RSS feed.

About SGFC: Editor Jim Bacon publishes with financial support from Smart Growth America. A life-long journalist, Jim was editor of Virginia Business magazine before launching Bacon’s Rebellion, a blog dedicated to building more prosperous, livable and sustainable communities in Virginia. 

Smooth On a great fit for Community

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Commissioners unanimously voiced support for Smooth On at our last BOC meeting ahead of tonight’s 7pm Zoning Hearing Board meeting. (What is a Zoning Hearing Board)

Smooth on Logo

Smooth on Logo

Here is why I support Smooth On based on smart growth principles: 

First, by encouraging a company to move into an existing empty building we help to preserve precious open space and farmland. Infill and true mixed use is the alternative to greenfield development. Churning up our open space is costly both in terms of providing new infrastructure but also by hurting our quality of life.

Smooth on projects to have 1/7th the impact (parking, traffic, deliveries) of Daytimers when they were operating at their peak. As an example, the projections are for 20 trucks total daily limited to Mon-friday. These deliveries will also be limited to certain times and will not occur on weekends. Contrast that to distribution warehouses which generate 20-40 trucks an HOUR 24/7 and 365 days a year. Sounds like a pretty neighborhood friendly deal to me compared to other alternatives. Remember, part of Daytimers facility is a huge warehouse. There was a real fear a distribution outfit would have tried to purchase the property. This would have generated up to 10x the truck traffic.

Secondly, Smooth On will bring over 150 good paying jobs. They’ve already stated they would like to hire former Daytimers employees who lost their jobs when the company relocated. This is contrary to distribution warehouses which typically hire alot of seasonal and part time employees at much lower wages.

Lastly, Smooth On has expressed an interest in being a partner in future smart growth visioning projects including taking a look at East Texas. This is wonderful, because without an anchor who buys into community vision it’s hard to move forward with ambitious planning projects. Smooth On encourages a culture where employees live, work and play in the surrounding neighborhood. The folks who work there likely will live here, spend money here and send there kids to school here. This was similar to Daytimers where a large percentage of folks who worked at the facility lived here in Lower Mac.

Yes, with any large manufacturing facility there are concerns. This is no different. But as someone who always looks at new development with a critical eye, personally after 2 meetings with company officials I feel confident issues will be addressed. I have seen residents asking the right questions. That’s important! And great to them engaged. I hope to see many at tonight’s meeting. I am confident our staff, fire and emergency professionals and of course smooth on will be able to address any concerns residents have.

I grew up next to daytimers and today I live in a home in the same neighborhood 2 houses down. So not only do I look at this from the standpoint of a Commissioner, but also as a direct neighbor. Daytimers even at it’s peak was always a fantastic neighbor. It’s important we get another good neighbor in this building. Smooth on will have the same restrictions and 1/7th the impact in most measurable ways. To be honest it kept me up at night worrying the “wrong fit” may have expressed interest in the building. There are still questions to be answered tonight, but overall it’s fantastic that we have what looks to be the right fit.

 

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Our evolving relationship with the automobile.

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New love is always most intense and passionate at first. No, America is not abandoning the car. But the love affair has plateaued. Don’t expect a breakup though. There will be no nasty divorce. What has happened is we’ve slowly settled into a new comfortable perhaps less obsessive relationship with our cars.

Most people will tell you that love can make you do some funny things. Our initial  love affair with the car was reflected in our reactionary 1950’s planning policy. At the time we were so blinded by the intensity of our new relationship that we abandoned traditional neighborhoods. We installed compartmentalized Euclidean zoning codes which led to isolated, disconnected pods of development. We weren’t thinking straight, but it was all good at the time cause the relationship was still shiny and new.

That love has unfortunately led to some unanticipated side effects. Communities became isolated lacking a sense of place.  Folks lived far from the places they worked. People spent huge chunks of their day isolated in cars commuting back and forth. And the new pattern was also very expensive and the only way to fund it was to double down on it. So we got trapped in a cycle. But blinded by love we didn’t see. Or more accurately we didn’t want to see.

No, there will be no divorce but today we are returning to a more healthy balance. Most people will tell you for any relationship to last you need balance. Young professionals are returning to the cities and 1st rung walkable suburbs in droves. Folks no longer want to spend a quarter of their life in cars. Survey after survey show people want connectivity. They want to live in places, not nebulous collections of isolated pods. They want options. It’s a lifestyle choice but also it’s a financial reality.

No, America is not breaking up with the car. We’re simply moving on to the realistic sustainable phase of our relationship with the auto. We now want other options in addition to our cars. We don’t want to spend every second with them.  We want a life outside of them. In the end this will lead to a much healthier relationship with the auto. The trend is undeniable. It’s time for governments both large and small to acknowledge it.

The chart below shows vehicle miles traveled, forecasts vs. actual. The black line represents the plateauing of miles driven. The colored lines are predictions by various levels of gov’t. Driving habits have changed but government remains locked into development patterns that reflect a love affair that’s cooled. 

Chart from Eric Sundquist of the State Smart Transportation Initiative. For the past decade, state and federal governments have consistently overestimated future growth in U.S. road travel.

Chart from Eric Sundquist of the State Smart Transportation Initiative. For the past decade, state and federal governments have consistently overestimated future growth in U.S. road travel.

 

 

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County BOC directs administration to remove County as agent for Unions

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Last night, the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners directed the Administration, in all future negotiations between the County Of Lehigh and employee bargaining units (including meet and discuss units), to remove the County as dues collection agent for any third-party membership organizations. The motion was sponsored by Commissioner Mike Schware and was approved by a vote of 6-2. The vote was along party lines.

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Which Gov’t will take ownership of Homeless issue?

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I went to the County meeting last night to hear discussion on homeless shelters in the City of Allentown. A spotlight has been on the issue in recent weeks. Partially because of record low temperatures but also because of the work of a handful of devoted activists who seem frustrated.

I won’t comment on specifics since it’s an issue I need to learn more about. I learned alot last night. One item though seems pretty clear. Between the County and the City of Allentown one body needs to take ownership of the issue. When Commissioners responded to folks in attendance one eluded to homelessness being an Allentown issue. It wasn’t a callous remark but rather a statement of what was believed to be fact. Not moments later a friend handed me the Allentown memo. Much has been written about the memo. It very clearly states that in the cities opinion homelessness is a County issue.

Clearly we have a disconnect here.

Secondly, we need to deal with this issue 365. Not just the coldest month of the year. Yes, it’s highlighted now because lives are in danger now. It was 5 degrees this morning at 5am.

While I sat and listened I wondered what it was like at one of the shelters on a night like last night. I learned this morning that apparently 3 Commissioners must have wondered the same thing. Apparently Lisa Sheller, Vic Mazzioti and Scott Ott quietly went to the shelter after the meeting. These meetings often go to 11 at night. I left early so I have no idea how late it went last night. But I heard this morning a handful of Commissioners visited a shelter late last night.  An exceptionally cold night. I appreciate that. Puts a face on a problem.

Now, let’s work to find solutions. Committees can be great. But not when there is urgency with an issue. Let’s hear ideas at the next county meeting.

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Twp. goes above and beyond to notify residents.

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Lower Macungie Snow Emergency

After last night’s snow emergency was declared Ben Galliardo our man of many hats, (referring to his multitude of job titles and responsibilities) took to the streets and flyered cars in LMT neighborhoods. This was a one time courtesy and another example of our fantastic staff here in Lower Mac going above and beyond.

At the Jan 6th meeting I was sympathetic to those who showed up whose cars were towed during the Jan 2-3 emergency. Mostly because of the 400 dollar bill they rec’d. One household with two cars faced an 800 bill. If I got a hit with a 400 dollar bill out of nowhere it would certainly sting. I felt the rate charged by the towing company was exorbitant.

Last week our township manager negotiated a lower fee with the private company who does the towing. (Remember, the township doesn’t make a penny off towing cars) The result is a more appropriate pricetag with a little less sting.

On both accounts I think the township responded appropriately. That being said, I do not think the township has a responsibility to go any further in terms of notification. To talk about robo calls or text message alerts is overkill.

There is an issue of personal responsibility here. It is not the government’s job to hold your hand every time it snows. If you see it’s snowing outside and you park your car on a public road you then have the responsibility to find out if a snow emergency is declared. That’s on you. It’s part of the responsibility of owning a car and parking it on public streets in the winter.

When you see it’s snowing you can: Turn on the TV or a radio, go to the township website, facebook, twitter… You can pick up the phone and call the township. Call a neighbor. Call the PSP. We will make the information available in every reasonable way possible but the responsibility in the end falls to the resident.

Yes, we had issues. Part of it was we haven’t towed regularly in the last couple years. Remember, the twp. doesn’t seek to tow. Recent towing was the result of residents in  neighborhoods asking us to do so. We have an ordinance on the books and residents asked us enforce it.

Oftentimes governments over-correct. Elected officials want to help people. At least the good ones do. When people come in front of us we want to make situations right. I know I do. We just have to careful not to get caught up in an issue and must remain measured in  response.

Conversations about spending 20k+ on a robo call system would be an example of overkill. Residents have to take some personal responsibility here. 99% of township residents seemingly have no problem doing so.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

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He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

When we see evil or injustice in the world it’s not enough to simply acknowledge it. We must ask ourselves what can we do to fight it?

I enjoy reading historical rankings of Presidencies. Andrew Johnson typically and deservedly populates the bottom of lists. He was a racist who became president after Lincoln’s assassination.

Joining him at the bottom is James Buchanan. I think he may be more a villain than Johnson. Buchanan was by most historical accounts a moral and just man who chose to ignore gross injustice. Where history paints Johnson as a racist and for that reason he is ranked as he should, Buchanan faced the issue of slavery, acknowledged it’s evil but was not moved to action.

This inaction led to Dred Scott and of course the fracturing of a nation. He is the worse president in our history just below Andrew Johnson in my book.

MLK words stand true, those who see injustice and do nothing are just as culpable as those who participate. Perhaps worse.

 

Market solutions to land use issues – Highway Congestion

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I believe in market-based, fiscally conservative solutions to land use and transportation challenges faced by the nation.

These issues are highlighted locally. The proposal to reconstruct and widen Route 22 from four to six lanes between 15th & Airport Rd. will cost about $175 million dollars. Huge amount of money. We’re all paying for it in the form of the gas tax passed by the PA legislature.

Most acknowledge Rt. 22 has reached critical mass (in terms of convenience). The issue is how we address it. So on the horizon is a widening project with no accountability for results with a high likelihood that in 10 years the 6 shiny new lanes will again be gridlocked. It’s happens enough with widening projects all around the nation. Agency throws money at a highway but it rarely  fixes the underlying issues. In enough cases to raise alarm bells the new lanes simply fill up. So why do we repeat the same mistakes?

Big picture the vicious circle is astronomically beyond our ability to pay for. The system is unsustainable. This is evidenced by the crisis level of infrastructure issues in the United States. Here in PA most believe the gas tax increase won’t fix the underlying issues. It’s another bandaid.

So what’s an alternative? Is there a market based-conservative approach? I believe there is and a model is out there.

In Virginia through a public/private partnership a private company helped fund the installation of express lanes on I-495. The company Transurban financed, designed and built the project with review and oversight from VDOT. The company operates and maintains the Express Lanes.

Widening projects happen because people complain about congestion. Since highways are a public good and should be available to everyone it’s important we don’t create barriers. A dedicated express lane doesn’t. It just creates a market for convenience. Those who want to pay for convenience pay for it. Those that don’t, aren’t forced to.

Here Jim Bacon talks about the 495 express lane project in Virginia. The program has so far seen lower then expected revenue.  Jim attributes it to reduced traffic overall and the recession. Personally I’m ok with that, since the alternative would have been traditional funding mechanisms. (aka taxpayers). Based on what I’ve read this will eventually be a profitable venture for Transurban. Alot of the issues were timing.  And again, if it never does become profitable then the risk was all on them not taxpayers. That’s what the market is all about.

The express-lanes concept is appealing for several reasons. First, the private sector raised most of the money to pay for the expansion of Interstate 495 capacity — money the state did not have — and assumed the financial risk should traffic and revenues prove disappointing. – Bacons Rebellion 

 

 

 

Agenda Preview 1/16

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1/16 Agenda Detail

FYI –  In these previews  I may indicate a voting inclination, but it in no way means my mind is made up on an issue. During a critical hearing for the Jaindl issue, a Commissioner once spoke before public comment outlining he was voting to move forward the project regardless of what people said during public comment. That was wrong.

My hope is by doing this I open the door for conversations before public meetings. One of my biggest issues with the Jaindl debacle was people didn’t truly understand what was happening until it was “too late”. I plan on doing everything I can to make sure residents have background information and then my thoughts on issues before they come to a vote  in front of the board. This is one mechanism to do that. I hope people find it useful. Please contact me at ronbeitler@gmail.com if you have any questions about any issues.

Announcements & Presentations 

LMFD Chief David Nosal will present 2013 fire statistics. This will likely be posted to the township website. If not I will ask that it is.

Hearings & Approvals
None

Public Comment on non-agenda items
-There are 2 letters praising the township for enforcing the snow ordinance regulations.

-Liza Gantert the interim Parks & Recreation president writes a letter thanking township staff for support of cyclocross event. I believe this is the 3rd year of cyclocross at Camp Olympic. Here are some photos *Correction this is the 4th year of this event at CO!

-Tax collector Pat Vassilaros submitted a letter naming Daniel Vassilaros as Deputy Tax collector

Appointments to Boards
None

The solicitor is reviewing 3 new ordinances. One amending the terms of the Parks and Recreation board. This is to have the terms expire on the last day of the year as opposed to in Oct. This brings the PR terms in line with all other appointments.

Second is a weight reduction for a bridge at Wild Cherry Lane to 21 tons. This is to bring the bridge in conformance with state regulations.

Last is a new 3 way stop at Riverbend and Orchid Place. (all new traffic control signage must be accompanied with an ordinance authorizing)

Committees: 

Light agenda here since the committees haven’t met in the new year yet. New committee assignments will be made this meeting. Our system in Lower Macungie places 2 Commissioners on each committee. Here is a link to a list of committees & corresponding responsibilities.

“The President shall appoint two Commissioners to each of the Committees of the Board. Such appointments shall be affirmed by a majority of the Board of Commissioners. Terms shall be for two years commencing with the second meeting in January of the year following a municipal election year, unless changed by the President with consent of a majority of the Board of Commissioners.”

President’s appointments will be as follows:
Planning and Zoning – Lancsek/Beitler
Budget Finance – Conrad/Lancsek
Public Safety – Beitler/Brown
Public Works – Brown/Higgins
General Administration – Higgins/Conrad

The Board must vote to affirm these nominations.

Planning & Zoning
The planning commission has nominated Barry Isett and Associates to conduct the East Texas comprehensive planning. We rec’d a 10,000 matching grant from the county to pay for this. The purpose of this study is to explore zoning and planning options for the East Texas area of the township.

We will explore adopting a new Village Zoning District for East Texas that allows a mix of lower-intensity commercial and residential uses. The idea is to use Traditional Neighborhood Development principles as part of infill construction or any redevelopment of parts of any portion of Day-Timers not utilized by a future tenant.  Zoning should help preserve and enhance the historic character and walkability of the village.

The BOC will likely send this recommendation to Committee for consideration. It’s my hope we can get this approved quickly so that East Texas visioning lines up with the potential new owner of the Day-timers property.

These concepts as they relate to LMT are also outlined in the townships draft smart growth plan.