Statement to Bethlehem City Council: Oct 1, 2013

Last night, I watched the ping pong match of congress vs senate, with both sides losing, and seeing more citizen outrage piling up on social media. I contributed a few opinions on the matter myself, but thought more about a local matter that I had threatened to make an issue of after reading about it in a local newspaper. I didn't want to feel useless about government. I knew that if I cared about something, it would be better to find the guts to address the matter publicly and on the record.

I've been to a few City Council meetings, and occasionally tweet from them or engage in twitter conversations with others tweeting from the Rotunda if I can't make it there in person. I'm familiar with a particular theatre of the open floor; a couple of regular characters who "reflect" on the meeting's proceeding, rather "off the cuff." Each citizen gets five minutes to speak at the beginning of the agenda, on any items listed on the agenda, or at the end of the meeting, for any topics not covered in the agenda.

The agenda for the City Council meetings are posted the day before here.

[after stating my name and home address, I admitted to feeling very nervous, even though I rehearsed the statement a few times. I have great respect for all who serve in government; for those who take on the burden of decision making, who know that they will not make everyone happy, but do their best to do right for their community. I did not intend to point fingers or lay blame. I only wanted to share my perspective]

Good evening. I’m standing here to address the Bethlehem City Council on a matter that caught my attention in an article written in the Express Times on Sept 21st, stating that for a second year in a row, the Runner’s World Marathon events will not be charged the costs for the city services.

The article states that last year’s race had city services fees partially covered by two sponsors ships, St. Luke’s Hospital and Discover Lehigh Valley. Yet there was a remaining $13,000 that the city had to “pay out of its own budget.”

Runner’s World Marathon organizers put in significant efforts designing the course. While I can appreciate a concern over the possibility of them relocating the marathon to another city, they will most likely not any time soon. Marathon runners know that the Bethlehem course is challenging, and threads through some of the most beautiful parts of our city, both north and south sides. The race was incredibly well planned and praised by many runners; an assessment I collected by reading multiple reviews of last year’s events.

Runners return to familiar courses. They also pay registration fees set by marathon organizers to cover their costs, along with sponsorships. There are plenty of opportunities in these revenue collections to cover the city services fees.

When the administration arbitrarily waives the fees for public events that require city services, the tax payer will bear the burden.  

On February 5th of this year, City Council voted to impose a new Amusement Tax – to be applied to the price of admission to all amusements for which admission is charged or paid. The amusement tax, also dubbed a first responders fee, was one of several measures Mayor Callahan proposed to cover an expected $4.8 million budget gap this year.

The mayor advocated for this tax, saying the revenue would go into the General Fund that funds city operations, including the salaries of police, firefighters and EMS. This tax only applies to City of Bethlehem venues of a capacity greater than 200 and ticket prices greater than ten dollars.

The venues that have been collecting this tax can show record of sales that demonstrate a significant portion of those who are paying the amusement taxes are Bethlehem citizens.

But more than passing along the costs of the events to the tax payer, this practice sets up an uneven playing field for other non-profit organizations who present festivals in the city and sponsor charity events.  There is already a significant amount of competition for audiences, sponsorship and other assets in the community. Unfairly charging city services builds unfavorable relationships among the various organizations – leaving many to question what do they have to do to win favor of the city administration. But this also undermines the good will these efforts do to building civic engagement, civic pride and contributions to the greater good of Bethlehem. Thousands of Bethlehem citizens contribute their time, expertise, and dollars to providing amazing events for our city and visitors to enjoy. If the rules of the game keep changing, people will no longer be willing to play.

I was a little dismayed that the issue was not put on tonight’s agenda. I do understand that once a fee is reduced, forgiven or waived, it cannot be re-charged. I humbly ask the city council and the city administration to keep the fees and city service charges fairly charged to future events, to all organizations. This way, the citizens of Bethlehem will be more favorable to supporting events that occasionally disrupt traffic, or inconvenience our neighborhoods with noise and the inevitable aftermath on our lawns and shared public property.

Thank you for your consideration.

Local Elections: a rant and a wish

On Saturday mornings, when we don't have some event or trip planned, we like to let the kids sleep in. Their growth spurts need it, and I need time to start gathering the dirty laundry and going through the pile of weekly mail droppings.

And what a mail dropping I had to sort through today! In two days, eleven 11x8.5 inch full color mailers; six of them from one mayoral candidate, two of which had been mailed (and recycled) previously, five of them negative. The other five were from candidates for other local positions; county executive, a judge and one city council member. 

I'm also getting daily emails from one county executive candidate that I don't read: they're too long. It's not that I have a short attention span. When does a candidate really have my attention? When I'm in a conversation with them.

Motivated by a post written by a friend and colleague that I respect, and also by the political insight of another highly respected local blogger, I wish to make my vote of a few candidates public. But before I launch into the opinion of an academic doctorate, university employee, and a pretty dedicated citizen - I need to state for the record that my opinion does not reflect those of my employer or of any social organizations with whom I associate. I also don't reflect the opinion of my husband. Forgive him, he actually allows me to have my own opinion - he's kind of evolved that way. 

When I was a kid, my mom would bring me to the voting booth, but wouldn't tell me who she voted for because she said, "It's private." I'm sure it's because she was afraid of engaging a 7 year old in political discourse. I was exhausting as a child. Imagine that. 

I also remember being shut out of adult conversations; always sent into a room far away from the grown ups so that I couldn't hear anything. I'm pretty sure it was for my own protection. My uncles didn't argue well. Political arguments never came to a conclusion, and they often pulled verbal punches that weren't part of the issue. They were meant to hurt feelings. But even as a kid - I didn't want to be excluded.

Negative campaigns are so over. I'm not interested in seeing them, and I won't be scared into voting for any candidate who chooses this method of campaigning. My vote goes to the candidates who engages me in their conversation. They answer my questions and seem to be glad that I am a citizen who cares enough to ask a question. 

I actually read local news. I'm hungry for more. I'm glad that there are reliable reporters who will share as much information about the candidates for the local elections as they can prior to the Tuesday primary vote. In fact, I'm counting on some well- curated pieces. Crap, even a single post with active links to all the candidate websites would be enough. I also read local bloggers. I care to read other opinions. I can also determine fact from rhetoric. Don't bullshit me. Give me answers, even if I might not like them. I want to know where each candidate stands on issues that impact our daily life. Local politics are a big deal.

You see, even though I'm a registered Democrat, I don't vote party line. I'm a Catholic, but I don't let my religion sway my vote. Public law and church law are separate for a reason. Public laws keep citizens safe. Church laws are between me and my maker, and nobody else's business. I won't push my Church law on anyone else. I vote for the candidate who best reflects my views on where I wish to see the community move forward. I vote for the candidate who is fair in decisions for all citizens he/she represents. I vote for the candidate I have seen engage with citizens, and works WITH others in government. Successful leaders aren't a success on their own merit. They empower others to contribute to progress.

I vote for the candidate who seeks solutions through exploration of multiple ideas. If through that exploration, their direction changes or evolves, I would applaud the elected official for responding to new information. This doesn't always mean "waffling." Goodness, if politicians didn't evolve we would have progress.

Three candidates have spoken to me directly about what their vision for the future of Bethlehem and Northampton County. One of them actually came to my home, and talked with me for 10 minutes. He told me he raised $8,000 for his campaign. He told me about his background, and his greatest concerns for county government. 10 minutes and he won my vote.

The campaign resource that is more valuable to me than dollars raised, is time spent talking/communicating with me. If not to my face and in person, through social media or through well informed and empowered campaign workers; not scare tactics. I prefer a campaign that engages in conversation about issues; not politics. A few candidates ran this kind of campaign. They give me hope for the future of our city, and county. They are also smart enough to work with a great team; and engage personally in our community. 

My vote also comes from my own time well spent. I read as many local news stories as I could, followed as many trusted bloggers and "twitteratti" as I have come to know through years of social media engagement. I look forward to reading a summary of all the local candidates. I hear from a local news writer that she's working on one that we can all read before Tuesday. I'm counting on you, Lynn. We all are. (update from Sunday morning: here is a link to Lynn's article on Bethlehem City Council candidates)

The three votes that I'll be casting on Tuesday are John B. Callahan for Northampton County Executive, Bill Wallace for Northampton County Council and William Reynolds for Mayor of Bethlehem. I made you read all the way to the bottom. Thanks for your time. Now give your time to the election be doing due diligence and reading the campaign issues of all the candidates you will be voting for in your local precinct. You owe it to yourself to know what kind of city you helped shape through your vote.