When we focus on the Lehigh County 2010 budget, we tend to focus on what is in it. We know it calls for spending of $19.5 million more than it calls for in revenue. But, what else could have been in it?
According to Tom Muller, they did say no to some requests.
No, don’t worry, Pip the Mouse will be fed (although Tom is looking into government surplus cheese).
LANTA requested an additional $42,036. The transportation authority was told no. They do receive $407,500.
The Historical Society receives $96,000 a year. They asked for another $12,000. That request is, well, history.
The Conservation District had its $126,516 request denied. Muller made the point of reminding the director that he is a county employee and the group is part of the government, not a separate agency like LANTA or the airport. The district has $500,000 in reserves that the county has told them to use, although Percy Dougherty has indicated that the DEP may not allow the surplus to be used for land preservation activities. It may be limited to erosion issues.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission had its funding cut from $475,000 to $425,000. Muller said this was done because LVPC was not tightening its own belt. That is commendable. Organizations that get money from the government should be accountable for the way they use it. Can you tell that to ACORN?
In any event, the LVPC has a large reserve, it has a non-contributory health plan and it still has retiree medical. As a result, it will have $50,000 less from the county under the Cunningham budget.
The Lehigh County Humane Society had its $22,500 match from the county eliminated. They are currently trying to recover it 5 fold from the townships, many of which are switching to No Kill Shelters. It is one cut that is likely to receive unanimous support.
Thirteen requests for additional personnel were denied. That makes 71 denials in 4 years.
Fifteen requests for grade changes (promotions) were denied. That makes 135 in 4 years.
The budget also slashed $2,078,000 from the 2010 Capital Plan. Year three of the Fire Training Center will be delayed until 2011 or 2012 as part of that.
In addition to rejections or delays, there are also some “new directions” in the budget. Ever since the state overturned haulers’ fees for the composting facility, the county has been subsidizing the municipalities that use the site. The county will cut the subsidy in half to $200,000 in 2010 and may close it in 2011 if this is not resolved.
A bigger issue revolves around parking warrants. The Allentown Parking Authority issued about 26,000 citations a year. These come mainly from 4 district judges. The county, of courses, serves the warrants through its constables.
Constables are elected officials that work almost as piecemeal contractors. They are paid based upon the number of services effected or people transported, according to a state schedule.
Tom Muller admits it is working fine from the Constable’s perspective. The payments to them in 2008 for all warrants amounted to $1.5 million, of which $400,000 is owed back to the county. He questioned whether it was working well from the county taxpayer’s perspective. He said the county often has to wait for its money or comes up empty.
The administration would replace the constables with a Parking Warrants unit in the Sheriff’s Department. Five deputies and one clerical member would perform the duties of the constables. Glenn Eckhart pointed out that comes to 5,200 warrants per deputy or 100 per week or 2-3 per hour. That could be tight.
The plan has the support of the Lehigh County President Judge and the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association. The constable oppose it. At least one affected district judge has questioned it and question if she will be able to be as efficient in collecting fees without the constables under her control.
It will be discussed in detail at Tuesday’s hearing. The proposal is listed as budget neutral but Muller expects to actually net about $200,000 as fees are collected by the county.
The Constable Association of Lehigh Valley will testify against the proposal. They point out the benefit the county has in terms of pay and benefits using the pay-for-service constables versus full-time employees. There are no fixed or variable costs involved as constables provide their own training and equipment. They suggest the county will lose money with the change.
For various reasons, Lehigh County has a very high number of warrants being served. The constables benefit from that, of course.
This should be an interesting issue to follow. I have long been a fan of consolidating government and getting rid of the independent contractors. In my days with the Pennsylvania Economy League, I saw the benefits of getting rid of local tax collects (local tax collectors and officials disagree). In the same vein, this seemed to make sense. Take it in house and save money. I hope, however, that the commissioners listen closely, not to the constables who have an axe to grind or the Sheriff or even the President Judge. Listen to the District Judges who know and run this system. See who they want to serve the warrants and act accordingly. Too often in business I saw cost savings that made sense on a spreadsheet but not in the real world. This might be one of them. I, at least, have been taking a second look after Thursday. I don’t think it is a slam dunk.
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PA BUDGET
Lehigh County
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