Tonight, the Commissioners will be voting to enact the ordinance for a storm water fee beginning September 1. Thanks to a resident, I was directed to the long list of fees that are being charged already in Mt. Lebanon. 2011 Comprehensive Fee Schedule Notice how there are no fees for using ball fields. Why is that?
After tonight's meeting, the Commissioners will be discussing, in a public session, the possibility of a recreation bond. (I can't remember if it is a $7 or $9 million bond.) How about fixing up what we have? Why are tax increases related to sports in this town? The Mt. Lebanon Municipal server was down over the weekend. Updating the website was voted down last year. The roads are a mess. We have to be charged a fee to fix our storm sewers. What is going on here?
Fees are, in far too many cases, considered a means to avoid (ie. circumvent) a tax, or tax increase...that way elected and appointed officials can claim they have not raised taxes.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when was the last time you were provided actual supporting evidence...not just a notice from a public official... that a new fee or an increase in an existing municipal fee was cost-justified ?
Taxing bodies get away with this because the general population does not come forward to question or complain...just like they do not show up at the polls and vote ?
"We have met the enemy and it is us !"
Bill Lewis
P.S. The *means* material supplied by Lebo regarding the new storm water fee is absolute hogwash !
Hmm! A recreation bond is coming, how interesting!
ReplyDeleteFirst the school board took away the kids field at the high school, then Celli wanted to put the high school tennis courts on the MES playground along with changing rooms and rest rooms for boys and girls. It doesn't look like we need more fields if the board and the architect are both eliminating them.
Of course the Commission might be cooperating with the school district by picking up the cost of athletics. We might wonder how that was arranged since the Joint Steering Committee never meets in public!
Just think, folks, the United States is seven days from defaulting on their debts and the commission is issuing more debt for recreation at a time when our street reconstruction, our sidewalk repair, and our tree maintenance budgets are all problems.
It sounds like the Commissioners are now afraid of the deadbeat athletic supporters.
John Ewing
John,
ReplyDeleteI just put up the podcasts of the meetings tonight. The discussion session was in two parts. Part 2 has the recreation bond discussion. You will be happy to hear that Dan Miller wants to charge a fee for ball field usage. He already has Dave Brumfield going to groups. If the groups want bleachers, they can buy them. That sort of thing. They were talking about the swimming pool and the bath house. The exterior of the bath house is fine.
Listen to the podcast for part 2 of the discussion session for more details.
Elaine