Reassessment will hurt people already hurting

I saw this letter to the editor in today's PG and remember an English teacher at Mt. Lebanon with the same name.

Reassessment will hurt people already hurting

I cannot believe Judge R. Stanton Wettick's wanting this reassessment or the people writing in to say it is correct. Are they not aware of the pages of sheriff's sales in the Post-Gazette every week, or the astronomical pharmaceutical bills many are trying to pay?

Do they not hear our churches pleading for donations for the needy? Do they know that oranges are now $1 each?

Along with county taxes, we have these boroughs and townships building schools and extensions that resemble Parthenons. They go into the high millions. For instance, in the 1940s and '50s a small Mt. Lebanon high school housed two or three times as many students as today's enrollment, but now we need an extension to the school, although 46 years ago there was an extension. I realize more things may be needed in the schools now, and I do not want to take anything away that the students need, but these things are raising taxes.

Some seniors may have paid their homes off but are now living on Social Security. These huge reassessments and taxes could mean losing the homes they worked to pay off. It is all right for some to agree with the assessments because they are not hurting.

Anway, I have not yet found the answer to why Judge Wettick decides the assessments. As Anna's king of Siam would say, "It's a puzzlement."

JEAN PIROTH
Mt. Lebanon


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12031/1207023-110-0.stm#ixzz1l4fh90lG

Big news concerning Right To Know requests

For those of you interested in filing Right To Know requests, emails sent on personal computers are now fair game.  I just sent an email to our commissioners and school board directors alerting them to this Commonwealth Court Ruling.

Commonwealth Court has ruled that emails sent between borough council members using their personal computers and regarding council business are subject to public disclosure under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law.
A unanimous three-judge panel affirmed in part, and reversed in part, a ruling by the Venango County Common Pleas Court, which had upheld a decision by the state's Office of Open Records, ordering Barkeyville Borough to turn over emails contained on borough council members' personal computers to the person who requested them.
Commonwealth Court agreed with the trial court's and Office of Open Records' reasoning regarding the emails, but disagreed with the trial court's awarding of attorney fees to the requester.
The open records office had reasoned in its determination that while the emails were not contained on borough computers, the borough still controlled the emails.
The Commonwealth Court, led by Judge P. Kevin Brobson, agreed with this reasoning.

I notified Manager Steve Feller and cc'ed Solicitor Phi Weis of the Commonwealth of PA ruling.
One more quote from the article that I should point out:

"If this court allowed council members to conduct business through personal e-mail accounts to evade the ["right-to-know" law], the law would serve no function and would result in all public officials conducting public business via personal email," Judge Brobson wrote.

This should be very interesting.

Council emails are public business; personal computer emails not exempt

Update January 31, 2012 3:03 pm  I updated lebocitizens.com to include this article as well as links to the municipality's forms and procedures for filing Right To Know requests. http://lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Right_to_Know.html

It was nice while it lasted

I am carrying over the discussion from Blog-Lebo concerning the appointment of a school board liaison.  Joe Polk posted the PG article and I left the first comment to the post.

 E. T. Gillen said...

The PG incorrectly reported that Kristen Linfante was appointed as liaison. As of yet, nobody has been appointed as school board liaison.
Elaine Gillen

JANUARY 30, 2012 5:53 PM

This was followed by a second comment from President Dave Brumfield.

 Anonymous said...

Commissioner Linfante was appointed to be the liason at our last meeting. The position that remains unfilled is the representative(s) to the joint meeting with the School District.

Dave Brumfield

JANUARY 31, 2012 8:41 AM

I beg to differ, Dave.  The Commission makes that liaison appointment by a formal motion, seconding by a Commissioner, followed by a majority vote.  Please look up Home Rule Charter Section 317 and Municipal Admin. Code Section 113.1 that says that "Official actions by the Commission...by Ordinance, Resolution or Motion..." Commission appointments are "official actions" by motions and voting. I have been unable to find in either the Charter or Admin. Code,  the specific powers of self appointment without official action, i.e. motions and votes, by the Commission.  Perhaps you can cite the source(s) granting such rights.  I am not going to buy into the argument that "past practices" (even though improper, illegal, etc.) justify continuing the practice, therefore making it bonafide.

I miss Dan Miller being president of the commission.

Good question, Mr. Bradford

I decided to start a new post on Andy Bradford's questions/comments from the previous post.  I know this blog is read by many attorneys and was hoping to get some feedback on this topic. FOR THIS THREAD ONLY, I will take anonymous comments - hopefully from attorneys weighing in on the subject. Even better if you signed your name - just throwing that out there.

Andy Bradford writes:

If Jo Posti uses video and photographs shot by a school district employee, say Cissy Bowman using school district equipment, in her personal Center Court blog... Is she infringing on the district's copyrights?
If not, why is it OK for private citizen Posti, but not OK for some other private citizen?
I think I get it though-- School Board President can grant Private Citizen Posti the right to use the material. Taxpayers of course need to heed the warnings!

Oh, we're paying attention

In today's PG article, Not concerned about budget cuts to public education? Then you are NOT paying attention, Judy Wertheimer writes:

Oh, and by the way, your school board may be considering a property tax hike (which, as of this writing, holds true for Mt. Lebanon, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny, to name just a few of the districts that are keeping that option on the table).

And...

Think you're immune? Think again. Pine-Richland saw 11.4 percent of its state funding disappear in the last round of cuts; Fox Chapel Area, 10.8 percent; North Allegheny, 8.2 percent; Bethel Park 7.9 percent; and Mt. Lebanon, 7.4 percent. Each of these cuts amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars per district.

As a certified, card-carrying fear monger/whiner (so I've been told), this is why we haven't supported the high school renovation project plans - if we're ever allowed to see them.

Bottom line: How many teachers, aides and classes can your school get by without -- who can be let go? That's the conversation.

Ms. Wertheimer, we're paying attention.  It is just that the school board isn't listening.

Another done deal

President Dave Brumfield announced at the last commission meeting that he would be meeting with the sports groups to discuss current athletic facilities and future priorities. Now this appears on Google Maps.

With the pathetic groundbreaking ceremony still fresh in our minds, when did we, the residents of Mt. Lebanon, lose control of our community?

Groundbreaking Ceremony is today

It's a Great Day for the Mt. Lebanon School District! 
It has been a long time coming, but the day is finally here to celebrate the groundbreaking of our new high school. The ceremony is set for 4:00p.m., rain or shine, this afternoon on the lawn near the Fine Arts Theatre. Come hear the Marching Blue Devil Band, the Triple Trio and the High School Chamber Choir. Students hand painted all the hard hats that will be worn by the participants. Join us for a reception in the upper lobby of the Fine Arts Theatre following the ceremony. Let's Celebrate!

Update January 27, 2012 Video of Groundbreaking Ceremony


Update January 28, 2012  I am sorry.  I can't resist. This picture of the groundbreaking ceremony was sent to me.

Who will she be representing?

As reported in the Post Gazette this morning, Mt. Lebanon Commission named Commissioner Kristen Linfante as a new school board liaison. Kristen is certainly qualified for the position.  On the Municipal website, her dossier is as follows:

• Key Communicator, Mt. Lebanon School District
• Utilities Management Group, Mt. Lebanon School District
• PTA, Foster Elementary and Mellon Middle Schools

Later in the article,

Board President Josephine Posti said the board's working relationship with the municipality is better than it's ever been since she joined the board in 2005. Naming a liaison is a great idea, she said, noting that they already communicate often, even though it's not practical to attend each other's meetings faithfully.
"I think the goal would be to just dispel the perception that the two bodies don't talk to each other frequently," she said.

At the risk of sounding paranoid, I smell a rat.

Follow up on my high school parking suggestion

At last night's Commission meeting, I had questioned if we could have students park in the school parking lot while teachers and staff park at the Mt. Lebanon Lutheran Church lot.  Dave Brumfield had heard that there were some obligations to the teachers that would not permit that.  Sorry, Dave, if I didn't quote you exactly.  I sent the commissioners links to the teachers' contract that I have posted on lebocitizens.com.  I have two links on my website, under The Facts, since one copy on the District website had a handwritten date on page 5 of the pdf of the CBA, while the other link had an undated copy on page 5 of the CBA pdf.

http://www.mtlsd.org/district/stuff/2009/collectivebargainingagreement.pdf

http://www.mtlsd.org/district/stuff/2009/cba.pdf

I emailed the Collective Bargaining Agreement to the Commissioners last night and received this response from President Brumfield this morning.

Elaine,
Under any CBA, like the teachers contract conditions of employment cannot be unilaterally changed by the employer without the negotiated consent of the union.  The courts have held that such changes can constitute a grievance.  I apologize for giving the misleading shorter answer, the fact is the SD labor counsel should vigorously warn against taking the steps you recommended.
Dave

Thanks for clarifying that, Dave. I wish we could try.  You never know until you do.

Update 01 25 12 A resident/blog reader sent an audio clip of Bill Lewis' comment from the 01 23 12 Commission meeting.  The reader wrote, "The exchange between Mr. Lewis and the Commissioners concerning off-site parking during the HS construction is one of the best clips I've heard for a while, because it illustrates the arbitrary nature of local government enforcing its own laws." The first voice is that of Bill Lewis, followed by President Dave Brumfield and Solicitor Phil Weis.
Bill Lewis' comment 

This has to be the funniest thing I read today

After everything I have written about Josephine Posti and citing her sources, a.k.a. plagiarizing, and the discussion about intellectual property, school district copyrights, and their terms of use on this blog, I came across this article in today's Trib.

According to surveys of students and faculty by Rutgers Business School in Newark, N.J., about 33 to 40 percent of high-school and college students admit to having done some kind of cut-and-paste plagiarism.
Academic integrity is important, as is respecting people's intellectual property, says Brentzel-Martina, who teaches her students to value their own ideas and work and to give credit to other people's.

Read more: Internet creates a rise in cut-and-paste plagiarism

Traffic plan needs tweaking

Email from the Washington School principal:

From: Mary Kay Davis <mdavis@mtlsd.net>
Date: Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 10:58 AM
Subject: Traffic Alert



We have noticed a deterioration in the traffic patterns here at Washington, especially on days of inclement weather. Please remember the safety of our children is our top priority. The parking lot across the street is a municipal lot. Parking violations such as double parking or parking in the handicap spot without proper tags can be ticketed. 

Pick-up and drop-off at Lawncroft has also become unnecessarily congested. Please remember there is NO parking on the left side of the street. Cars are asked to pull all the way down to allow for safe entrance into vehicles. This would allow for up to five cars to pick up their children and prevent cars from stopping side by side each other. Children should be entering and exiting the right side of vehicles from the side walk ONLY. Please do not encourage your child to walk through cars to get to your car. If you do not see your child when you approach the school, PLEASE circle around to keep the traffic flowing safely.

Please talk to your children about inclement weather plans: where to meet them and what they should do if they do not see you right away. 

The high school construction has begun and parking on the high school campus has changed. This has increased the traffic on Washington Road both in the mornings and the afternoons. High school students are now parking at the Mt. Lebanon Unitied Lutheran Church.

If unsafe situations continue to occur that jeopardize the safety of our students, I will need to request police presence to assist with the violations. Thank you for your assistance in keeping all of our children safe!

Sincerely,
Mary Kay Davis
Principal




If the Lutheran Church parking lot is restricted to teachers and staff, perhaps that would ease the traffic since they arrive at school earlier than the students. There is nothing in their contract about parking close to the school.  As mentioned in the email, it is about keeping all of our children safe.

Traffic around the high school

As a Lebo Citizens reader mentioned, tomorrow will be a more accurate measuring stick in regard to the traffic around the high school.  In fact, according to the Commission Discussion Session Agenda, it will be the seventh item to be discussed at tomorrow evening's Commission Discussion Session.  I am curious to see what kind of a traffic jam will occur with students trying to make a left hand turn into the Lutheran Church parking lot tomorrow morning.  Crossing rush hour traffic can't be pretty. Is that portion of Washington Road considered a school crossing zone now?  Any additional signs added on Washington Road, or flashing lights alerting motorists that it is a school crossing zone and the speed reduced to 15 mph? I am still confused as to why there has never been a formal shared parking agreement about parking at the Dixon Field lot.  Speaking of shared, why does the District say that the parking is only available to students with valid student parking permits? Is that sharing?

Tomorrow's Commission Meeting might be the perfect time for students, parents, or any other residents to bring up their concerns over the traffic situation at the high school. Citizen Comments is always the first item on the agenda.  The meeting starts at 8:00 PM.  The sign up sheet for citizen comments will be on the table on the right hand side as you enter the room.  Tomorrow's Discussion Session will begin at 6:15, if you want to hear the Commissioners discuss the traffic situation around the high school.  There are no citizen comments at Discussion Sessions.

Happy Birthday, Mt. Lebanon

Next month marks the 100th anniversary of our town. Back in the Spring 2011,  I had volunteered to be on the 100 year celebration committee.  To honor my commitment, I had placed this logo on my website from the municipal website.  The copyright symbol does not appear on the municipal site.

As you all know, I was asked to remove it from my website, which I did.  So to help get us in the party mood, I decided to share a timeline from 1912.  

January 1912 The establishment of the Republic of China.

February 6, 1912 Mt. Lebanon becomes a separate township, originally part of Upper St. Clair and Scott Townships.

March 1912 Tokyo gives the US 3000 cherry blossom trees, to be planted in Washington, DC.

April 1912 The Titanic sinks with the loss of 1500.

June 1912 Universal Pictures is incorporated.

August 1912 The Chinese Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang, is established.

October 1912 The first Balkan War begins

November 1912 Albania gains its independence.

As I had mentioned to Susan Morgans, I remember the 50th anniversary.  I had a felt Mt. Lebanon pennant thumbtacked on my bedroom wall for years.  I wonder whatever happened to that thing.  Anyone else remember the fireworks?  It was lots of fun.  I hope the 100th anniversary is as memorable for everyone.

 

An observation

An observation: Legally unenforceable prohibitions against using any information from the taxpayer-funded websites of the Mt. Lebanon School District and the municipality of Mt. Lebanon (other than for "personal use") will lead to far wider non-personal use -- and decidedly non-flattering -- than either entity could ever have imagined.

Read more: Laurels & Lances - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_777471.html#ixzz1k0h9lMKr

It is starting to gel

Matt Santoni reports in today's Trib, that mtl Magazine is moving into the 21st century with a website hosting an online edition of the magazine.

″We think we're giving people a lot of value,″ said Susan Morgans, public information officer for Mt. Lebanon. ″We're maintaining it ourselves on a daily basis. If we need to, we can go back to the firm we worked with in the first place and they can troubleshoot for us on an hourly basis.″

The Trib article's last paragraph:

So far the municipality, isn't selling separate advertising for the website, but Morgans said that could eventually occur to help pay hosting and domain name costs of about $200 a year.

Hey, can I get a credit on my Lebo taxes for www.lebocitizens.com?

Soooo, how about the student parking?

Day 1 of the new student parking plan.  According to the District calendar, it is not a typical day since the high school students have finals. Any reports on Day 1?

According to the Mt. Lebanon Zoning Ordinance Section 817.13.3.1.2.1, A shared parking plan shall require a written shared parking agreement, acceptable to the Commission...The agreement shall be submitted to the Commission prior to issuance of a conditional use permit.

My understanding is that the Commission has not accepted anything, nor has anything been submitted to the Commission.  Has this gone before the Zoning Hearing Board?  Is this yet another example of the School District taking the law into their own hands?

Don't Censor The Web

Have you checked Wikipedia today? It has shut down for 24 hours.

For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more.

Looked at Google? It is blacked out with the message:
Tell Congress: Please don't censor the web! 

How about the Trib? Read Wikipedia editors question site's blackout and Websites plan protest of anti-piracy measures. 


Does this have anything to do with the latest School District Google Alert that I posted on Monday?

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I am sure you all remember the letter I received from Lebo Manager, Steve Feller asking me to voluntarily take down the municipal logo. In a Google Alert today for the District website, look what showed up.

Subject: Google Alert - Mt Lebanon School District
1 new result for Mt Lebanon School District

copyright - Mt. Lebanon School District
2012 Mt. Lebanon School District. You are welcome and encouraged to access and print material from the Mt. Lebanon School District website (“Website”) at ...
www.mtlsd.org/district/copyright.asp



Does this mean I cannot reprint traffic plans, agendas, or even spelling errors anymore here or on my website?  Remembering that Mike Madison is a Pitt professor of intellectual property law, I decided to shoot him an email about this. Here is his reply.

Elaine,

This is clearly overbroad and unenforceable. You'd think that the School District would have consulted an actual copyright or trademark lawyer before putting out something so obviously and legally obtuse. Nothing that the School District puts on its website or in its so-called "Terms of Use" can change your rights -- or the rights of any other citizen -- under the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Nothing that the School District puts on its website or in its so-called "Terms of Use" can change the way that copyright law actually works (remember things like the public domain and fair use) or the way that trademark law actually works (things like non-commercial use, nominative use, and fair use -- and I'm sorry to lay some legal jargon on you here!).

I hate getting worked up and drawn back into this stuff; I have really enjoyed not being part of the Lebo psycho-drama for the last couple of years. But this latest move by the School District is beyond bad judgment. It is bullying, in all the ways that copyright and trademark lawyers have come to know and loathe bullying in the realm of intellectual property law. Worst of all, it's ignorant. And in Mt. Lebanon, that has to be just about the worst insult that I can think of.

You have my permission to share this email with anyone you care to.

Mike
***********
A couple of comments from friends:

These people would copyright the Constitution if they ever read it. 

I really hope someone is reaching out to a reporter, the Commonwealth Foundation, the Attorney General's office, the Commissioners and anyone else who might decide to wake up to the school board's fascism. They've gone way, way, way overboard. At the very least, they need a new solicitor, someone who actually knows law....

Groundbreaking Ceremony is a bit premature. Again.

When it comes to homework assignments, the School Board should get an "Incomplete." There is a parking ordinance in Mt. Lebanon which mandates 528 parking spaces must exist on site. The current parking plan violates that ordinance. The School District needs to apply for a variance with the Zoning Hearing Board once again. Come on School Board, when are you going to start doing your homework? Or is there another lawsuit on the horizon which we, the taxpayers, get to pay for both sides again?

Update: Beginning this Wednesday, students will not be allowed to park on site.  Isn't that a bit premature, as well?  Do you have the blessings of the Municipality since you will be in noncompliance with the parking ordinance?

Mt. Lebanon High School January 12, 2012 Traffic Update

Jan. 12, 2012 Update: Student parking will no longer be available on the high school campus during the school day beginning January 18. Student parking will only be available off-site, during the school day, at the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church on Washington Road and in the Dixon Field Parking Lot on Cedar Boulevard. Parking in either off-site lot is available only to students with valid student parking permits and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Read more below.

This is the only construction related change scheduled at this time. All traffic patterns around the high school campus will operate as normal.

Mt. Lebanon High School Traffic Updates

All good things must come to an end

I have been very generous with allowing anonymous comments even though my policy says that people have to sign their names. This past week has been especially brutal.

I have thought further about things and listened to input from experienced bloggers in the Pittsburgh area.  Here are two recommendations that were made to me:

One, anonymous comments are a terrible idea. Enforcing a "no anonymous comments" policy is difficult (because people can adopt fake names), and tends to cut down on the number of people who comment. But the improvement in civility is significant, and for every person who walks away because they wanted to be anonymous, there will be someone else who shows up because they like the reasonable tone of the place. Also, even though some people will say that they have to be anonymous because they are afraid of retribution, the truth is that if retribution is out there, then retribution will find you, whether or not you're anonymous. If people want to avoid retribution, then they should lock themselves in their bedrooms.

Two, call out bullying for what it is: efforts to use the Internet to intimidate or silence people who don't agree with the speaker. We teach our kids not to bully, but we (the collective "we") engage in it all the time. The blogosphere is full of behavior that we would not tolerate in our own children. A lot of your anonymous commenters are using anonymity to bully, just as much as some members of your School Board have bullied the community. Even some of your "signed" commenters engage in bullying.

I have reason to believe that some of the comments submitted came from our elected officials. This blog will not be used to enable those who continue to bully the residents of Mt. Lebanon.

I realize that the amount of comments will drop significantly, but so will the bullying.  I am sorry that it had to come to this, but I have had enough.

Church Parking Agreement

At the last school board meeting, Vice President Elaine Cappucci recommended that a Right To Know request be filed, in order to see the Church Parking Agreement.   This agreement, which between Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church and the Mt. Lebanon School District, will enable students to park at the church during the high school construction.  The request has been granted and can be found here.

I did a no-no on my website

When updating my website lebocitizens.com last week, I had replaced the two photos representing the municipality and the school district with one photo of the new centennial logo incorporating the municipality and the district. I got this very respectful letter from Steve Feller today.

Hi Elaine:
I noticed that you have the centennial logo posted at the top of your Lebo Citizens website. We have copyrighted the municipal logos, primarily because a competing private company was using the municipal symbols and information on their publications to make them look “official.” I have been consistently telling one of these private magazines that they cannot use the copyrighted information, and it would be very helpful to me if you could voluntarily take down the logo on your site. I hope that you understand our situation. Please call if you have any questions. Thanks.
Steve

I voluntarily took down the copyrighted logo and exchanged it for a photo that I had taken. Not a problem.  But what about Dancing With The Stars?  Aren't they using our logo? Who is going to tell Len Goodman?

Trouble in Paradise?

I heard that the majority of PTA Council resigned some time this week.  Can anyone confirm this? I find it interesting since I published these two comments on a previous thread.

Does Ms. Stephenson realize that PA PTA cleared PTA of any wrongdoing in regards to the election? Maybe the PTA isn't as evil as she believes it is.

January 10, 2012 7:17 PM

****

7:17 - I can't let this go - you know as well as I do that no such decision has been made. It's time to stop this and get the PTA house in order for those of us who really want to do positive things and bring credibility back to our organization. Let those members who acted poorly and damaged our reputation move on so the rest of us can do positive things in the PTA.

Signed,

A disgusted PTA member

January 10, 2012 11:20 PM

Update: January 11, 2012 3:45 PM  PTA Council Resignation Letter

An invitation to the rest of us

Dear Mt. Lebanon Parents and Students,

On behalf of the Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors, I would like to extend an invitation for you to attend the Mt. Lebanon School District groundbreaking ceremony for the High School Renovation Project. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, January 26, 2012, at 4:00 p.m. on the lawn next to the Fine Arts Theatre. An invitation is attached. I hope you will join us for refreshments following the ceremony in the upper lobby of the Fine Arts Theatre. 

This is a historic moment for the Mt. Lebanon School District and community, and represents the culmination of many years of planning and perseverance. It is now time to celebrate! 

I look forward to seeing you at the groundbreaking. 

Sincerely,

Timothy Steinhauer, Ed. D.

Far From Frugal

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

This evening I asked the school board, as they are "signing on the dotted line" -- that they consider doing what they can to ensure our Community does not end up house poor. I provided copies of the attached two charts that reveal our cost per student has far outpaced the cost of living over the last several years. Also, I compared our spending to several competitive districts, illustrating we are ... Far From Frugal ...

As we move forward, something will have to change. The trajectory of spending is not sustainable. Imagine how these charts will look in two years, when they reflect the expenditures on the high school project, PSERS and other increasing expenses.

NOTE: The $3.9MM notation on one of the charts represents the potential savings if our "total expenditures" had been limited to the increases experienced in "instruction expense" ... the bread and butter of the District.

Bill Matthews

MLSD and Comparator Districts
MTLSD ADM Analysis
Update: Richard Gideon has provided the following link to Bill Matthews' presentation.
Bill Matthews 01 09 12 comments 


Update 2:44 PM The following graph compares Salaries vs. Expenditures.

Smaller paycheck in 2012?

As of January 1, many employers have begun to withhold Mt. Lebanon wage taxes.  It is the final phase of Pennsylvania Act 32. Gone are the days of receiving quarterly reminders from the tax office.  Your taxes will be withheld from your paycheck.

What does this mean for Mt. Lebanon? With a 30% rental rate, we could experience a gain in local taxes. It might generate more in revenue than our block party fee.  But Mt. Lebanon is one community that had tax collection down to a science.

The automatic withholding could help municipalities collect from residents who don’t file their quarterly payments. “It could, because it will create a better universe of payers,” Rick Schuettler, [deputy executive director for the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities] said. “It ultimately could find more people who aren’t on the rolls.”

But Schuettler is taking a “wait and see” stance as to whether Act 32 will be a success. “If it results in better collection, a better process for employers, and a higher percentage collection of the universe [taxpayers] of what is out there who should be paying, if that’s what the result is, then it will be better for municipalities.”

Read more: Automatic Withholding Of Wage Taxes Begins in Pennsylvania

Coyote sighting

I understand that a coyote was seen on Mt. Lebanon Blvd. yesterday morning.  Any reader spot it?  Since the only coyote that I have seen was Wile E., I decided to read about coyotes in PA.  Yep, they're here.  Lucky us, they are bigger than western coyotes. From what I understand, our coyotes are coyote-wolf hybrids. The good news is they like to eat deer. The bad news is they like to eat cats, dogs, and have known to attack people. So now what?  Do we let them thin the deer herds naturally, or do we start thinking about coyote hunts?

I am asking again, "What about the scrap?"

In Who is getting the scrap? I never got an answer.  We are talking BIG BUCKS.  The groundbreaking is January 26 and there are new traffic patterns posted, but mum's the word on the scrap.

Gearing up for the renovation

Mt. Lebanon High School parents, students, and visitors will be following new traffic patterns in the near future.  This letter was sent to parents and students along with the High School Campus Traffic Map. The District website goes into greater detail.

Student parking will only be available off-site at the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church on Washington Road and in the Dixon Field parking lot along Cedar Boulevars [Boulevards]. There will be NO student parking on the high school campus during the school day.

Staff will continue to park on site. 

Public meetings are relocating to Jefferson Middle School Library starting in February.  This includes school board meetings and policy committee meetings.  I hope this does not mean the end of televised meetings.  Check locations posted on http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Meeting_Dates.html.

Update on mtl Magazine delivery

As I may have mentioned, my street has not received the last three issues of mtl Magazine. Before Commission meetings, I have picked up issues for my neighbors.  Susan Morgans is aware of this ongoing problem and has filed complaints.  Notices of this situation have been on the municipal website.  I thought we could have been dropped from the database.  Here is Susan's reply along with some suggestions:

Hi Elaine:
As I believe told you before, we do not have a database, and the magazines are not addressed to anyone or any street. Our magazines printed in Ohio and trucked to Pittsburgh Mailing on Streets Run Road where they are bundled according to carrier routes, which the mailing house gets from (and gets regular updates from) the postal service. As far as I can determine, it is totally the fault of the post office management that your street and a number of other streets are being missed. The carriers are to take the magazines out within a reasonable time frame—that is what we are paying for. They don’t, obviously because no one is making them do it. They magazines were delivered to Castle Shannon Boulevard, Cedarhurst and Dormont, the post offices that serve Mt. Lebanon, on December 29. The other two post offices got the magazines out within two days. I still have not received mine...Laura Lilly of our staff... only got here yesterday and we had a report yesterday that Sunnyhill (15228) had not received any magazines. So it is not just Vallevista.
Bill Finch told me yesterday that he had plenty of magazines for all the routes and they had all been delivered. So go figure. He also told me that when In Community Magazine came in a couple of days ago, he thought it was our magazine and got it out—doubtful, since we have been mailing out of that post office for going on 31 years and our magazine already had been sitting there for a week. Employees at that post office have told us it upsets them to see the magazines sitting there and carriers not taking them out because “their bags are too heavy.”
We have filed a formal complaint with the postal service’s business affairs division, after talking for a month with about five different representatives of the postal service’s customer service and consumer affairs divisions, which did nothing. The business division assures me they will get things resolved. I am skeptical but hopeful.
Our only alternative would be to mail the magazines directly from the printer to the central Pittsburgh processing center, where they would be entered into the computer system. This would require us to eliminate our advertising insert program, which generates $44,000 a year in revenue, however, and the magazine would still end up at 15228 where we would be at the mercy of the management there.
It is very frustrating to have everyone from the writers and photographers to the proofreaders to the advertising sales reps to the advertisers to the printer and the mailhouse making deadlines only to be stymied by the post office. Particularly frustrating when you think that it is one government agency thwarting another.

Next time we talk to Bill Finch, we can ask him once again about Vallevista, but in the intermin I would suggest that you complain to your carrier, to Bill Finch and to anyone in the postal service who will listen.
Thanks for seeing that your neighbors got the magazine.

Susan

So how about posting if your street has had any troubles receiving mtl Magazine? Bill Finch is the manager of the Castle Shannon Post Office and can be reached at  (412) 561-1173.

Update 01/08/12: Read what 2012 holds for the magazine industry

More Apps, Tools and Devices
Finally, the print industry has clued in to the fact that this whole internet, digital age thing isn’t going away any time soon. And they sure are making up for lost time. In 2011, every magazine intensified their digital presence, whether it be by launching an app, creating a new website,developing a social media tool, or implimenting mobile codes in their issues. And with all the excitement surrounding the iPad, Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook, you can expect magazines to focus even more of their attention on developing unique user experiences for new gadgets.

What? A fraud hotline affecting public schools?

In yesterday's PG,

U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton announced today the creation of a reporting line for "spending irregularities, corruption in the contract and bidding process, theft and embezzlement of district funds, and bribery, kickbacks or other forms of illegal collusion with outside vendors" by schools.

Anyone aware of such behavior can call 412-894-7515, and can provide their name or report information anonymously. The U.S. Attorney's Office will then work with law enforcement agencies to investigate, where appropriate.

I am shocked.  A hotline to report spending irregularities of district funds?  Is there a need for such a thing in the Mt. Lebanon School District? HA!

Governor Corbett Orders Freeze of Nearly $160 Million in State Spending

News for Immediate Release

Jan. 4, 2012

Governor Corbett Orders Freeze of Nearly $160 Million in State Spending

Harrisburg – With commonwealth revenues continuing to come in below estimate for the 2011-12 fiscal year, Governor Tom Corbett has directed his Budget Office to freeze nearly $160 million in state spending.

The governor also has asked government entities not under his jurisdiction to reduce their spending by nearly $66 million.

“Until revenue collections improve, we must take precautions to ensure that the commonwealth budget remains in balance,” Governor Corbett said.

Midway through the state’s fiscal year, revenues are $486.8 million below estimate, the state Department of Revenue reported Tuesday.

Governor Corbett has directed most agencies to reduce their overall 2011-12 spending by 3 percent. Some individual appropriations will see spending reductions of up to 10 percent.

The state-related universities – Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple and Lincoln universities – will see a reduction of 5 percent, or $25.7 million, in state funding. 

Public safety agencies, such as State Police and the Department of Corrections, will freeze approximately 1 percent of their spending. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency is not being directed to freeze any funds because of the numerous disaster-related emergency response activities that agency has coordinated this fiscal year, the governor said.

Basic education subsidy funds paid to school districts will not be affected, and the Department of Public Welfare will see a spending reduction of less than 1 percent, or $55 million. 

The funds being placed into budgetary reserve across all agencies represent less than 1 percent of the total $27.2 billion General Fund budget.

“We did not make the decision to freeze these funds lightly. If the revenue picture improves in the months ahead and we determine these funds no longer need to remain frozen, we may be able to free up some or perhaps even all of the funds we are now placing into budgetary reserve,” Corbett said.

For a list of funds placed into budgetary reserve, please visit the Current and Proposed Commonwealth Budgets section of the Office of the Budget website at www.budget.state.pa.us.

2012 Commission

Tonight, The Honorable Alexander Bicket administered the oath for the swearing-in ceremony.  With right hands raised and left hands on the Bible, John Bendel, Kristen Linfante, and Kelly Fraasch were sworn in as our new commissioners.  Dave Brumfield is the new Commission President for 2012 and Matt Kluck is the new Commission Vice President for 2012.  Congratulations to all.

Another news flash

Football Coach Chris Haering resigned today to take a coaching position at Pitt.

Mt. Lebanon High football coach to join new Pitt staff

Monday, January 02, 2012

By Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Chris Haering, the football coach at Mt. Lebanon High School the past 17 seasons, has resigned to become an assistant coach at Pitt under new coach Paul Chryst.

Haering told the Mt. Lebanon players of his resignation today.

"I've known for a while, but it became official today. He turned in his letter of resignation," said Mt. Lebanon athletic director John Grogan.

Besides 17 seasons at Mt. Lebanon, Haering was Hampton's coach for one season. He also was a social studies teacher at Mt. Lebanon High School.

Haering won a WPIAL championship at Mt. Lebanon in 2000.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12002/1200866-100.stm#ixzz1iLbZ3cWw

Want Ad: Construction Watchdogs

In a previous post, I shared this link, Citizen Oversight of Public School Construction Programs.

Cities throughout the country are establishing oversight committees to oversee funds dedicated to facilities improvements. The committee is typically commissioned by the school board to help them fulfill their monitoring and oversight roles. Committee members are usually volunteers who may or may not have professional experience related to construction management.

Well, that will never happen with our school board.  They are experts on everything and don't care to involve the community with their plans.  The article continues with:

The management advantage – free professional consultation – is perhaps the most obvious, but can be a valuable resource to school boards lacking in construction management experience. Even when an office is experienced, having professional advice and an “extra pair of eyes” is never harmful when monitoring a school construction program.

Now, this is way out of my league, but I believe that Mt. Lebanon needs such a committee.   Our community is loaded with talent.  The groundbreaking ceremony is January 26, 2012.  The project will be one of the largest construction projects in the area and will take up to 48 months to complete.  In two years, we could have four new school board directors who will have to hit the ground running when it comes to this construction project.  Mt. Lebanon needs a committee involved from Day One.  Any takers?  Email me at EGillen476@aol.com