McNeilly Park - outstanding debt

The following public information was sent to me from the Commission.  There is still outstanding debt on McNeilly Park.

McNeilly
Amount Borrowed	2004	2,000,000
53% of total issue
Paid 25,000 in principle before refunded		13,250
2010A issue refunded		1,986,750
19% of total issue
Have paid 15,000 in principal to date		2,850
Total still outstanding		1,983,900

Just putting it out there.  Draw your own conclusions.

Update April 29, 2012 6:06 PM   Soccer support for McNeilly Park
                                                  DCNR Grant Application
                                                  National Park Service Grant Application

Who is the MLFE?

Since a reader was curious about the organizations that donated $20,000 towards the Pursuant Ketchum Feasibility Study, I have some information about one of the organizations, the Mt. Lebanon Foundation For Education. (MLFE)
MLFE's website, which is linked on the School District website, is located here. Their Form 990 is here. MLFE's mission is to raise money on behalf of the Mt. Lebanon School District for innovative educational programs for all students. I am not sure donating $10,000 to a feasibility study or showing $10,000 in salaries would be considered innovative educational programs, but for those who do, here is how you can be an Education Booster. For Giving Opportunities, visit http://www.mtlsd.org/mlfe/givingopportunities.asp

Heads up! New traffic patterns again at the high school

New traffic patterns at the High School will be effective Monday, April 30.  Morgan Drive will re-open to vehicle traffic while a section of Horsman Drive will close and remain closed to vehicle traffic through the remainder of the construction project. There will be new Drop-Off/Pick-Up Traffic Patterns. 

Map of vehicle traffic patterns

For details visit http://www.mtlsd.org/highschoolrenovation/hstrafficupdates.asp

Seton-La Salle students named Notre Dame scholars

Connor Hayes was our first ever Mt. Lebanon Junior Commissioner. Congratulations, Connor!

To be considered for the prestigious -- and merit-based -- Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program, high school applicants must write 16 essays, submit two recommendation letters, do a phone interview and interview in person at the University of Notre Dame.

Selections are based on four criteria: demonstrated leadership abilities, distinguished academic accomplishment, exemplary moral character and sincere commitment to service.

Of the more than 1,600 applicants worldwide, 25 were selected as scholars and two are from Seton-La Salle Catholic High School in Mt. Lebanon: Connor Hayes and Jake Grefenstette.

As Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars, they will receive $25,000 annually for four years toward the cost of attending the university. Tuition, room and board at Notre Dame cost $55,000 a year.

The seniors also will participate in four, fully funded summer enrichment programs for self-discovery leadership development. This summer, after their high school graduation, they will go on a three-week wilderness trip with activities including rafting and hiking. The site for the program has not yet been announced.

Unrelated to the scholarships, both young men also were named recipients of the St. Timothy Award by the Diocese of Pittsburgh for their outstanding contributions to the church and community.

Connor, 18, is the son of Kevin Hayes and U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly of Mt. Lebanon, who met as undergraduates at Notre Dame.

"Growing up in a household of two Notre Dame alumni will influence him to know about the school, so it was important to us not to push too hard," Mr. Hayes said.

"It was down to Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago and Notre Dame," Connor said. "The scholarship basically sealed the deal."

Connor was instrumental in establishing Seton-La Salle's Model United Nations and academic games. He is a member of the National Honor Society and a four-year varsity swimmer.

Jake, 18, is the son of Edward and Megan Grefenstette of Mt. Lebanon, both of whom attended Georgetown University. Jake also was accepted there.

"I tried to be neutral, but it was difficult," Mr. Grefenstette admitted.

But Jake was sold on Notre Dame even before the scholarship was announced.

"I feel like this is home," he told his father as they toured campus, Mr. Grefenstette recalled.

Jake is president of the school's National Honor Society and the Rebels for Life and is a senator with student government. He is a four-year member of the volleyball team.

Neither scholarship winner is committed to a career choice yet, but Connor plans to study political science and Jake plans to study bioethics.

The scholarship program was established in 2009 by Notre Dame alumni Mark and Stacey Yusko and hopes to cultivate leaders in the image of the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, a former Notre Dame president, educator and renowned social justice advocate.

"It is difficult enough getting into Notre Dame, let alone being able to apply for the scholarship and successfully going through the process," Seton-La Salle principal Lauren Martin said. "It is a tribute to their families and the education they received from the diocese."

For more information: hesburgh-yusko.org.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/seton-la-salle-students-named-notre-dame-scholars-632141/

Working Together 101

Today, I met with Chuck Bachorski and Charlotte Stephenson. I asked Charlotte to put together a summary of today's meeting.  Thank you, Charlotte and Chuck for stepping forward so that we can work together to make a plan.

It was a pleasure to meet today with Chuck Bachorski and Elaine Gillen to brainstorm regarding what “he wants” and “she wants” and “they want” and “we want”. The fact is there is no real problem solving going on around here, only requests for more funding by those who yell the loudest or influence the most, and we understand how this problem-solving method has led the school district down an unfortunate financial path.

I learned some neat things today including there are many unsung heroes who give their time to maintain fields and facilities. I also learned that some of the sports groups pay for supportive equipment and for the facilities they use (including portable toilets at fields – who knew?). What I learned the most is that we can no longer sustain programs within our community without understanding the “big picture” of what we have, how to best use it and what it costs to have it.

I asked a question at the Commission Discussion Meeting this week regarding the maintenance needs of our facilities. In short, we really do not know exactly what they are; we appear to only know of the big-ticket items. There are many groups functioning independently and, most likely they are unable to take advantage of possible solutions to their constrained resources because they simply only know what they know. “Turfing” is at an all-time high at various levels in our community because of this lack of understanding with respect to what resources we do have. If we are going to make things better we must begin to work together.

So, we decided that there could be a new way of thinking. How about if the residents begin to work together and develop a plan that is fair and doesn’t break the bank? Why are we all sitting back on our laurels and looking to the Commissioners to come up with all of the ideas and solutions only to duke it out for the final vote? Our Commissioners put in long hours and have much on their shoulders. Why are those who want things to get better not proposing real solutions beyond asking for everyone to dig deeper or take on more debt?

It’s time for all of us to stop behaving like children and start coming up with real solutions. We have the talent, interest and know-how right here in Mt. Lebanon to do it. Let’s work together on a plan and ask the Commissioners for support along the way. If something requires a change in our ordinances, let’s take it to them. First thing is first, however, and we have research to do. Stay tuned because there is more to come. If you are asked to help, our guess is you will. Let’s work together and find solutions starting now! 

-Charlotte Stephenson

The donors for the feasibility study are...

Mt. Lebanon School District Announces Grant Awards for Capital Campaign Feasibility Study
April 25, 2012
The Mt. Lebanon School Board is pleased to announce that the Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment (MLCE) and the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education (MLFE) have each generously awarded a $10,000 grant to the Mt. Lebanon School District to fund nearly half of the feasibility study the District is conducting for a possible capital campaign.  The Board retained the services of the consulting firm Pursuant Ketchum to conduct the study at a cost of $41,000.   The District is undertaking the study to assess the viability of a capital campaign to reduce the amount of the second bond required for the $109.7 million high school project currently under construction and to establish an endowment to sustain and grow academic and fine arts programs in the District. 
“We are humbled by the tremendous amount of support these gifts represent from the Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment and the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education,” said Josephine Posti, President, Mt. Lebanon School Board.  “The success of a capital campaign depends not only on a comprehensive feasibility study but on the enthusiasm and expertise of these two key community partners.”  
The feasibility study will be conducted over the next several months and will include interviews with members of the Mt. Lebanon community and high school alumni to determine the factors for success.  A final report to the Board is expected by the end of August.
“The Board of Directors of Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education is pleased to support the school district’s capital campaign feasibility study,” said John Federico, President of the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education. “We view the study as a necessary investment in preparing for a successful capital campaign to finance a portion for the renovation of Mt. Lebanon High School. We look forward to working with the administration and school board to inspire and encourage our neighbors in Mt. Lebanon and the alumni of the district to help us rejuvenate this valuable community asset.”
  “The Mt. Lebanon School District expressed the desire to conduct a successful capital campaign in order to reduce the tax burden associated with the high school renovation and benefit all residents of Mt. Lebanon,” said Joseph King, President of MLCE’s Board of Directors.  “At Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment, we strive to support the priorities of the community and its residents and support projects that will give current, past, and future residents a meaningful and long-lasting sense of pride in the distinctive qualities of this wonderful community.”   The MLCE grant is from the Mt. Lebanon Community Impact Fund. 
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 About Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment
http://www.mtlebanonendowment.org/
Through contributions from individuals, families and organizations, Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment works to build a permanent fund to support programs and services for the Mt. Lebanon community and its residents, and preserve its unique character.   As an independent 501(c)(3) public charity, MLCE focuses upon three areas:
Families and Children—providing them with the help they need to be strong and functional, and supporting Youth to develop intellectually, physically, emotionally, and socially.
Senior Citizens—providing them with opportunities to employ their energy and creativity, and addressing their social and physical needs so that none lack access to services and activities of their choosing.
Community Life—sustaining and enhancing the amenities that make Mt. Lebanon a good place to live; supporting cultural, artistic, aesthetic and recreational programs and institution; and funding efforts that promote community and civility.
About the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education
www.mtlsd.org/mlfe
The mission of the Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education (MLFE) is to provide a permanent source of financial support to enable the Mt. Lebanon School District to expand and enhance learning opportunities for its students.  MLFE is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that raises money on behalf of the Mt. Lebanon School District for innovative educational programs for all students.
The MLFE was founded in 1999 to fulfill a goal of the school district’s strategic plan. Since that time, MLFE has raised thousands of dollars for extraordinary educational programs for all students in every grade and every school of the district. These projects span the entire curriculum and all 10 Mt. Lebanon Schools.  Every student has participated in at least one project started with MLFE’s support.
http://www.mtlsd.org/district/HeadlineArticle.asp?HLP_ID=1342&HL_ID=1158&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#1158

While we are talking about how to spend $1.3 million...

Upper St. Clair is talking to teachers and saving $3.7 million. Upper St. Clair teachers accept concessions Yes, I realize I am talking about two different taxing bodies. What is Mt. Lebanon School District doing? "The List," which we should all be proud of, is cutting $878,991 out of the district budget by eliminating jobs and towels. USC's $3.7 million in savings does not include the savings as a result of the superintendent's and finance director's pay freezes. Here is a thought. Come up with a new teachers' contract, save jobs, and demand that Dr. Tim and Ms. Jan take pay freezes. Let the municipality buy a mower for the golf course, meet the FCC deadline by replacing the public works radio system, buy a stump grinder, replace the ice rink floor, fix the tennis center sidewalk and steps, upgrade the phone system, improve the drainage at Bird Park field, continue to improve the parks according to the Parks Master Plan, install 850 linear feet of sidewalk, buy 17 automatic external defibrillators, replace the fueling station, replace the security system at the Public Safety Building and Municipal Building, enhance the ice center facility, improve the community center rooms, replace the four year old watch commander vehicle, or put some in pensions. Spend the savings from contract concessions and administrative pay freezes on the best artificial turf available and build your own showcase fields.  Or better yet, put it back into education.

Turf War?

Is that what the ongoing battle of turfing fields is called? The following links come with a warning:

Some Material may be Inappropriate for Children Under 18.

http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2008-05-07-artificial-turf-cover_N.htm

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/eode/eode-turf.shtml

http://www.agu.org/news/archives/2010-01-15_ClaireDworksy_BrightSTaRS.shtml

Update April 24, 2012 8:30 PM
My mailbox is getting filled with articles about artificial turf. Here are just a few.

http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html [No. 29] Carbon black nanoparticle in crumb rubber raises further concern about artificial turf fields.

***
http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/synthetic_turf/crumb-rubber_infilled/docs/fact_sheet.pdf

***
Chuck Bachorski writes:
All,
There are several published studies regarding artificial turf and injuries. The NFL report states a much higher incidence of ankle and ACL injuries reported on turf fields.
As we all know, ACL injuries are much more common in women than in men.
Therefore, we need to consider this aspect as well as the maintenance costs and environmental impact.

I have emailed these articles to Elaine to post if she sees fit.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4988136
http://turf.uark.edu/turfhelp/archives/021109.html
http://www.hss.edu/conditions_artificial-turf-sports-injury-prevention.asp

Update April 25, 2012 6:20 PM The following letter from Commissioner Fraasch is in response to blog reader Ken Ward's request. It was too long to submit as a comment.

Mr. Ward: 

Thank you for asking my opinion.   I have been studying this issue for over a year now and have been talking to community members and doing my own research.  What I share is my opinion alone and not of the Commission. I am very much in the middle in this debate.  I see the need to address field issues, I see the concerns about maintenance, and I can definitely see that we need to watch our spending.

One of my top concerns is maintenance.  I think we need to maintain what we already own and find out what we need to do as a Municipality with maintenance to make sure we can support our current fields.  I have been inquiring about our maintenance program for fields specifically to resolve any current issues we have with taking care of what we already own.  This issue needs to be addressed before we put one dime into doing renovations or anything new.    If we properly invest in the fields we currently have, then we increase field use.

We have $1.3 million in undesignated fund balance and I would like to see the Commission put aside $300,000 for pension obligations or a “rainy day” fund.  I would spend a large portion of our undesignated funds to get some much needed items taken care of that have been recommended by our municipal manager Steve Feller and the Parks Advisory Board.   

In addition, I feel strongly we need a new field.  We have been told this by our own staff.  Even if we do invest funds into our parks and fields, we could still see them in terrible condition after a couple of years if maintenance and overuse issues are not addressed.  My first choice for an expansion of field space would be Cedar Blvd.  Three reasons I support Cedar:  #1 We need to make Cedar Blvd look nicer.  It is a main thoroughfare for our community and it looks terrible.  This field could be a showcase for our community in that location.  #2  We need to make some improvements to our Public Works in the next couple of years and this would get us started.  I see that PW could stay in its designated area but turn towards Lindendale.  They would have their entrance/exit off of Lindendale and literally become contained into the area behind the trees.  #3 Development of a field would help with connecting our green spaces.  It’s a continuation of the other fields on Cedar.  It’s next to PW to ease maintenance and can have some value with the green space along Robb Hollow.  My second choice for an expansion of field space would be Robb Hollow with the entrance on Kelso.  This space is large enough to put a large field.  It has some of the clearing done already and is fairly flat compared to anything at McNeilly.  However, Robb Hollow isn’t as visible or easily accessible as Cedar Blvd.

My top priorities for parks and recreation are to fix our local neighborhood parks and get them cleaned up. If we fix Bird Park, fix Brafferton/Sunset Hills and add Cedar that will put Mt Lebanon in a far different place than we are now with fields.  As a Municipality, we need to ensure maintenance is thorough enough to increase current field usage which will afford us the luxury of maximizing our already existing field assets.  It will also allow us time to figure out what to do long-term with our other Recreation needs.  On another note, my initial thought was to put the undesignated money into the pool facility.  After feedback from the Municipal staff, the Commission was told that they would prefer to not do the project in parts.  So the Commission will need to consider the full pool plan at a later time.

Working together,

Kelly Fraasch
Ward 5 Commissioner
412.580.7665
kfraasch@mtlebanon.org

A Cappuccino with Cappucci

First, it was a cuppa Jo. Now you can meet with Elaine Cappucci, Bill Cooper, and Mary Birks this Wednesday morning, from 7 am to 9 am at Orbis Coffee on Washington Road.  Have a cappuccino with the school board directors and talk about school issues important to you. 

If Mellon had lights and turf...

Kids wouldn't know that even the Pirates' night games get rained out.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/pirates/pirates-rained-out-tonight-at-pnc-park-632752/

It would benefit businesses along Washington Road. The coaches can take the kids for a beer at The Saloon. How about a little sushi at Little Tokyo? Pizza at Il Pizzaiolo? Sure, kids would be willing to wait for pizza. Mineo's? Would Dinardo's Candy still be open? Maybe the new ice cream shop. Or would they walk down to Rollier's for a Gatorade? They could pick up that bird bath they needed while they were there.

The homes and condos would have something to complain about with the lights shining in their windows.

Mellon would be a showcase field. The apartments behind it would be the only ones to have a great view, however.

The same people who cost us that huge athletic wing at the high school and got the turf at Mellon would be able to start asking for Jefferson to be turfed. Then all the elementary schools. Think how much use they could get out of those "Save Our School" signs.

We could build on the rock pile for that indoor practice facility at the tune of what $20 million?

Imagine how blogs would have nothing to talk about except maybe helping to find missing persons or some other way for the community to work together.

77 year old female FOUND

UPDATE  Mrs. Henderson was spotted on Banksville Road. Charlotte Stephenson had read my blog and spotted a woman who matched the description while driving back from a fundraiser. Charlotte called me and asked me to read the alert back to her.  Charlotte circled around, picked her up and drove her back to her home. Mrs. Henderson is now safe.  Thanks to all who were looking for her.


From the Mt. Lebanon Police Department website:

Mrs. Henderson has been located and returned home safely. At approximately 5:15pm, an acquaintance who had seen the coverage of Henderson’s disappearance, spotted her in the parking lot of Eat n’ Park Restaurant on Banksville Road. She appeared to be in good health and was reunited with her family.
MLPD wishes to thank the following agencies for their assistance today in locating Mrs. Henderson: Mt. Lebanon Fire Department, STAT MedEvac, Allegheny County Search Mgmt Unit, Allegheny County Search & Rescue, White Oak Search & Rescue, Fayette County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue, PA Wilderness Search & Rescue, Air Search, Castle Shannon Police & Fire Departments, Dormont Police & Fire Departments, Salvation Army, and the multiple media outlets for spreading the information.
Special thanks to all of the residents and passersby, who offered assistance, provided information and joined in the search. The efforts of the community definitely made the difference in returning Mrs. Henderson safely to her family.

It is comforting to know that there are so many agencies willing to help.  Thanks to all.

http://www.thealmanac.net/alm/story11/04-25-2012-ML-blog-
Saved in Google Docs

Complaints, not solutions

I approved the following comment this morning on Sold for gain and the proposed final budget but I thought it deserved starting a new thread.

Elaine,

Where have you been the last 10 years. Did we not have one of the worst housing slumps in history? That being said, I purchased a home in 2004 and sold that same home in 2010 for a 22% increase. I think you need to stop polarizing everything. I follow your blog regularly because of the level of information, which i do appreciate. But all I ever he[a]r are complaints not solutions. Saying that we should do something differently is no a solution.

Sean Sullivan

Sean raises some good points. Sean is one of the lucky ones, selling his house for $223,000, just above the average list price according to Zillow. He bought it for $183,900, so I trust his math is correct. However, I am all out of solutions. I started lebocitizens.com to get the facts out to people. I thought creating this blog would open up much needed dialog.  I have no solutions, Sean. Thanks for being a faithful reader. I am opening this up to all who follow this blog. What IS the solution?

Feedback on the feedback

I couldn't bare bear (I was thinking about my wallet) to watch tonight's meeting, so I stayed home. Here is what I heard so far.

It was crowded.
We need two turfed fields.
We need an indoor sports facility.
Someone GUARANTEED that the sports groups would raise money for the indoor facility and turf. (Ha!)
The same person admitted that USC is having trouble getting people to subscribe to their facility. But then said that we're smarter and can make it work.

Anyone else care to share some highlights of the meeting? I am afraid to ask.

An open letter to my commissioner

Kristen,
I am not having trouble understanding how this works. Perhaps Nick Schalles or the other commissioners would explain how they ARE able respond on their mtlebanon.org email address.


Tonight, I did some research on Upper St. Clair's parks and recreation. I found the results of a 1997 survey which seemed to be done in a more equitable way, rather than having eblasts sent out to all the parents of sports teams urging to them to storm tonight's meeting. http://www.twpusc.org/rec/parks/boycemay/masterplan/survey.htm I found Question #4 to be most interesting. This question was not asking what was wanted, but just what residents enjoy doing outside the home. Considering that 82% of the respondents had at least one child in the household up to age 19, it is curious that soccer (#6 out of 8) and baseball (#8 out of 8) were at the bottom of the list.


Tonight's exercise reminded me of the high school renovation process all over again. Those who were the loudest, got what they wanted. It is sad that this community is being controlled by a special interest group, while the older residents get ignored.


Elaine

-----Original Message-----
From: Kristen Linfante <kristenlinfante@yahoo.com>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Apr 19, 2012 10:34 pm
Subject: RE: RE: Parks and recreation

Dear Elaine,

I believe I already explained to you that I don't have the ability to send mail 
through the mtlebanon.org server as it is only a forwarding service.  When 
people send me (and the other commissioners) mail at the mtlebanon.org address 
is automatically forwarded to a designated address, which in my case is the 
yahoo address.  This is not my personal email account, but rather one that is 
set up specifically for this purpose.  I'm sorry you are having trouble 
understanding how this works.  If you would like further explanation, I suggest 
you contact Nick Schalles, our IT director at the municipality.  He can be 
contacted at nschalles@mtlebanon.org.  I'm sure he would be happy to explain the 
process to you.

Kristen Linfante
Commissioner, Ward 3


-----Original Message-----
From: egillen476@aol.com [mailto:egillen476@aol.com] 
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2012 8:41 PM
To: commission@mtlebanon.org
Subject: Fwd: RE: Parks and recreation

Kristen,
As you can see, I did not attend tonight's meeting.

First off, using your yahoo account is not being transparent. I would love to 
see your mtlebanon.org email be your official email.

Secondly, the commissioners are far from acting on a whim. You wrote about a rec 
bond on your campaign website back in October. It was your second to the last 
post. Wasn't it a campaign promise? So why are you responding on behalf of the 
commission? I sent this response to the entire commission so that they were 
included.

It is a shame that eblasts were sent out to all the sports parents. The older 
people in this community don't stand a chance. When do they get represented? 
When eblasts are sent to hundreds of people saying to show up at the special 
meeting, it is really a command performance. It is not a true reprentation of 
the community.  Rest assured.

Elaine



-----Original Message----- 

From:
Kristen Linfante <kristenlinfante@yahoo.com>
To:
egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Subject:
RE: Parks and recreation
Date:
Thu, Apr 19, 2012 2:29 pm

Dear Ms. Gillen,

Thanks for taking the time to contact the commission.  We have received a multitude of emails regarding fields/rec, and we will surely receive more input from the community at large tonight. It is wonderfully transparent, open-forum discussions like these that surely discourage commissioners from acting on “whim”, but rather on information received by the community.   Rest assured.

Regards,

Kristen Linfante

Commissioner, Ward 3

From: egillen476@aol.com 
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2012 1:14 PM
To: commission@mtlebanon.org
Cc: sfeller@mtlebanon.org
Subject: Parks and recreation
 

Dear Commission:

You are elected stewards of taxpayer funds. It is your responsibility to spend 
my money wisely and without regard to influence from special interest groups. 
While I know two of you have made campaign promises in the past, it is my 
sincere hope that you are now realizing the folly of floating bonds to pay for 
your every whim. We do not have the money.

I support the commission spending an appropriate amount of the existing fund 
balance to maintain what we have.

Spending more than the existing fund balance or floating bonds for recreation 
use should be off the table in this economic environment. 
You will, in the very near future, need to ability to float bonds for other uses 
that should take priority over recreation.

Please use fiscal restraint when considering how to address your parks and rec 
issues.

Sincerely,

Elaine Gillen

Note: I apologize for the variations in fonts. 

Talk about hijacking the community...(Updated)

An eblast is being circulated in the community from the same folks who brought you, "It is only $18 a month..." They got their way and to quote my buddy Rob Gardner, "We are just pleased" but the hint is in the last sentence:

We're busy enjoying and participating in the community we love, believing that the best is yet to come.

What is the eblast about?  Here it is.

From: Gardner, Robert [Rgardner@Maidenform.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 8:52 PM
To: Anne Pillion, Beer Buy (Tim Scales); beth evans; bill ferari; Bridget Meyer; Cheryl Bender; Chris Helmeci; Chris McMahon; Dan Gbur; David Barrett; Deb Smit; McGrady, III, John; John Wells; KRBonn; KATE MCGRADY, Kathryn Duchin; Laurey Silverman; llrothesq@yahoo.com; votemattsmith@yahoo.com; Nancy Tashman; Noel Slater; Paul Cline; rjpapke@comcast.net; sara dougherty; SkcCreations@aol.com; Kristen Linfante; Steve Silverman; Dianne Wainwright; David P. Franklin
Cc: Commission
Subject: FW: Mt. Lebanon Town Meeting Re: Fields

Dear Commissioners

Thank you for tomorrow night’s public forum regarding the possible upgrading of the municipality’s fields and recreational areas.  Unfortunately, I am out of the country and will be unable to attend.  If I were home I would be in attendance to urge you to PLEASE invest in the upgrading of these public spaces.  Undoubtedly, you will hear from those who say this is no time to spend money.  My hope is that you will hear from an equal or greater number who understand that Mt Lebanon has a rich tradition of investing in its singular identity within the South Hills.  Sidewalks, neighborhood schools, Main Street business districts, and beautiful public recreation spaces and fields define us.  Please don’t let that slip away. The tag line on our website says “A Community With Character.”  Character must be developed and nurtured.

I’ve included many of our friends on this email  who value these public spaces.  I urge anyone who can  attend tomorrow night’s meeting to please do so.  But if you cannot, and if you agree with my comments, please hit “reply all” and let your opinion be heard.  If you don’t agree with me, please let that be known as well. 

Regardless of the outcome, Commissioners,  thank you for your service.

Sincerely,

Rob Gardner

Rob Gardner • Vice President & General Manager

200 Madison Avenue • New York, NY 10016

O 412.841.7216• M 412-841-7216 • E rgardner@maidenform.com

Yes, you are right, Rob.  There are people who believe this is not the time to spend money. You believe the best to come is to wreck our municipal budget as you and your friends did to our school district budget. Spend every last dime.  Borrow more money.  Take out more bonds. My baggage-free commissioner certainly endorses this thinking. When do the signs start going up again?

Mt. Lebanon seeks public input on rec needs

Mt. Lebanon residents are encouraged to share their ideas about the community’s recreation needs—including suggestions regarding maintenance, improvements and additions to parks and recreation facilities—at a special public meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 19, in the Commission Chamber of the Municipal Building, 710 Washington Road.

The commission is seeking input from people of all ages that will help them meet community needs, prioritize projects and allocate available funds appropriately. Speakers will be asked to keep their remarks to no longer than 5 minutes.

The meeting will be taped and broadcast for one week following the meeting according to this schedule: Saturday-Tuesday, 10 a.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m., and Friday, 3 p.m.

Residents who are unable to attend the meeting but would like to share their concerns and ideas with elected officials may e-mail comments to commission@mtlebanon.org.

Update 4:10 PM

Elaine -- Rob is not the only one distributing e-mails. I am forwarding this to you.  It went to the sports teams too. 

Begin forwarded message:

From: Katie Donnelly <donnellyko@xxxx>

Subject: Re: Mt Lebanon Parks and Recreation Facility Meeting

Date: April 18, 2012 11:38:02 AM EDT

To: Maggie Fleming

Cc: over 100 email addresses 

Having recently become involved in more field/youth sports discussions around Mt Lebanon, I encourage all of you to attend tomorrow's meeting.  I unfortunately will not be able to attend.  I can't stress enough how serious this issue has become in recent months and will stretch beyond field hockey.  If anyone has any questions or comments or would like to discuss the issue further, please feel free to contact me.  I've sat in several meetings where this is a hot topic, and I'd hate to see anything affect our already challenging field set-up.

Katie

On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 11:03 AM, Maggie Fleming  wrote:

Please plan on attending!

The Mt. Lebanon Commission will hold a meeting to solicit public comments on parks and recreation facilities in the community. The commission would like to hear from residents on how the municipality can improve and better maintain all of its parks and recreation facilities. Residents are invited to attend and will be given an opportunity to speak.

WHEN:  This Thursday April 19^th @ 7:30pm

WHERE:  Commission Chambers of the municipal building (710 Washington Rd.)

MORE INFORMATION: http://lebomag.com/3713/special-commission-meeting/

***Residents who are unable to attend the meeting but would like to share their concerns and ideas with elected

                                                       officials may email comments to commission@mtlebanon.org ***

• We have all talked about the condition of these fields over the years, and we have witnessed other communities improve (and even add to) their facilities, while Mt. Lebanon has struggled to maintain the status quo.
• The Commissioners have made it clear that  if only a few people show up at this meeting to address the condition of our athletic fields it is “highly unlikely” that they will conclude that improvements and additions to these facilities should be a priority.
• We need to be seen and heard at the meeting Thursday night.
• The time is now!  Please don't assume that someone else will attend for you - we need you!

Maggie Neishloss-Fleming

Executive Vice President / Chief Operating Officer

Best of the 'Burgh

Pittsburgh Magazine is asking readers to vote for their favorite Pittsburgh things.  Why not vote for your favorite Mt. Lebanon things? Help Mt. Lebanon businesses. Bring money into Mt. Lebanon.
Here is the link to the poll. http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Pittsburgh-Magazine/March-2012/2012-Best-of-the-Burgh-Readers-Poll/
Hey, they even have a category for media! There is a place to vote for your favorite blogger and website. (hint, hint)

2012 Best of the 'Burgh Readers' Poll

Vote for your favorite Pittsburgh things — from places to faces to food.

Once again, we bring you our Best of the 'Burgh Readers' Poll, which enables you to select the city's cream of the crop. This year's ballot contains 52 Best categories (some new, some old) as well as five Worsts. You don’t need to fill out every one, but we hope you’ll at least vote for 10. Be sure to check out our July issue to see the list of winners.

Sold for gain and the proposed final budget

From a blog reader:

I went to Zillow (the real estate web site) to have a look at some Mt. Lebanon statistics. I'm impressed with what you can find on that site. One extremely interesting eye-opener is a metric called "sold for gain" - click HERE to have a look. The chart starts at May 1, 2002, and ends on February 1, 2012 - so far, anyway. People are selling homes in Lebo all right - but the number who are selling for no gain or at a loss has increased dramatically.

Also, I didn't want anyone to miss the 2012-13 Proposed Final Budget. http://www.mtlsd.org/district/budget/stuff/2012.13_proposed_budget_4.16.12.pdf

Eliminating afternoon recess

The latest poll on Lebo Citizens is based on the last night's presentation made by the elementary school principals and assistant superintendent. Master Schedule It is proposed as "Modify the approach to a formal afternoon classroom recess." Parents were not part of the decision process. Dale Ostergaard asked about the process for community input. Dr. Allen said that after the presentation, changes were going to be communicated through PTA newsletters to prepare parents for the fall.

School Board Approves 2012-13 Proposed Final Budget (BUDGET POSTED!)

Last night, the school board approved the 2012-13 Proposed Final Budget in the amount of $80,623,500 at a millage rate of 27.13 which is an increase of .5 mills over the previous year's budget. The Board plans to continue budget discussions at the May 14 Discussion Meeting.

Update 10:15 PM The 2012-13 Proposed Final Budget has been posted. http://www.mtlsd.org/district/budget/stuff/2012.13_proposed_budget_4.16.12.pdf

A moment of silence please

With great sadness, I have to report that Voice of Mt. Lebanon has bit the dust. http://www.reallebo.com/2010/04/voice-of-mt-lebanon.html was the link to my commissioner's news release on her old blog - I should say, my baggage free commissioner. This link gave the website address.   Could it be that the domain expired?  Nobody wanted to cough up the money to fund the website? It is expensive to run a website. St. Clair Hospital is advertising on lebomag.com to offset expenses. 

So where are we going to get the TRUE facts? What about the $18 a month?  Please.  A moment of silence.
Thank you.

Anyone for a game of Charades? (Updated)

Tonight, the school board will be voting on a proposed budget.  The amount of the tax increase will be revealed tonight.  While we wait anxiously for those numbers, I thought I would share a few articles pertaining to the so-called "exemptions."

Education Spending: The Rest of the Story

As parents and taxpayers, Pennsylvanians should hear all the facts on education spending. The next time education unions and other special interests bully and demand more money "for the kids," remember what they aren't telling you—the rest of the story.

School spending: The exemption ruse

School boards' authority must be redesigned

Time to End Tax Hike Exceptions

Lebo Takes Stage for Act 1

Mt. Lebanon High School Class of 1972 Reunion

Mt. Lebanon 40^th High School Reunion is only 171 days away - Oct. 5-7^th. We have found 403 classmates, up significantly (doubled) from the last time I wrote about this on the blog.

I am hoping this reminder will help in the search for the ones still missing. It would be wonderful for everyone from the Class of 1972 to have a chance to connect again.

"Relentless Pursuit" of Perfect Spelling

The woman who sent the following to me is a life long resident of Mt. Lebanon. She wondered how our school district could possibly provide the "Best education possible for each and every student" when the district produces informational flyers with spelling errors and the school board president signs her name to it.

Mrs. Posti,

 

I just finished reading the Budget Update. 

 

Only 2 spelling errors on this one.

 

Funny part is, the first error is in the spelling of the name of the company* you people hired to do the study!  I wonder if "the check writer" will spell their name correctly when payment is made.  The second error is actually in the name of the school** where the School Board meetings take place! 

 

Oh my, will you ever get this right?

 

I am just a mom and grand-mom yet I would never sign my name to any document unless I was sure it was perfect. 

 

Just saying,

 

Concerned mom/grand-mom

 

*Pusuant Ketchum

** Jefferson Mlddle School Library

 

Click here for the direct link to the Budget Newsletter. 

And so it begins

Monday's school board agenda has its first (that has been made public) change order.

High School Project Change Order HS2012-1: RESOLVED, That the Board approves a change order in the amount of $_______to Nello Construction for replacement of ground material as necessary for the high school project as per the attached list.

This agenda item follows the always transparent, proposed final budget approval for the 2012-2013 school year:

2012-2013 Proposed Final Budget: RESOLVED, That the Board approves a Proposed Final Budget for the 2012-13 school year in the amount of $_____at a millage rate of_____which is an increase of ____mills over the 2011-12 school year.

Leaf Amnesty Day

Leaf Amnesty Day

April 14, 2012

7:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Drop off your leaves at the golf course maintenance facility on Pine Avenue.

Leaves accepted loose or in a recyclable brown paper bag.

Small twigs and brush will also be accepted.

NO STONES, SOIL, STUMPS, LARGE LIMBS OR PLASTIC BAGS ACCEPTED.

School Board Mailing (Updated)

This afternoon, I sent the following email to the school board and cc'ed Cissy Bowman and Susan Morgans.  Analytics tells me that Josephine paid a visit to my blog today. Perhaps it was to see if I wrote anything about my email. So that I don't disappoint her, this is what I sent:

The recent mailing from the school board did not make the mailboxes on [my street.] Is your letter available online somewhere? If not, how do we get additional copies? We do not have a regular mail carrier and have had trouble receiving other mailings in the past.
Elaine Gillen

I am hopeful for a response from her.  In the meantime, I saw this was just added to the District website.

School Board Continues Budget DiscussionsThe School Board continued discussion of the budget at the April 2, 2012 Discussion Meeting. The Board reviewed each item on the reduction list, removing the Community Service Coordinator position and IST position. For the complete list of reductions still under consideration by the Board, and a recent Budget Newsletter sent to Mt. Lebanon residents, click the link above. The final vote on the budget will take place at the May 21 Regular School Board Meeting.

Click here for the direct link to the Budget Newsletter. 

Spoiler alert: 

For More Information

Please visit www.mtlsd.org for in-depth budget updates and videos of our budget discussions. We will con- tinue to broadcast all public meetings on Cable Channel 19 and on our website, and mail periodic newslet- ters. If you have a question and can’t attend a meeting, please feel free to share your comments with the School Board at schoolboard@mtlsd.net. Your feedback is an important part of this process.

The school board will be voting on the proposed budget at the Monday, April 16 meeting. However, it is quite difficult to provide any feedback when the proposed budget is dated February 6, 2012. In addition, Posti still doesn't come clean by informing the community that the $900,000 grievance has the potential to be recurring for the next 15-20 years.

Update April 12, 2012 11:30 PM Please check out this blog posting of September 30, 2008 by School Board Director James Fraasch.   http://lebosbupdates.blogspot.com/2008/09/current-economics-and-psers.html 
You were warned, Josephine.

Back to the budget

Thanks to the disrespectful PTSA email, the school board received a break from me for a few days.  I am back on track now. In today's Trib article Upper St. Clair district, teachers to consider concessions, pay freezes for PA Numero Uno Superintendent, Patrick O'Toole and the USC finance director have opened up the door for more discussions with the teachers' union over concessions that could help close a $3.2 million deficit anticipated in the next school year.
In Mt. Lebanon, we're considering cutting back on maintenance again (that is what got us into trouble with our school buildings) and eliminating towels.  The List v 2.0 shows $879,000 in cuts. Whoopie. Of course, everything is hush-hush here in Leboland. The public knows more about what is going on in Upper St. Clair than what the Mt. Lebanon School Board has shared with its stakeholders. We are told nothing. We have a right to know, folks.

Town Hall Meeting planned (Updated)

It was announced at tonight's (well, technically last night's) commission meeting that the commission will be sponsoring a town hall meeting next Thursday, April 19 to discuss the wants and needs of the community in regard to parks and recreation. More information will be posted on the municipal website.

Update April 11, 2012 10:40 am Space is limited, so please leave the kids at home. Also, at last night's meeting, the commission discussed developing the area around Public Works for a new field which could easily be done. It is my understanding that the youth sports groups will be represented at theTown Hall meeting, but this is meeting is to discuss our parks and recreation, in general. It could be that people think that too much is being spent on fields and not enough on tennis, the library, the parks, the pool...you get the idea.

Update April 11, 2012 11:54 pm

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.

Special meeting to get input on parks/rec maintenance, improvements,Thurs, April 19, 7:30 pm, commission chamber. http://lebomag.com/category/muniupdates/

Update April 13, 2012 12:50 pm  Hearings to decide on Mt. Lebanon spending surplus

"I think we ought to be considerate and not look at the $1.3 million as something we have to spend," said Commissioner John Bendel, who recommended that $300,000 be put toward the reserve and another $500,000 be paid toward the municipality's pension fund.
Projects that may be considered for funding included new radios for the public works department, replacing floors in the municipal ice rink, upgrading the government's phone system, fixing drainage at the Bird Park athletic field, installing about 850 feet of new sidewalks and replacing equipment at the municipal fueling station.

Or we could put in another field.

Relentless, is it?

The Pittsburgh Business Times school rankings are based on PSSA scores.  "We look at three years of scores, with the current year given the most weight," according to PBT.

 Posti's Relentless Pursuit of Excellence mentions:

The Pittsburgh Business Times' school rankings edition is out and once again, the news is good. Mt. Lebanon improved its seven-county regional position to Number 2 (up from Number 3 last year) behind Upper St. Clair and Number 5 statewide (up from Number 6 last year). I'm very proud of our students' accomplishments. I'm also proud of our faculty and administration who helped our students achieve these milestones by working in a new structure that puts building management in the hands of principals with curriculum supervision deployed by department chairs and managed by two assistant superintendents focused on elementary and secondary education.

In the PBT Guide to Western Pennsylvania Schools, Dr. Steinhauer attributed "our success to strong leadership from our principals and administrators, exceptional teachers, students who take the tests seriously and want to do well, and parents who support our efforts in the classroom."

According to a June 17, 2010 PG article, Changes could boost Mt. Lebanon in rankings, Dr. Steinhauer said that there was a motivation problem since some students saw little incentive to do well on the exams. There were no individual consequences for performing poorly. (Discussion meeting August 9, 2010)  On April 16, 2010, the Board approved the requirement of students achieving a proficient score in the 11th grade Pennsylvania System of School Assessments in order to graduate. Well, Dr. Tim was right. By requiring a decent score on PSSAs to graduate, that boosted the numbers.

Uh, Josephine, was "working in a new structure that puts building management in the hands of principals with curriculum supervision deployed by department chairs and managed by two assistant superintendents focused on elementary and secondary education" what caused those numbers to increase? Was it really "Relentless Pursuit of Excellence?"

According to the PG article, Dr. Tim was quoted as saying that we did not qualify for the U.S. News & World Report silver ratings.  By approving the high school's participation in the National School Lunch Program, its poverty rate percentages will be reported to Standard and Poor's for U.S. News & World Report's rankings. I am not sure there was ever a public vote for the national school lunch program since I cannot find it in the minutes. According to the CAFR, there is quite a jump in free or reduced lunches.  Interesting how we are now listed as a silver medal school on the U.S. News & World Report website. The demographic data is still from 2007-2008. 

This summer, when the board approves Dr. Tim's raise [yes, raise, not freeze], they can all say that he earned it because the PSSA scores went up and we have a silver rating again.

Now, about that budget...

Thank you, Chief McDonough

Remember this blog posting? High School Traffic Alert It was an eblast from the PTSA, the same folks urging people to vote a certain way in the last election. The traffic alert didn't sit well with me, but it seems it didn't sit well with the Mt. Lebanon Police Department either. The following email was sent out this week by Chief McDonough. Thank you, Chief McDonough for addressing this irresponsible notice sent out by the PTSA.

From: Coleman McDonough
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 2:40 PM
To: Cheryl Hunsberger 
Cc: Ruby Kang; TSteinhauer@mtlsd.net; Mike Gallagher; Brian McFeeley
Subject: Mt. Lebanon High School PTSA

Folks:  Someone was kind enough to bring the below message (posted by the PSTA) to my attention this afternoon. I’d like to correct some of the misinformation that was found in the message, and I’d also like to express my disappointment with the message.

What’s true is that Mt. Lebanon Police officers ARE citing drivers who have been stopping at locations on Lebanon Ave. where such stopping is prohibited. We are NOT being “forced” into citing violators because of a single resident’s complaint; we are instead responding to the safety concerns of the entire community. We began citing drivers this morning because drivers, in spite of past warnings by uniformed officers, continue to disregard the officers’ warnings and disobey the lawfully posted signs, thus creating additional traffic congestion during rush hour when the municipality’s roadways (especially Cochran Rd.) are already  above their capacities. The resulting congestion creates hazards well beyond the immediate area near the high school. This congestion could be mitigated if parents use the designated drop off points and traffic patterns that have been repeatedly published by the school district.    

I appreciate your efforts to educate parents on the new traffic patterns and to counsel “patience and cooperation.” I do not appreciate the PSTA publicly singling out one resident as the cause of Mt. Lebanon Police enforcement action. Hopefully you will never be in the position where you bring a neighborhood problem to the attention of the police, and some well meaning organization publicly “blames” you for any related enforcement action.    

I’d like to believe that the Mt. Lebanon Police Department, the Mt. Lebanon School District and the Mt. Lebanon PSTA will continue to partner together to enhance the general safety of the community. I do not believe the tone of the below posted message reflects such a partnership. I hope you appreciate my concerns and we can continue to work together to alleviate what will continue to be an admittedly difficult traffic situation. Rest assured, the Mt. Lebanon Police will continue to act toward that end.

Chief Coleman McDonough

Mt. Lebanon Police Department

Parents beware:  The Mt. Lebanon Police are now ticketing cars that stop on Lebanon Avenue in the morning during student drop-off.  2 officers ticketing 4 cars this morning has been witnessed. Brian McFeeley has stated that the high school is not driving this - the Police Department has gotten complaints from a resident that lives on Lebanon, forcing them into a position of enforcing the posted "No Stopping" signs. Please go to http://www.mtlsd.org/highschoolrenovation/hstrafficupdates.asp for the most up to date information. Thank you for your patience and cooperation!

We moved up! (Updated)

Pittsburgh Business Times reports this morning that we have moved from the third postition to number two in school rankings!!! 2012 School Guide to Western Pennsylvania Schools  Of course, Number One Upper St. Clair has been voted top school district SEVEN years in a row.

Just when we moved up a notch, the board and administration are discussing closing an elementary school, increasing class sizes, furloughing teachers, and all the other things the "fear mongers" have been predicting.

Finally, an explanation to 21st century learning by Dr. Steinhauer:

 A major challenge for us will be to stay abreast of the rapidly changing technologies that impact education and infusing 21st- century skills into our curriculum. We will need to offer a more blended instructional environment with some online classes offered as well as building-based instruction.

Regarding PSSA scores, "Upper St. Clair School District once again had the highest-scoring students in Pennsylvania on state standardized tests. Upper St. Clair has led this ranking all seven years the Business Times has done statewide rankings."  Mt. Lebanon came in fifth in the state.

I am looking forward to reading the guide after it arrives in my mailbox. I will be going into more detail in the next couple of days.

Only two showed up for a cuppa Jo?

Updated the Google Doc link

In an article written by Deana Carpenter For The Almanac, there were only two community members who met with Josephine Posti, Scott Goldman, and Dale Ostergaard. Mt. Lebanon seeks community input (Updated copy to include priceless comments saved in Google Docs) I received zero feedback for this blog about the first meeting where Posti and company made an attempt to reach out to the community.  I thought people were just being shy, but it was a situation where the board members outnumbered the community members. Two mothers of children who attend Lincoln Elementary School, attended the coffee and raised the same concerns that were raised here on Lebo Citizens. As discussed in the article, one of their concerns included the MLEA grievance, a subject that the Board refuses to include in next year's budget and could be an issue for the next twenty years. That fact is only brought up by Dale Ostergaard, time and time again. Posti always seems to forget that part.

Another topic for discussion was the unanimous vote for the feasibility study. Funny thing about the feasibility study.  The money was taken out of this year's budget because it was available. But in "The List" versions 1.0 and 2.0, $40,000 is listed Above The Line (ATL) to reduce consulting fees. Were consulting fees ever listed in the budget previously? And again, no mention of our secret admirer willing to pay for 25% of that study.  Sounds to me like they backed out, don't you?

Finally, the community members were concerned about cuts that were on the table affecting the elementary schools, specifically Lincoln.  Is this when 4,000 people, including former school board directors, say, "I told you" to the school board?

The kicker was this quote in The Almanac:

Posti said that in a short period of time she has heard a lot of positive feedback from members of the community. "There are a lot of exciting things happening in the district that we see people are enthusiastic about."

Enthusiastic? Where were your supporters, Josephine? A commissioner was booked solid at her coffee at Orbis Café. Are you getting the message that we are pretty disgusted with the Board's actions?

Vote early and vote often?

In the November 2011 Board President Report, Josephine Posti wrote about the steps of the Stakeholder‐Driven Strategic Planning process.

At the October 17, 2011 School Board meeting, the School Board voted to pay Mr. Ewy $1,000 a day plus expenses, not to exceed $15,000.

So what are we getting for $15,000? We can get our money's worth by voting over and over again on the District website Strategic Plan Survey. According to a Lebo Alert, we can go to the Municipal Building and Public Library to get paper copies. According to the District website, paper surveys will be available in the lobby of C-28 at the high school.

I am no expert in surveys, but I have run a few polls on this blog. I have found that if Blogger is working properly, one can vote once per computer. Polls on Blogger are free. The District Survey - $15,000.

One thing I found out was, having multiple answers disqualifies the validity of the results. When adding up the percentages, the results would be well over 100%. That cost me nothing to discover. The District survey demographics, allowing multiple answers - $15,000.

The District website states that the results will be reviewed by Strategic Plan Steering Committee members, District administrators, and Board members. One of Dr. Steinhauer's goals for this year:

The Superintendent will direct and supervise the completion of the District’s Strategic plan.

To see "Provide support to retain top quality administrators" on a survey that will be reviewed by District administrators and one of the Superintendent's goals, isn't that kinda, well...self-serving?

How much money is this costing us in District administrators' salaries? The School Board voted to pay Mr. Ewy $1,000 a day. This is one expensive, invalid survey. Mine are free.

The List version 2.0

The April 2, 2012 version of "The List" is finally available on the District website. There are now 44 items on "The List"  totalling $878,991 vs. the previous list with 38 items totalling $680,604. http://www.mtlsd.org/district/budget/stuff/budgetreductions_4.2.2012.pdf
No mention of any reductions affecting Administration.

Clear as mud?

Allegheny County has a handy-dandy guide to find Average Increases in Value for the 2013 Court-Ordered Reassessment by Municipality & School District.

After locating the information, find out how to approximate your 2013 county, municipal and school district property taxes.

So that everything is in one thread, here are the links to the new assessments and the percentage calculator that I had on an earlier post.

The reassessments have been posted.
 http://www2.alleghenycounty.us/reval/Search.aspx This is for the 2013 tax year.

If you are mathematically challenged like me, here is a percentage calculator.

To keep it simple, Allegheny County’s average increase in value for the 2013 court-ordered reassessment is 35%. Mt. Lebanon's average increase in value for the 2013 court-ordered reassessment is 30%, according to the county website.