"...he opposed the budget because of the increase in tax revenues, given that the municipality had raised property tax rates last year and instituted a stormwater fee, and because the budget raised personnel costs with raises and new hires."In the PG's Calculations to come Dave Brumfield was quoted as saying:
"We have a duty to residents, and it's not to make their taxes as low as possible...It's to make Mt. Lebanon the best community it can be."Don't miss Bill Matthew's quote.
Kelly Fraasch posted Budget...and what I have learned. on her blog. Kelly learned five lessons from this year's budget process. Having a Finance Advisory Board and a list of options to consider for deduction from the budget in addition to an add listing are just two of the lessons listed.
Kristen Linfante was silent, even though she got her deer survey ($12,000) and an additional $1,000 for Outreach added to the budget. Here is what is on her blog. In my own words...Mt. Lebanon, my home.... She mentions several times that she is a musician.
John Bendel had no comment.
*Article not available online
Update December 16, 2012 2:05 PM Kristen Linfante posted 2013 Budget on her blog. (and you say you don't read this blog, Kristen.) When she wrote, "As many of you know," I thought she was going to tell us that she was a musician; instead it was about deer. She also wrote:
I was pleased to successfully rally the support of both Commissioner Bendel and Commissioner Brumfield to get a deer survey included in next year's budget.What Kristen fails to admit is that Kelly Fraasch also approved the budget, therefore supporting a deer survey. What Kristen may not know is that Kelly had reached out to residents on both sides of the deer issue. She spent countless hours writing emails, making phone calls, and meeting with constituents from all wards trying to come up with some sort of compromise on this controversial topic. Has Kristen done that? After all, she collaborates, cooperates and communicates. Sure she does.
27 comments:
From the PG:
"Mr. Brumfield, though, said that some expenses, such as major improvements to the municipality's infrastructure, are intended "to save money in the long run.""
Don't you just love it when politicians make claims like that? Somehow though they never show you how they arrived at that conclusion and somehow at the end of the long run taxes still go up!
We're not impressed, Kristin.
We spent a large portion of meetings discussing deer surveys. It was moved "above the line" and included in the budget. The anti deer culling people agreed to a deer survey, yet not a word of thanks from my commissioner to ANYONE for reaching common ground. When it came time for the commissioners to explain their votes, Kristen sat there with her typical pursed lips. Yep, communication, collaboration, and cooperation - that is how she rolls.
Elaine
What the school district and the municipality both need is an institutionalized effort for continuous improvement like the Federal A-76 process (notice that I said "like"):
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/circulars/a076/a76_incl_tech_correction.pdf
The idea is to have a methodology that will examine the operational efficiencies of commercial activities and either realign the activity under review, or outsource the activity to the private sector. The A-76 methodology also has a provision that permits government employees to contest decisions and the exclusion of activities that are governmental in nature.
Activities are continuously reviewed against strategic goals even after realignment or outsourcing decisions.
Ft Wayne, Indiana has adopted many of these practices.
I'd be happy to see old-fashioned suggestion boxes placed in the school district and municipal offices so that employees could suggest ideas that would save money - and I'd be willing to provide the employees with an incentive to participate, like receiving 1/3 of the documented savings for a three year period following implementation. This approach rewards innovative and constructive approaches while keeping the budget neutral.
Whether or not any of the approaches that I am suggesting are the ones that would be used is irrelevant. What we need is some type of an approach that will become a part of the organizational DNA.
"We have a duty to residents, and it's not to make their taxes as low as possible," he said. "It's to make Mt. Lebanon the best community it can be." -- David Brumfield, as quoted by Post-Gazette reporter Harry Funk
AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. DAVID BRUMFIELD
Sir:
With respect to your statement made during the Commission meeting of 11 December 2012 and quoted above, I ask you the following questions:
1. What, in your opinion, is required of the Municipality and residents thereof in order to "..make Mt. Lebanon the best community it can be."?
2. Do you believe that the quality of a community is directly proportional to the amount of taxes that a community collects; i.e., the higher the taxes the better the community?
3. Since Mt. Lebanon taxes earned income directly, and income from all sources indirectly (the real estate tax), is there a level of taxation that you would consider excessive and, if so, what is it?
4. In your opinion, what is the minimum level of income from all sources that a person or family should sustain in order to reside in Mt. Lebanon?
5. Would you be in favor of using eminent domain laws in order to take residential private property from one owner and give it to another owner, if the second owner promises to improve it such that a higher indirect tax (real estate tax) may be billed against it?; and would you consider such an action to be in the "public interest?"
Respectfully,
Richard Gideon
RG,
You might want to email this directly to Dave Brumfield. He typically does not respond here. If you do get a response, we would all like to hear it.
EG
EG:
I may do that, although I've communicated with Mr. Brumfield with similar concerns in the past. Also, since this was to be an "open" letter, and yours is the best forum in town for such a thing, I decided to post it here. I'm reasonably certain that he checks in from time to time.
Just for the record, although I would certainly like to see a response from Mr. Brumfield, it is more important to me that the many readers of this Blog who do not participate have a chance to consider the ramifications of what is being asked. My target audience is the undecided reader who may be seduced into trading some of his or her individual liberty for "the greater good of the community." Those who agree with me don't need an argument; and those who are convinced I'm wrong won't agree with me regardless of the soundness of my arguments.
We should ellimanate all taxes and sell off the municiple building. Then Mt. Lebannon would be the best comunity. Because we would all have more money in our pockets. And thats whats most importent. If people want services they can pay for them selves.
Mr. Gideon, I doubt you will get an answer from Mr. Brumfield, not because he doesn't read Elaine's blog but rather because he doesn't have an answer to your questions.
It's like his comment in 9:34's post. He asserts that we'll be saving money and if he really believes that it should be very simple to show how he arrived at that conclusion.
It's the same with the claims made by Franklin on saving money with turf over natural fields. That should be a very simple calculation.
It coat X to build and maintain each multiplied over X number of years. The pro-turfers just won't do though.
Making a community or a field "the best it can be" is much more difficult.
Again using fields as an example. One person may like turf another natural grass. Each is entitled to their opinion.
10:07 nonsense and you know full well it's nonsense.
You're disagreeing and being disagreeable!
Thought we weren't suppose to do that!
Gee, I'd just like Commissioner Brumfield to show us where in the homerule charter it defines his 'duty' to "make Mt. Lebanon the vest community it can be," irregardless of taxes!
C'mon Dave you said it... now show us how you came to that conclusion!
Keep in mind Commissioner, if you do manage to come up with something, my next question will be for your definition of what is a best community.
Now I understand the protest during Matt Kluck's town hall meeting, "Living in a highly taxed community."
http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/10241/1083506-55.stm
They're all for higher taxes.
Elaine
You might be right there, Elaine. Many of those same protesters were supporters of the BOSN group that insisted 'we' spend $150 million on a new high school.
Unfortunately though none of them saw fit to contact Pirsuant Ketchum and offer sizable personal contributions to the fund raising effort.
C'mon BOSN people, sacrifice you $18/month latte tab, it's for the kids.
Let's see some elementary math here. $18/month x 12 months= $216/year.
$216/yr x 4,000 (Kubit's HS proponents) = $864,000/year.
Crap, we could raise nearly as much as PK said they could if just the people that pushed for the HS plan stepped up and showed us the way. Plus we wouldn't have to give PK a $900,000 cut.
Here's a marketingline for you... "Give A 'latte' - It's For the Kid-As". Bears "What the Kluck."
C'mon BOSN show us naysayers how to do it!
Correction and a revise.
Give Us Your lattes - It's for the Kid-A's"
Beats "What the Kluck", eh Rob?
Actually Dave, you are completely ass-backwards here.
Your job is to give Mt. Lebanon residents the service they desire for the lowest possible tax rate. That is the same job as the school board.
The only real power either the Commission or School Board has is through the budget. That is how they set the priorities of the administration. None of us should argue that they should be involved in the day-to-day operations of either entity, but their entire purpose for existence is to set the priorities of the respective organizations via budget.
By asking the right questions these elected officials should be able to identify waste and programs and employees that are redundant or not needed.
The remaining services should then be delivered as efficiently as possible thereby delivering the desired service level at the lowest possible tax rate.
It's our job (residents) to help the local elected officials determine priorities and to identify waste.
I uploaded the podcast to the 121112 commission meeting. The discussion session is on its way.
Elaine
That last part kills me. I don't want to give Kelly all the credit here but she is the one that brought on residents who were opposed to the shooting of deer. She came around to the deer idea via the birth control method which is a much more humane way to do this.
Kristen to this day still wants to shoot the deer.
Kristen instead ought to be thanking Kelly (again) for getting something passed.
To send out an email and fail to admit how it got passed shows exactly how petty, insignificant, and downright catty Ms. Linfante is.
There is no such word as "irregardless.
If Linfante wants deer to be shot, I suggest she go do the shooting. That way when something goes horribly wrong (and it will) she will have nobody to blame.
If you want to fix the spending problem our town has, get off your asses, support candidates who want to stop the bleeding and start campaigning for people who get it.
Reading Ms. Linfante's blog post on the budget caused a chuckle.
She writes: "The staff itself spends much of the year preparing the budget, and the commission spends a few months reviewing and finalizing it. This past September we held a budget retreat where the five commissioners narrowed down priorities. "
So with all this focus on the budget, which one would assume a 'budget' would include all all expenditures and ALL REVENUE, by now someone in the municipal offices would be able to tell us just where the hastily passed field sign ordinance money goes!
Is this an oops moment? "We plume forgot about that revenue!" or is it something more like "we haven't figured out how to filter that money to the youth sports organizations, yet?
While in the total scheme of things, it is a tiny piece of the budget. By now though if as Ms. Linfante proclaims, they've gone through the budget line by line, there should be an accounting for future sign revenue!
After the ordinance was passed in June.
11:16 AM, that question has been asked at meetings. Assistant Manager/Finance Director Marcia Taylor justified that "oops moment" by saying that they don't want to budget something that hasn't happened yet or something to that effect.
Elaine
In other words Elaine, the lyrics for the MTL municipal theme song are--
"The best things in life are free
But you can keep them for the birds and bees
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want
You're lovin' gives me a thrill
But you're lovin' don't pay my bills
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want
Money don't get everything it's true
What it don't get, I can't use
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want, wah
Money don't get everything it's true
What it don't get, I can't use
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want
Well now give me money
A lot of money
Wow, yeah, I wanna be free
Oh I want money
That's what I want
That's what I want, well
Now give me money
A lot of money
Wow, yeah, you need money
now, give me money
That's what I want, yeah
that's what I want "
Basically, isn't that Brumfield's tune according to his quote in the paper?
I guess that is also his campaign song. Truly words to get reelected.
Elaine
Always remember, it's Brumfield's duty NOT to keep taxes as low as possible.
Not to worry 11:16, we will tell you where the field sign revenue will go when we begin to turf Wildcat.
Ben Dover
Turf Wildcat-Ben? How can you be so cynical as to believe that the ever diligent, watchful Mr. Franklin, Parks Advisory liaison, will let that happen without a fair, in-depth and transparent public hearing on both turf and sign revenue.
Wink, wink, nod, nod.
Funny how "the best" is always associated with the spending the most.
This place is overstaffed, overpaid and will soon be passed over if we don't watch out. Mt. Lebanon has become a joke.
Commissioner Linfante has been a disappointment all year. I hope the voters are watching.
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