It's really not difficult

During all the "Just" drama, I read women thanking the moderators for managing their Facebook groups. Not having a Facebook group myself, I thought, "How tough can it be?" So I started one. And guess what? It's not!

The group that I started is for a local sewing group. It is considered a "secret group," meaning it will not show up in a search. Instead, you have to be added by a member or a moderator. It may be the answer for my Lebo Citizens blog.

I won't get ten hits a day from Timmy, Jan Klein, or the PIO. I won't get hits from Tucker Arensberg when Timmy or school board directors gets cranky. Think of the benefits. Productivity would increase. Billable hours would be reduced.

On my Facebook group, I don't get anonymous comments where I am called a c***. Telling me to move out of Mt. Lebanon just doesn't happen. No hideous comments about my poor husband. Remarks about my "miserable life" are non-existent. I can still share documents, links, and photos.

I do see some disadvantages. You would have to be on Facebook. You would have to email me at EGillen476@aol.com, if you want to become a member or rely on another member to join. Circulation would decrease. But who cares? It would slow down the haters.

My Facebook group is a delight. I'm going to give this some serious thought.

mtl Magazine Cost Reductions!

Baby steps, but moving in the right direction. From the weekly Administrative Report:

Update January 21, 2017 8:58 PM Another suggestion from Lebo Citizens readers!

mtl -- Mt. Lebanon Magazine

January 18 at 10:39am · 

We are looking for Mt. Lebanon high school volunteers to help in the Public Information Office for 1-2 hours a week after school assisting with various mtl Magazine distribution tasks. Please contact Amy Martin for more information at 412-343-3407 or amartin@mtlebanon.org.

Volunteering counts toward community service hours for the National Honor Society.

Students can also sign up in the Student Activities office or contact Mrs. Kolko for more information at jkolko@mtlsd.net or 412-344-2105.

More waste in the PIO UPDATED

I remember Susan Morgans saying that there are only two people in the Public Information Office who were full time employees, Susan and her administrative assistant. Lebo Citizens reader Nick M. filed two Right To Knows for Laura Pace Lilley's time cards from December 27, 2015 through July 9, 2016. LPL is a part time employee, but enjoys paid holidays, at least New Year's, Good Friday, Memorial Day, and July 4. Perhaps other time cards would show paid holidays for Labor Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. That would require another RTK.

Here are Laura's time cards, 12/27/15 - 6/11/16 and 5/29 - 7/9/16. I am not sure what 5/2/16's Time Off is for, and have my doubts that Laura Pace Lilley bothered to work for 45 minutes on May 11, 2016. Is it really worth coming to work for 45 minutes? What about working for one hour on May 4 and one hour on May 6? Anything is possible with a pencil, right?

Nick M. asked Finance Director Andrew McCreery for further clarification.

• All time is approved by an immediate supervisor.
• The finance department receives hours due to employees in a variety of ways: paper timesheets, electronic timesheet entry, summary of time spreadsheets, etc. Each department is different. Some departments use a time clock, while others keep a daily time log. 
• Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the direct supervisors to verify the time submitted to the finance department.

Do all Mt. Lebanon part time staffers get paid holidays? Or is this another perk for the Public Information Office? Dinners, conventions, breakfasts, trips to New York City, and printing costs of $12,000 per issue.

Our PIO manager, who is being paid over $108,000 plus $12,000 a year for health insurance plus free cell phone usage, has nothing better to do than to post updates on her personal Facebook page during work hours.

There is so much waste in our Public Information Office. This waste is all under Keith McGill's watch. From what I can see, the only restraint I see now, is the decrease of transparency and the increased costs for the right to know.

PA Office of Open Records Final Determination Record of Gillen v. Mt. Lebanon Township

Update August 8, 2016 12:40 PM I asked Finance Director Andrew McCreery if holiday pay on a per contract/agreement with part time staffers or is it across the board. Here is his reply:

Dear Ms. Gillen,

Part-time staff members are subject to the rules and regulations of our personnel manual. In the manual, eligible part-time employees will receive holiday pay if a municipally observed legal holiday occurs on a day which they are normally scheduled to work. An eligible part-time employee must be employed throughout the year and must be regularly scheduled to work more than twenty (20) hours per week.

Regards,
Andrew

Correcting misinformation UPDATED

In this week's administrative report to the commissioners, Keith McGill announced the coffee that the public information office held for real estate agents.

I wish I knew what "misinformation about Mt. Lebanon" those mean, old real estate agents are spreading about us. Really, Susan?

Also in the 2016 Manager's Recommended Budget, see pages 30-31 for what Public Information is costing us. Funny how people still have to rely on Lebo Citizens for information. Or is it "misinformation" as some people like to call it?

Update November 1, 2015 3:32 AM From the 2016 Manager's Recommended Budget: More corrections of misinformation.

Citizen Engagement. The impact of technology and the explosion of social media offer new opportunities for better community engagement and dialogue. There is an opportunity to increase transparency and accountability in how local government services are delivered.

The fix is in UPDATED

The commissioners' minds are made up. So made up that they won't even allow the suggestion that gardens could be improved to deter deer. How simple would that be? They also say another survey is out of the question, which indicates they don't want to know there are fewer deer, just proceed as planned - killing deer.

Sandy Baker a.k.a. the Deer Doctor emailed the following documents to all of the commissioners this afternoon. She also FedEx'ed it yesterday to arrive this morning by 10:30 AM.

Cover letter from Sandy Baker

Mt. Lebanon Deer Report

Mt. Lebanon Recommendations

While there are no non-lethal panelists for Monday's dog and pony show, Sandy's report is a timely voice for a safe, non-lethal, and effective solution. Monday's deer discussion forum is a complete and blatant sham. The panel is all pro deer killers. The purpose is to sell the Fall killing program. The fix is in. The Commission has already decided. There will be no citizen comments. Residents who are opposed to violence or guns in our neighborhoods are being silenced. Residents opposed to this killing program will just be annoying. With us censored, the commissioners can script and market this pro-deer killing forum to the public. 

The Post Gazette's John Hayes contacted a member of the Coalition for Coexistence. He said that aerial surveys are pointless and nobody uses them. Nobody counts animals, roadkill, or density. This is the same person who said that we have THOUSANDS of deer. Hayes is one of the clowns from our Public Misinformation Officer's media circus.

The fix is in, Folks.

Update June 19, 2015 11:07 AM A LeboALERT just went out at 10:55 AM. We have the honor and privilege to OBSERVE the deer killing vote on Monday. How many LeboALERTS is this now, Susan? Enjoy rubbing our noses in it?

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.


You may observe Mon. 6 pm
commission work session on deer at MLHS Fine Arts Theater. No public comment.
http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/View/11039

Update June 19, 2015 7:19 PM

Mr. Feller,

The folks who are attending the deer management meeting on Monday, Jeannine Fleegel, Jody Maddock and Anthony DiNicola…are they being paid to attend the meeting?

If so, what is the total compensation being paid to each of them.

Thank you,

***

Steve Feller's reply:

From: Stephen Feller [mailto:sfeller@mtlebanon.org]
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015 3:48 PM
To:
Cc: Commission
Subject: Re: meeting

Only one of them, Dr. DiNicola, is being compensated by Mt. Lebanon.  I expect his total compensation to be $2,000.  

The commissioners found the loophole. UPDATED

There will be a Commission Discussion Session for deer "management" on Monday, June 22, 2015 at the Mt. Lebanon High School Fine Arts Theater at 6:00 PM. There will be no Citizen Comments at that meeting. According to Title 65 - PA General Assembly, the commissioners shall provide a reasonable opportunity at each advertised regular meeting and advertised special meeting for residents to comment. But here is the loophole:

If the board or council determines that there is not sufficient time at a meeting for residents of the political subdivision or of the authority created by a political subdivision or for taxpayers of the political subdivision or of the authority created by a political subdivision or for both to comment, the board or council may defer the comment period to the next regular meeting or to a special meeting occurring in advance of the next regular meeting.

This is exactly what our illustrious Public Information Office has told us.

The public is welcome to attend and listen, but there will be no opportunity for public comment. Residents may comment on any of the issues at regularly scheduled commission meetings.

Note: The text has been changed since I added the quote. It is now listed as:

The public is welcome to attend and listen, but there will be NO OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. Residents may comment on any of the issues at regularly scheduled commission meetings.

I will not be attending this special meeting due to a scheduling conflict, but will be looking forward to watching the dog and pony show...scratch that...the special deer "management" meeting on the municipal website later on in the week.

I am planning to make the switch for Lebo Citizens to go from Public to By Invitation status before Monday. If desired, email me with your real name to request an invite. I will email an invitation, once the information has been verified.

Update June 16, 2015 12:54 PM Non-lethal advocate/"Deer Doctor" Sandy Baker was not invited to present at the June 22, 2015 Deer "Management" meeting. I don't believe The Humane Society's Laura Simon was invited either. Only "expert" revealed is deer killer Tony DeNicola. I see that USDA Wildlife Services has been peeking here on Lebo Citizens. They were the group from the 2006-2008 deer killing that then-president Dan Miller fired. God Help Us All. 

Mt. Lebanon residents rally against artificial turf UPDATED

Mt. Lebanon residents rally against artificial turf

By Nick Lewandowski
For The Almanac
writer@thealmanac.net

Flanked by heavy construction equipment and mounds of earth, several dozen Mt. Lebanon residents gathered on Oct. 26 to rally against the installation of artificial turf at Middle and Wildcat fields, in the municipality’s main park. Members of the crowd displayed signs and punctuated speakers’ comments with enthusiastic rounds of applause.

Mt. Lebanon’s turf project has progressed quickly since its proposal in November 2013, despite vocal opposition from a number of residents. Opponents see artificial turf as a pet project of commissioners and sports groups, which are determined to complete it as quickly as possible despite significant cost and safety concerns.

“This process should have been open and inclusive,” resident Jeff Heiskell said. “The commission has ignored our concerns, and instead relied upon obscure studies from other countries and sales material from turf manufacturers for information. Our Public Information Office has assumed the role of spin doctor, referring to ‘field enhancements’ rather than ‘artificial turf.’”

Artificial turf of the type Mt. Lebanon is installing uses infill manufactured from recycled tires. The tire crumbs are known to contain toxic chemicals, including lead and black carbon. Turf manufacturers insist chemicals remain well within acceptable levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency, and that there are no studies proving a link between crumb rubber infill and diseases such as cancer.

The body of research on crumb rubber infill is fragmented and inconclusive, however. While there is no research proving crumb rubber causes cancer, there are no independent studies proving it is completely safe, either. Many studies feature limited samples sizes and differences in methodology that hamper comparability.

Most importantly, turf opponents say, there are no studies involving young children similar to those who will be playing on Mt. Lebanon’s fields. Young children are inherently vulnerable to chemical exposures due to their physiology.

A recent NBC News report added further fuel to the fire after noting a number of young soccer goalies playing on artificial turf have been diagnosed with blood cancers such as lymphoma. It sparked a call from New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone for an official study of artificial turf’s impact on athletes.

Commissioner Kelly Fraasch, the only Mt. Lebanon commissioner to vote against the turf project, echoed those concerns when she addressed the crowd. She accused the commission and municipal staff of moving forward without proper due diligence.

“I asked for a materials safety data sheet for both the turf bid we accepted, and for all the bids,” she said. “Ultimately our staff decided not to provide all the MSDS sheets because they didn’t feel it was relevant. I asked about flame retardants and static applications. When I asked questions, the response I received over and over was ‘I don’t know, I’m not a turf expert.’”

Fraasch said she asked for a roll call vote on the project so commissioners would have to “own” their decision. “I was not going to let them bully me into a yes vote,” she said, to an enthusiastic round of applause.

Fraasch urged rally attendees to get involved in the political process to shut the project down.

“Contact your county council person, your congressman. We need to stand firm on this issue as leaders, not followers. There is nothing wrong with saying ‘I might be wrong, let’s go back and make sure we’re right.’”

**************

I did a phone interview today for CBS Radio. Here is what we got from our Public Information Office.

From: LeboALERT <noreply@mtlebanon.org>To: EGillen476 <EGillen476@aol.com>Sent: Mon, Oct 27, 2014 1:03 pmSubject: LeboALERT: The Nov. issue of Mt... 

This is an important notice from LeboALERT. 

The Nov. issue of Mt. Lebanon Magazine is available at www.lebomag.com. Read
about dog parks, Fire Department inspections, RED gifts & being a freshman.

Update October 27, 2014 5:15 PM My Lebo Citizens camera man sent me this video. Looks like they are having trouble digging down more than 6".

WTAE is at the fields. Story tonight at 11,

Does Our Public Information Office Have These?

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/6937491-74/badges-mayor-police#axzz3G1q4xqDK

Imagine this...

The following letter to the editor was submitted by Lebo Citizens reader and citizen journalist, John Kendrick.

Imagine a world where there was only one source of national news and information. Imagine what it would be like if that source of national information was controlled by the presidential administration - and I don't care which one it is, Bush, O'Bama, Clinton, Reagan, etc.

How would you feel if you were told that this is the "official view / official source" and this is the only source that you were permitted to listen to?

Now consider the Mt Lebanon Public Information Office and Mt Lebanon Magazine. How should we feel about having what is effectively a "state-run" news organization? A news organization that is critical of all other news organizations or information sources that dare to report or to opine with any perspective that is different than the "state-run" entity?

Is this something that we all want to live under?

I don't. But I'd like to hear what all of you think.

Please help the Public Information Office

This was not sent to me by the PIO, but I am doing my part.  I know they would do the same for me. ;)

From: Laura Pace Lilley <lpace@mtlebanon.org>
Date: Tue, Jun 25, 2013 at 1:21 PM
Subject: Mt. Lebanon Magazine in the Final Four of Social Madness!
To: All Employees, Commission


It’s been a great ride: since June 3, mtl — Mt. Lebanon Magazine has been participating in the Pittsburgh Business Times’ Social Madness contest…and we’ve made the FINAL FOUR of the local competition! If we win the national competition, we score $10,000 that will go directly toOutreach Teen & Family Services, a fantastic local service agency that helps children, teens, families --- everyone --- stay healthy and on track.

And the big benefit is we're getting lots of new people engaged on our social media outlets so the word is getting out about our town, from special events to things they need to know, like public meetings, construction and water issues.

But we need your help once again...this round is less than a week in duration and our competitor, ZBrand ad agency, is fierce.


Please vote for us DAILY in the MEDIUM category here: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/socialmadness

Go to our Facebook page and like posts, share posts or comment on posts.

Go to our Twitter page and retweet Tweets!

Please share this on your social media pages, through email, etc. Send to your book clubs, your social groups, your plumber...EVERYBODY.

Once again, thank you very much.
--

Laura Pace Lilley
Senior Editor/Online Editor, mtl—Mt. Lebanon Magazine
Public Information Associate
710 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412.343.3552
www.lebomag.com
www.facebook.com/mtlebanonmagazine
www.twitter.com/mtlmagazine
www.linkedin.com/company/mt-lebanon-municipality
http://www.youtube.com/mtlebanonpio

Meanwhile, back at the Commission

During Monday's Commission Discussion Session scheduled for 6:15 PM, the Commissioners will be discussing, among other things:

• Preliminary discussion about a possible location for an offleash dog park.
• Preliminary 2012 financial results and beginning discussion on fund balance.
• Public information role and services.

The Commission will be introducing an  Ordinance Allowing Domesticated Animals in Twin Hills Trail Park during the regular 8:00 meeting following the Discussion Session. This park is in Scott Township. Has anyone checked to see if the Scott Township Zoning Board permits an animal park? Can we make ordinances for property that is not in Mt. Lebanon? Perhaps that will come up in the Commission Discussion Session.

Beginning discussion on fund balance might be how the Turf Board, I mean the Sports Advisory Board, will be able to get turf snuck in.

Finally, the topic that is near and dear to my heart, "Public information role and services." There is fifteen minutes allotted for that topic. Are there changes in store for the Public Information Office? I am not trying to start any rumors, but it is nice to see that on the agenda.  Defining the role of the PIO is definitely in order here.

New blog coming next month

Steve Feller writes in his weekly report:

The public information office is working on a "Lebo Life" blog that will appear as a tab on lebomag.com and will complement the magazine and its various social media.  The aim of this blog, which should launch within the next month, will be to promote positive and constructive conversations about things that enhance quality of life in Mt. Lebanon. There are about 20 people who will initially post on the blog, with each posting at least twice a month in seven categories, including areas such as family fun, house and garden, travel and leisure, food and drink, etc.

I will be announcing the launch, as soon as I hear more.