Mixed Messages

Long time readers of Lebo Citizens know that I have unsubscribed from the Post-Gazette because of Outdoor Editor John Hayes. Since Mt. Lebanon started their "sharpshooting" once again on February 1, I imagine that we will be seeing another unbiased "article" from Hayes, the PA Game Commission mouthpiece. What I don't understand, are the mixed messages from the PG.

This one appeared a couple of weeks ago. Food plots: How to create a winter wildlife buffet What? How to create a winter wildlife buffet? I'm confused.

This one scares me. Will our brilliant commissioners decide to go this route next year, when we end up paying $7,711 per deer to kill ten deer? The cost will certainly be lower! I wonder how many residents will "donate" their properties for this one. Survey suggests fire may be the only remedy for a deer-killing plague There is nothing in the "Gun Free School Zone Act" that says anything about fires. John Bendel, Steve McLean, Craig, Grella, and Steve Silverman - sound like a good idea to you? And what about you, Susan Morgans? You can continue to be "transparent enough" by publishing the hours to be listed as "late afternoon and evening," not mentioning that the hours really begin one half hour after elementary school children are dismissed.

The hours, for those who really want to know when the shooting begins on undisclosed private properties are 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM, seven days a week. On public properties, the shooting is from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

Another step in the right direction.

From: Michael Riemer <mriemer@mtlsd.net>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc: schoolboard <schoolboard@mtlsd.net>
Sent: Mon, Jan 29, 2018 5:02 pm
Subject: Re: Capital Campaign spreadsheet

Ms. Gillen,

I have spoken with Dr. Steinhauer concerning this matter and moving forward all pieces of the Capital Campaign financial documents will be posted to the website. 

Thank you, 

Mike Riemer 

For the Board 

On Thu, Jan 25, 2018 at 7:56 PM, 'egillen476@aol.com' via SchoolBoard <schoolboardemaillist@mtlsd.net> wrote:

School board directors,

Every month, my friend Nick Meduho would file a Right To Know for the two page Century of Excellence Capital Campaign spreadsheet. I would like to request the two pages for YTD 12/31/17 by emailing the Board, and moving forward, I am requesting that both pages are put on the Capital Campaign website instead of just the one page every month.

Thanks.

Elaine Gillen

Think before you vote

I am frequently asked about the status of my Right To Know case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. My case is concerning the identities of archers and the locations of the private yards where killing deer is taking place.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth. It is also the oldest appellate court in the United States. There is no guarantee that the PA Supreme Court will hear my case. My attorneys had to file a request, known as a Petition for Allowance of Appeal, that explains why my case is important enough to justify review in the Supreme Court.

I understand that approximately 2000 Requests for Appeal are filed each year.  The Court grants review in 2-3% of these cases and is decreasing every year.

The PA Supreme Court has not decided yet if they will hear my case.

Why am I saying all of this? There are two candidates running in the 2nd and 4th wards' commission race who want more killing of deer. Steve Silverman voted to appeal the PA Office of Open Records' Final Determination and wants to keep all records sealed about killing deer in Mt. Lebanon. We don't have the right to know if our neighbors are granting access to archers and those with high powered rifles being discharged in their yards. Craig Grella is afraid of deer, but has no problem with anonymous killers with lethal weapons in undisclosed private properties.

Unfortunately, this decision is in the hands of Ward 2 and Ward 4 voters only. 

There is an election that is community wide, which is also critical. The Timmy Ticket (Caste, Cappucci, Remely, and Birks) will continue to block transparency and open government with their backroom deals and shenanigans. 

Please mark you calendars to vote on May 16.  I am spending my own money to appeal the courts' decisions to keep records private. Let's get Mt. Lebanon back on track to open government. 

Wouldn't it be nice...

if Mt. Lebanon published their monthly expenditure list without having to file a Right To Know? Here is the August 2016 Expenditure List obtained through a RTK.

The school district displays its monthly expenses on a table at every school board meeting. Anyone is free to photograph it. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Jan Klein does an exemplary job with the books. What I am saying is that the municipality needs to be more transparent with the monthly expenditure lists.

Monthly expenditure lists are only available after the commissioners approve the expenses. A resident cannot comment on the expenses before they are approved by the commissioners which are done at the end of commission meetings.

What the municipality can do, but chooses not to, is publish them on their new Open Lebo website https://mtlebanonpa.opengov.com/transparency#/.

If the Municipality would be more transparent, would they have approved Susan Morgans' trip next month to NYC? Mrs. Morgans Goes To The Big Apple Will we get to read about her visit at the very classy hair salon in Manhattan again this year? We already learned about her trip to Napa Valley.  There's two days she can write off as an unreimbursed business expense. 

It is my hope that the monthly expenditure lists become public information without filing RTKs. Utilize Open Lebo. And two, the commissioners actually start looking at these expenses that they approve every month. We know that Dave Brumfield doesn't read them and Mr. "Fiscally Responsible" McLean just glances at them. I don't know about the others. Does Mr. "It's Free" Silverman look at them or does he just like to take widows and Scott Township to court because it's free?

How about publishing the monthly expenditure lists? Let's use Open Lebo more. Transparency would be nice.

Saturday's Commission Goal Setting Session to Review Financial Trends and Public Outreach UPDATED

On Saturday, August 8, 2015, the commission will hold their third goal setting sham...er...I mean... session. According to the agenda, the work session will begin at 8:30 AM and conclude at 11:30 AM.

I am particularly interested in the second item on the agenda.

The following recent email exchange with John Bendel was like pulling teeth.

From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com> 
To: jbendel <bendel@mtlebanon.org> 
Cc: commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; philip.weis <philip.weis@bipc.com>; sfeller <sfeller@mtlebanon.org> 
Sent: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 8:07 am 
Subject: Re: board email addresses 

John,

It appears that "sidestepping transparency and record-keeping laws by using a personal email system" is making national news. I do hope the commission decides to take a positive step forward and do the right thing for Mt. Lebanon.

Elaine  

-----Original Message----- 
From: egillen476 < egillen476@aol.com> 
To: jbendel < jbendel@mtlebanon.org> 
Cc: commission < commission@mtlebanon.org>; philip.weis < philip.weis@bipc.com>; sfeller < sfeller@mtlebanon.org> 
Sent: Mon, Aug 3, 2015 5:24 pm 
Subject: Re: board email addresses 

Hi John,

Thank you for bringing this up at the next work session. To answer your question in one word, "Yes." But it is more than just that. If you go on the municipal website under Boards and Authorities ( http://mtlebanon.org/index.aspx?NID=29 ) you will not see any staff liaisons listed for the Parks Advisory Board, for example. If you go to the page for the Parks Advisory Board ( http://mtlebanon.org/index.aspx?NID=75 ) Tom Kelley's email address is still listed with no mention of a commission liaison. Because I am friends with the head of the PAB, I was able to send Hugh an email about some issues last year concerning Rockwood Park. At that time, I told him my thoughts about having an email address for each board, and he thought it was a good idea. It would beneficial if residents had a way to contact each group. This was around the time when Tom Kelley stormed out of a meeting.

Each board email address could be set up just like the commission's email system, commission@mtlebanon.org, For Parks Advisory Board, it would be PAB@mtlebanon.org., Parking would be parking@mtlebanon.org, etc. 

Just as you are to be using mtlebanon.org for your emails, board members would be required to use their mtlebanon.org emails for municipal business, something that would make Steve Feller's job a lot easier when filling requests for open records. The boards are subject to right to knows. This would make Mt. Lebanon more transparent and also allow residents an easier way to provide input to the advisory boards. As you know, attending meetings can be difficult for residents.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Elaine

-----Original Message----- 
From: John Bendel < jbendel@mtlebanon.org> 
To: egillen476 < egillen476@aol.com> 
Cc: commission < commission@mtlebanon.org>; philip.weis < philip.weis@bipc.com>; sfeller < sfeller@mtlebanon.org> 
Sent: Mon, Aug 3, 2015 6:52 am 
Subject: Re: board email addresses 

Elaine,

We can bring this up at the resident engagement discussion session. 

Can you help narrow for me your specific question, do you want to be able to provide input to the advisory boards?

On Aug 2, 2015, at 1:03 PM, " egillen476@aol.com" < egillen476@aol.com> wrote:

Thanks for your response, John. The problem with the current system is that none of the boards' emails are available through Right to Know requests unless they have included a commissioner or a staff person in their email exchanges. It makes Steve Feller's job more difficult trying to track down emails for Open Records requests. I have been working toward a change in this system for a couple of years now. It would lead to a more transparent government. Isn't that what you folks strive for? I would hope so. 

Please consider adding my request to your next work session on public outreach. 

Thank you.

Elaine

-----Original Message----- 
From: John Bendel < jbendel@mtlebanon.org> 
To: egillen476 < egillen476@aol.com> 
Cc: commission < commission@mtlebanon.org>; ddonnellan < ddonnellan@mtlebanon.org> 
Sent: Sun, Aug 2, 2015 9:21 am 
Subject: Re: board email addresses 

Elaine,

You are correct the SAB's next scheduled meeting is September 3. There is an opportunity to address the SAB at citizen comments during each Board meeting. The specific issue you brought up regarding the turf field was handled the through the proper channels - you informed the SAB staff liaison and the person responsible for the field, David Donnellan, and the Commission. 

On Jul 29, 2015, at 7:40 AM, "' egillen476@aol.com' via Commission" < commission@mtlebanon.org> wrote:

John,

I appreciate your response. Thank you.

The next Sports Advisory Board meeting is September 3, 2015, unless it is canceled. It would still be helpful if taxpayers had a way to contact boards via an email address.

Elaine 


-----Original Message----- 
From: John Bendel < jbendel@mtlebanon.org> 
To: egillen476 < egillen476@aol.com> 
Cc: commission < commission@mtlebanon.org>; Recreation David Donnellan < ddonnellan@mtlebanon.org> 
Sent: Tue, Jul 28, 2015 10:19 PM 
Subject: Re: board email addresses 

Elaine,

Recreation Director Donnellan is aware of the issues at middle and wildcat fields and is taking steps to address them. He is the person that is responsible for programming and operations. The Sports Advisory Board will discuss this at an upcoming meeting.

On Jul 27, 2015, at 5:59 PM, "' egillen476@aol.com' via Commission" < commission@mtlebanon.org> wrote:

Commissioners,

This is one of those situations where residents need an email address to contact the Sports Advisory Board. The 'crown jewel" that was forced upon taxpayers is being abused. It isn't a difficult request. All that is needed is something like SAB@mtlebanon.org .

Elaine Gillen

Item 2a is rather concerning to me. According to Susan Morgans, there is no value in public engagement. Remember this post? "We see no value to Mt. Lebanon residents of releasing daily reports," Asking Susan Morgans what causes citizens who might otherwise contribute to disengage is rather comical. She could answer that question with two words. Susan Morgans.

Update August 5, 2015 10:08 PM Honestly, how much are we paying these folks? Here's another email sent to the commission, Steve Feller, and Phil Weis.

John,

I just checked the Boards and Authorities webpage ( http://mtlebanon.org/index.aspx?NID=29 ) and see that it has been updated. Thank you. However, if you click on Steve Silverman's name for the Parks Advisory Board and Community Relations Board, Dave Brumfield's email pops up, not Steve Silverman's. 

Thanks for your help.

Elaine Gillen

About those non-municipal funds...

To bring any new Lebo Citizen readers up to speed, Mt. Lebanon commissioners made an agreement with the Sports Advisory Board concerning the funding of the toxic turf at Wildcat and Middle Fields. 75% municipal funds and 25% non-municipal funds. The financial proposal was never put in writing in any commission minutes. It was stated in the mtl Magazine article, field fundraising underway, that the non-municipal share would be $250,000, not 25% of the project as originally proposed. Donations were held by the Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment for a small fee. The identity of the donors were never made public.

Earlier this week, Mayor Peduto came under fire when anonymous donations were made on a recent episode of "Undercover Boss."  'Boss' gifts to Pittsburgh employees from Peduto raise questions

“They should disclose the donors to reassure the public that (donors) won't end up getting grants and contracts based on their benevolence.

We know that Gateway Engineers made out well by donating at least $4,000 to the turf project. That's for another post. Stay tuned.

Peduto promises to disclose identities of "Undercover Boss" donors 

Barry Kauffman, executive director of Pennsylvania Common Cause, said Peduto is obligated to share the information in the interest of transparency. Even though the money is coming from private donors, it's being funneled through a public agency.

Lebo Citizen readers were made aware of missing Mt. Lebanon sports organizations' 990's in these posts about 990s.  I called for better transparency. I see that I am not alone. Watchdogs call for better transparency of nonprofits' IRS filings 

So, President Elect John Bendel and Sports Advisory Board commission liaison, when are you going to share the information in the interest of transparency?

How low can we go?

I found the 2010 lean and clean and smart annual report produced by the Public Information Office on the municipal website. So many changes since 2010!

Concerning the cover of the report, the PIO writes: "What better symbol of Mt. Lebanon’s clean, transparent government than water splashing from the fountain at Clearview Common, a popular Uptown gathering space." I don't think I had submitted any Right To Knows for the municipal side of our government at that point. Former commissioner Dan Miller took pride in sharing documents with residents.

In 2010, our municipal government was tightening its belt. Manager Steve Feller writes: "Kept the undesignated fund balance at above 10 percent, the amount recommended by rating agencies." This year, as a result of our greedy Commission, Moody downgraded our ratings. Moody's reports challenges to be:

CHALLENGES:
Below average fund balance
Large overlapping debt with local school district

The spending of $800,000 on artificial turf violates the terms of the ordinance established by the commission.  The ordinance states that unassigned funds Cannot be used for regularly scheduled and reoccurring operational expenditures. The artificial turf is to be replaced every eight years.

Recycling is up, "increased participation over two years by 89 percent." Now we are faced with another hidden tax a.k.a. "Pay as You Throw" next month, to encourage more residents to recycle. 

Look at the partnerships:

"Share services, form partnerships; right-size and reduce redundancies
This is just good common sense. Here are a few examples:
• Signed a new two-year agreement with the school district
and the Youth Soccer Association for continued maintenance
of school athletic fields.
• Implemented the “Go Zone” uniform signage program with
the school district.
• Decided to consolidate parking authority operations into
municipal government by December 31, 2011.
• Developed a retail management and promotions strategy for
Uptown in partnership with Duquesne University."

The two year agreement with the school district and the YSA (Youth Sports Alliance, NOT the Youth Soccer Association) was a disaster. Now, the commission has chosen to enter into another maintenance agreement with the school district for Middle and Wildcat Fields.

The "Go Zone" is a disaster and has been discussed here on Lebo Citizens.

The Parking Authority was consolidated, but I'm not clear on how the funds are being spent in regard to the latest bond issue.

Retail management and promotions strategy: We couldn't have a finer manager of the Commercial Districts Office, but the TOD is going nowhere, thanks to our commission.

"Coffee with the Manager, a community relations board program that invites residents to discuss issues with the staff informally at a coffee house." and "People don’t always have time to attend public meetings, so they appreciated Coffee with the Manager, a community relations board program that promotes transparent government by inviting residents to meet informally with Manager Steve Feller and other staff members at a local coffee house." Coffee with the Manager is history. Susan Morgans said that it was not well attended. I believe the last coffee was concurrent with the Candidates Forum. 

Changes include the power structure of our municipal government. For instance, the organizational chart shows the Boards are higher on the organizational chart than staff. Now, the staff tells the Boards "how it is." 

An interesting read on undesignated funds:

The total fund balance is the difference between assets and liabilities in a specific fund of the municipality. The undesignated portion of the fund balance represents expendable available resources that can be spent for emergencies and future uncertainties. In the General Fund, the municipality’s primary operating fund, the undesignated fund balance decreased by $487,434 from 2009 to 2010. This decrease was caused by use of fund balance in the 2011 budget and a designation for 2012 to help with pension contributions. The municipality has worked to increase the General Fund’s undesignated fund balance from a low of 4.1 percent of operating revenues in 2004. Rating agency and industry standards recommend an undesignated fund balance in the General Fund to be 5 to 15 percent of operating revenues. At year-end 2010, the General Fund undesignated fund balance was 11 percent.

Newcomers should read about real estate trends.

While the real estate market has significantly declined in other areas of the country, the values in Mt. Lebanon have not been as vulnerable. After a dip in average sales price in 2008, the prices in Mt. Lebanon showed recovery in 2009 and remained steady in 2010. The average sales price increased a mere 0.1 percent from 2009 to 2010. The number of properties sold has been constant in the past, but in the last few years has been far more market sensitive.

We are moving in the wrong direction. There is less transparency, more debt and wreckless spending, lower fund balance, poorer ratings, and the staff is out of control. Have I missed anything?

My meeting with Rep. Miller

Yesterday, I met with State Representative Dan Miller, Commissioner Kelly Fraasch, and former Mt. Lebanon Commission President Matt Kluck. The topic was transparency in Mt. Lebanon. I had attended Rep. Miller's Right To Know Information Session in November and know that transparency in government is very important to Dan.

I am extremely frustrated with what is happening within the Municipality. Just trying to get an email to the Planning Board was an ordeal. I sent an email to Municipal Planner Keith McGill asking him to forward my email to the members of the Planning Board. On the subject of the Planning Board, the meeting last night was in the commission chambers and was not video recorded, even though a staff person was paid to sit there and video record it. Here is an email exchange that I had with Commissioner Fraasch and Keith McGill. Kelly has had a difficult time getting all the boards and authority meetings videotaped. No consistency whatsoever.

I suggested that the boards get their own email addresses, such as sportsadvisoryboard at mtlebanon dot org. It is ludicrous that we cannot reach the boards via email.

Another problem that I have is the lack of transparency when it comes to personal emails and text messages for RTK requests. A Right To Know was granted to me yesterday, after my meeting. My RTK was:

All communication to/from Commissioners for March 11, 12, and 13, 2014 pertaining to turf, Castlegate, Newcomer's tax, and/or about residents or guests who spoke at the March 11, 2014 meeting during Citizens Comments.

I filed an appeal today with the Office Of Open Records over an email exchange from that RTK request in which Kristen Linfante had with Kelly Fraasch. Kristen had sent an email to the commission and copied staff about a citizen who challenged the turf project during Citizen Comments at a commission meeting. The reason why I appealed the RTK is because her personal email, sent by a constituent, was not included in the RTK. I also challenged the RTK because I never get any text messages included in any of my RTKs. I am still waiting for a final determination of a previous appeal that was sent to the OOR for the very same thing.

I couldn't believe I was saying this at Dan's meeting yesterday, but the MTLSD website does not list phone numbers of the school board members, only email addresses in their contact information. The municipality should follow MTLSD, and adopt the same policy. (I know! Can you believe that I said that??) By including phone numbers, residents are encouraged to text message or call commissioners and makes it virtually impossible to access that information for Right To Know requests.

I also raised questions about the turf project. There seems to be a lot of secrecy when it comes to this turf project. Even fundraising has raised flags. I want to share an email exchange that came to me today over the fundraising email sent out by the Recreation Department's Sandy Kyper.

From: Stephen Feller [mailto:sfeller@mtlebanon.org]
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 2:57 PM
To: A Concerned Resident
Cc: David Donnellan
Subject: your question

I am told that the email was sent to the addresses on the recreation program notification data base and that this includes over 8,000 addresses that have asked to be notified about recreation programs and facility updates. Some of these folks do not live in Mt. Lebanon. 

OVER EIGHT THOUSAND ADDRESSES? The “recreation program notification database” solely belongs to the Municipality for Municipality specific use and it was used to benefit the Soccer Association, the Lacrosse Association and the Endowment, which are all third party independent organizations.

Finally, I would like to share an email exchange, which was a followup to Rep. Miller's meeting. I do hope changes are made as a result of my meeting.

Hack for Change

Happy National Day of Civic Hacking!

National Day of Civic Hacking is a national event that takes place today and tomorrow, in cities across the nation. The event will bring together citizens, software developers, and entrepreneurs from all over the nation to collaboratively create, build, and invent new solutions using publicly-released data, code and technology to solve challenges relevant to our neighborhoods, our cities, our states and our country. National Day of Civic Hacking will provide citizens an opportunity to do what is most quintessentially American: roll up our sleeves, get involved and work together to improve our society.

Some FAQs:

Q. What is National Day of Civic Hacking?
A. National Day of Civic Hacking is an event during which citizens from around the country will work together with local, state and federal governments as well as private sector organizations with the common goal of improving their community.

Q. When and where will it take place?
A. National Day of Civic Hacking will take place in cities across America on the weekend of June 1-2, 2013.

Q. Who is leading the National Day of Civic Hacking?
A. National Day of Civic Hacking is a national initiative to promote transparency, participation and collaboration between governments and citizens. It’s a collaboration between citizens, organizations, companies and government. Events will take place in cities around the nation.

Bringing it home, the purpose of this blog is to promote transparency, participation and collaboration between governments and citizens. On a personal level, I see it happening between the municipality (with some exceptions) and citizens, but the school district has dug its heels in deeper to discourage transparency, participation and collaboration. The school board directors, on the whole, are secretive, ignore residents' emails, dismiss detailed budget presentations given by residents, reject professional input (CAC), roll their eyes at opposing viewpoints, and on and on.

What exactly happened at the school board meeting?

I have had a couple of emails asking about David Huston's comment at last night's school board meeting. Here is part of one email exchange.

Could you (or if you'd prefer, feel free to forward this to Mr. Huston) explain, in simple terms, the Sunshine Act and how it applied to the meeting last night from your perspective? Thank you so much!

 My response:

Thank you for contacting me through the blog. I have copied David Huston on this email. Do you know that the podcast is available here? http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Podcasts/Entries/2012/7/16_School_Board_Discussion_Business_Meeting.html

For information on the Sunshine Act, I have this link on the website as well. http://www.elc-pa.org/pubs/downloads%202009/GettingInformationAboutYourSchool6-09.pdf under http://www.lebocitizens.com/Lebo_Citizens/Right_to_Know.html 

I found this website too that might be helpful. http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Pennsylvania_Sunshine_Act 

Here is what I see as the issue about having the meetings combined. The first meeting in the month is when there is discussion about an agenda item. The school board is very tight lipped about their agenda items. These issues were introduced (briefly) and then voted upon all in one motion. David is absolutely correct in what he said.

David Huston explained it much better.  Here is what he wrote:

I wish more people tried to find out what is going on. I could sit here and type many hours all about the Sunshine Act, but for now I will attempt to clarify what I said last night.

Our lawmakers crafted the Sunshine Act specifically to allow folks to not only see government function but also to allow and encourage public participation. It's why we go to government meetings, and gets to the very reason America its allegiance with Great Britain. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the oldest civilized government on the North American continent, with the Pennsylvania State Constitution the first contract with its citizenry.

From the Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S.A. Section 702:
The General Assembly finds that the right of the public to be present at all meetings of agencies and to witness the deliberation, policy formulation and decisionmaking of agencies is vital to the enhancement and proper functioning of the democratic process and that secrecy in public affairs undermines the faith of the public in government and the public's effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society.

It is truly a shame the Sunshine Act is not adhered to or enforced the way its authors intended.

Much more information is available at:
http://www.pafoic.org/

Typically the School Board has two open meetings a month. One is the Discussion meeting, and the second one is the Business meeting. This month we had a "Combined" meeting. I do not think it is possible to have a combined meeting. You can only have one meeting, then another; but never two combined into one.
So, we either:
1) Skipped the Discussion meeting this month and only have a Business meeting
  -- This is what I think actually happened
or
2) Go along with what Posti and the agenda stated and have both meetings at the same time.
  --It is not possible for this to happen, but it is my premise for the Sunshine Act violation

Here is the part of the Sunshine Act our School District violated last night:
65 Pa.C.S.A. Section 708 (6)(b) Procedure. The executive session may be held during an open meeting, at the conclusion of an open meeting, or may be announced for a future time. The reason for holding the executive session must be announced at the open meeting occurring immediately prior or subsequent to the executive session.

The District, according to both the agenda and Posti, held both the Discussion meeting and the Business meeting at the same time. The open meeting occurring immediately subsequent to the executive session was the Discussion meeting. The District started the second open meeting, the Business meeting, without announcing the reason for the executive session during the Discussion meeting. The District did not announce the reason for holding the executive session at the open meeting occurring immediately subsequent to the executive session.

I am not a lawyer, but I know when the District is violating the Sunshine Act.

David Huston

I am aware that some school districts may eliminate some summer meetings, but to me, that is not an excuse. Historically, the summer is when things get slipped in here in Mt. Lebanon. If you listen to Josephine Posti, she was encouraging the media to request the list of liened properties for the 2011 tax year. I filed a RTK but I have mixed emotions about publishing it, if or when I get my RTK granted. This is not transparency in my mind.  How many of the liened properties are due to bankruptcy? Josephine seemed delighted to publish the list. How about sharing the salaries? How much did Timmy get? Or Jan?  What exactly was the technicality regarding Jan's salary? How about some transparency there, School Board? To sound excited over people's hardships sounds a little twisted to me. I know that I may be sounding hypocritical since I wanted to publish the scofflaws, but I think this is different.  

Is this what they are trying to sneak in?

The School Board usually has two meetings per month, a discussion meeting followed by a business meeting (a voting meeting) the following week. For the first time that I am aware of, the School Board will have the discussion meeting and the voting meeting all rolled into one on Monday, July 16.  The agenda has some irregularities this time.

(2) Revision to 2012-2013 Administrative Salaries – The Board will be asked to approve a revised list of salary adjustments for administrators previously approved by the Board. Revision to 2012-2013 Administrative Salaries: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the revised 2012-2013 list of annual salary adjustments for administrators effective July 1, 2012 

(3) Act 93 Administrative Agreement – The Board will be asked to consider an Act 93 agreement with the District’s administrators. Act 93 Administrative Agreement: RESOLVED, That the Board approves the Act 93 Administrative Pay for Performance Plan as presented effective July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017.

A revision to the administrative salaries?  What are they? Will we find out after they are approved? Where is the transparency?

Act 93 Administrative Agreement - isn't that Jan Klein?  Is she getting a raise? Where is her agreement? Will we have to file a Right To Know? Again, where is the transparency?

I am sure that Josephine Posti will say that the Board is transparent. Look at:

(6) Publication of Listing of Liened Taxes – Annually, the Board approves the publication of all properties on which taxes for the prior year have not yet been paid. This list is provided by the Tax Office and is recommended for public view. The Superintendent recommends approval of this action.

List of Liened Taxes: RESOLVED, That the Board approves for public display the list of liened taxes for the 2011 tax year.

They are quick to approve for public display the list of liened taxes, but what about YSA payments for the Joint Maintenance Agreement? Why am I waiting for 30 days to find out the status of my RTK? We don't want to shame them, now do we?

Josephine Reflects on the State Budget

Over on Center Court blog, Josephine Posti writes:

An editorial that ran in the Post-Gazette on Tuesday that describes the frustrating closed-door state budget process that included "deals" ranging from new teacher evaluations to a Marcellus Shale drilling ban in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. 

The governor's plan links public school teacher performance reviews to student achievement. Is that a bad thing? Is she disappointed that public schools must be accountable?

I don't understand her drilling ban comment. Drillers are PA American Water's largest customers. If she starts railing against drilling, she'll be unemployed quickly.

Josephine continues.

In regards to the teacher evaluation language that was approved, this new evaluation process does not apply to charter schools, further expanding the gap between the accountability and transparency public schools must adhere to while using tax dollars to fund schools without financial or academic oversight by local elected officials or taxpayers.

Oops, there it is. Accountability and transparency that public schools must adhere to. Accountability and transparency. As opposed to the closed-door meetings Posti lobbied for with the commissioners, the stealthy accounting practices with the YSA, and the "let's make sure we don't have a quorum Steinhauer Panera coffee klatches which were revealed in a Right To Know about the feasibility study. The same woman who tells her constituents to file Right To Know requests and when we do, they require 30 day extensions for legal reviews?  I have to check my records to see how much longer I have to wait for my two outstanding RTK requests concerning YSA payments.

Speaking of the feasibility study, how much longer do we have to wait for the Feasibility Study results? Will everything be revealed during the single School Board meeting being held in July. The School Board will hold a combined discussion/regular voting meeting on July 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jefferson Middle School Library. This is a first. Last year, there were two meetings in July. I am anxious to hear about the feasibility study. I understand that one of PK's clients, Washington National Cathedral has this want ad. http://www.nationalcathedral.org/jobs/JOB-5MQTL-76001E.shtml Didn't it work out with Pursuant Ketchum? Everything is written in past tense. http://www.pursuant.com/?s=Washington++national+cathedral As of March, they had only raised $2 million of the $20 million they needed to fix the earthquake damage. http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/3/13/repairs-funds-are-slow-going-quake-damaged-nationa/ Did this group take over? http://www.oai-usa.com/our-clients/community Sure wish we had that $41,000 plus travel expenses. On that same note, I saw this article in Pittsburgh Business Times where the State disagrees with Cal U over their $6 million fund which was used for things like a feasibility study.  http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/morning-edition/2012/07/state-of-pennsylvania-and-cal-u.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search

Someone sent me this link. Everything You Need to Know About Public School Spending in Less Than 2 1/2 Minutes I hope our school board directors take the time to view the video. Here is a screen capture from the video. Consider it a preview of coming attractions.

Did we learn to do more with less?

Mary Niederberger wrote in Thursday's PG,

In public education circles, 2011 was the year that officials quickly learned how to do more with less.

Was it?  I must have missed something. No student fees.  No furloughs. No voluntary wage freezes. No program reductions. No larger classes. Nope, not Mt. Lebanon. Instead, we approved a construction project that will undoubtedly appear in the 2013 Pittsburgh Business Times Book of Lists for "Largest Active Pittsburgh-Area Construction Projects."

It is December 31, 2011, a time for me to reflect.  There are many residents in Mt. Lebanon who tried to make a difference.  I am not going to name names since I run the risk of forgetting someone, but we all know who they are.  I started this blog and continued the website so that we could hold our elected officials accountable, to allow the readers of this blog to force them to be transparent and provide information when they refused, and to vent when we lose control of our own government. 

I will take anonymous comments one last time.  December 31 is a time for all of us to reflect.

As James Fraasch would say, "Thanks for reading."

Happy New Year

Elaine

This is how it works, Josephine

Remember this?  Baldwin's McNeilly Park Dan Miller sent me a map showing the boundary lines. I asked him about it yesterday.  I got it today.
Map of McNeilly Park
Dan explained that the red corner of the property is in Baldwin.  It is in the lower right hand corner of the park. 

This is how it works, Josephine.  We had questions about McNeilly Park and we got answers.  I am still waiting to get a response from SOMEONE on the board about the 25 questions that I sent last Saturday, October 1. We have ten optimistic voters who believe you will answer our questions about the high school project.  In fact, five sincerely believe we will get nine individual responses from the board.

Thanks again, Dan. 

Still nothing

No response yet from any of the board members concerning your high school renovation questions. I saw three board members yesterday at the Policy meeting and nothing was said by them or me. Two of them will be on both ballots next month.  76% of the votes cast on the poll are not optimistic. Does that tell you something?  It doesn't look good.

Doomsday forecasts are a thing of the past

On Tuesday, I posted this thread on Lebo Citizens. Oh Budget...Where arrrre youuuuu? On Wednesday, this appeared on Jospehine Posti's Center Court blog:

We've learned that what makes a good sound byte: "Let's go through the budget line item by line item!" doesn't make strategic, long-term changes or systematic improvements.  Promoting rhetoric about Doomsday forecasts doesn't paint an accurate picture and doesn't develop trust among Board members necessary for the hard work ahead. 
Because it's election season, I've heard some rhetoric during the past couple of weeks about how the District's spending is "out of control" and am here to tell you that it's very much in control, less than last year's spending and well-managed as we tackle future challenges such as PSERS and the renovation project.  We've also improved budget communication this year, sending information to homes and to employees and provided better information on the District website.  

Am I to understand that we will no longer see forecasts - Doomsday or otherwise?  Have they gone down the same path as the Audit and Finance Committee? Does improving budget communication this year translate into showing no budget at all? And how is this about developing trust among Board members?  Is this another case of the new and improved transparent Board??

Remember the School District Policy Committee meeting conflict?

While I was making a pdf (why isn't the School District doing that?) of the May 3 Policy Committee meeting agenda for lebocitizens.com, I noticed this:


Policy Committee meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 4:30 p.m. in Conference Room B, Mt. Lebanon High School, unless otherwise noted.


Remember how I have been asking for volunteers to record the 4:30 meeting since it conflicts with residents' work schedules?  The Policy Committee meetings have been officially changed to 4:30 p.m.  Great.  These meetings are very important.  They represent the reason for the School Board's existence. 
One of the School Board Operating Principles is to 


Establish the parameters under which the district operates by creating policy consistent with law, community expectations and educational excellence to achieve goals represented by the strategic plan.


How can the School Board create policies consistent of community expectations, when the community can't take time off from work to comment?
They advocate transparency and encourage citizen participation, but schedule the most important committee meetings during standard work hours. The Commission just started to broadcast the Discussion sessions (Commissioner DeIuliis was the only commissioner to vote against this) and now, the School District has the Policy meetings scheduled for 4:30 every month.  How about moving them to the High School Library, Folks?  Broadcast those meetings for the community.  You did away with the Audit and Finance Committee meetings, and now you are making it virtually impossible to attend Policy Committee meetings.

Update 3:49 p.m.: PSBA Board Standards & Code

End of Discussion Sessions as We Know Them

Tonight was the last Discussion Session to be held in the Caucus Room.  End of an era.  From now on, the Commission Discussion Sessions will be televised in the Commission Chambers, just as the regular and adjourned Commission meetings have been televised since the spring of 2009. Thanks goes out to Dan Miller, Raja, Dave Brumfield, and Matt Kluck for voting this through.  Joe DeIuliis pointed out that he was against the televised meetings on October 13, 2008, and he voted against broadcasting the Discussion Meetings tonight, as well. We know where Joe stands on transparency.  We know where I do too.

You can hear the vote about televising the discussion meetings here approximately fifty minutes into the meeting.

On the bright side...

The Commissioners are considering broadcasting the Commission Discussion sessions beginning April 25, 2011.   The Commission began broadcasting its regular and adjourned meetings in the spring of 2009.  I was hoping you would start this since I was the only one recording the discussion sessions for lebocitizens.com. Thank you!!!  Government transparency at its finest.  Municipal agenda for April 12, 2011.

When you can't have closed meetings, schedule conflicting meetings

This was in last week's Trib.   Mt. Lebanon officials won't agree to closed meetings

"It's a gray area, and I err on the side of caution," said Mt. Lebanon Solicitor Philip Weis, who advised the commissioners that the meetings would be better off open to the public.
"We'd rather give (the public) more than give less and be at fault," Miller said.
Posti, who took over as board president in December, said she wanted to schedule the meetings to foster more communication between the school district and the municipality.

Brumfield initially voted with commissioners DeIuliis and D. Raja for the closed meetings as long as they had some method for public review, such as published agendas. But after Weis reviewed the law, Brumfield said he changed his mind.