TAX ACTION NEEDED NOW!

Several members of the Scranton-Lackawanna County Taxpayers and Citizens Assn. traveled by car to Harrisburg last week to join a rally at the State Capitol. The rally was in support of House Bill 1275 (HB1275) billed as the “Save Our Homes” rally.

The local group joined some 30 other taxpayers association from around the state to rally for passage of the bill which would essentially eliminate the school property tax. Several hundred taxpayers heard state Rep. Keith McCall (D-Carbon County), the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the House and several other elected state Reps. Call for passage of the bill. “It can be done. The only thing that is required is leadership and the will”, proclaimed Rep. McCall. The rally, organized by the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition and state Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks County), calls for the bill, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, to be passed to afford Pennsylvanians tax relief at a much needed time.

McCall said education funding must enter modern reality. “It makes no sense to use a 19^th century tax to fund a 20^th century education,” he said. Citing the fact that people around the state are losing their homes to sheriffs’ sales, Clarion County Commissioner Donna Oberlander said many politicians and interest groups in Harrisburg want this issue to just go away.

Rohrer played tape recordings of homeowners from around the state, One, from Paul Davis of Stewartstown, a retiree living with his wife on social security was particularly poignant. Davis, who previously suffered a stroke, lives in a school district that raised his property taxes to the maximum level possible before it must go to a referendum.

David Baldinger, the face behind PTCC, representing more than two dozen taxpayers groups, said the updated version of HB 1275 has been thoroughly vetted by professional accountants, is supported by taxpayers, and has secured bipartisan support. Gov. Ed Rendell recently told a newspaper that he would sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk. Baldinger said, “These combined forces should spell success this time. There can be no more excuses.” An earlier version of the bill received little support from the majority Democrats in the house.

Representatives from both parties were afforded the opportunity to speak out on the issue while throngs filled the capitol rotunda, staircase and gallery. Some taxpayers cited a raise in school property taxes of some $4,000 to $5,000 over a five year period. Citing his vulnerability, one taxpayer stated, “There are people who have the power to take my home away, School board members have the ability to take my house away by their poor decisions.” Another, a Neshaminy School District board member, said educational reform and relief are needed. He theorized the reason change hasn’t happened yet is because legislators feel “safe” with the status quo on education funding. “We didn’t put you in office to feel safe…we elected you to be agents of change!” he concluded.

Gene Endress of the Owen J. Roberts Taxpayer Alliance said, “a lot of legislators are up for reelection in November and their votes on this issue could decide whether or not they keep their seats.

Under the bill, school property taxes would be phased out over 3 years; the state sales tax would remain at 6% but would be expanded to more goods and services; and all money raised for education would be placed in a special fund which would not allow the state to borrow from it. Districts would be allowed to supplement state funding with local personal income tax or earned income tax, but only if their voters agree in a referendum.

Other benefits would include reducing this areas earned income tax by 1% to a more acceptable 2.4% and would virtually eliminate the Scranton School Districts over $200 million in long-term indebtedness, according to Robert “Ozzie” Quinn, president of the S-LCT&CA. According to Quinn, when the sales tax was adopted some 40 years ago, it was for school districts, but the “politicians were able to bury what it was adopted for.”

Scranton and Lackawanna taxpayers and citizens are urged to join the local group and to become active members. The next meeting is slated for June 12^th at Scranton City Hall at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend and to join the group.

Local Representatives Frank Shimkus, Ken Smith, Ed Staback and Jim Wansacz have failed to support the bill and are under fire by local constituents for their inaction! It is believed that their actions will greatly affect the outcome of their reelection campaigns.

SCRANTON CITIZENS AGAIN IGNORED

Recent action by City Council and other city officers is indicative of the seeming contempt the elected officials have for Scranton citizens. Two weeks ago newly-appointed Tax Collector Marilyn Vitali-Flynn, and her solicitor John J. McGovern Jr. alienated taxpayers and Council alike by inferring her office and her duties were none of anyone’s business, insulting Councilman Bill Courtright publicly. She later seemed to tone down her remarks and to answer questions.

This week, after a call to subpoena former Tax Collector Ken McDowell, his solicitor Dave Rinaldi “spoke with City Council solicitor Amil Minora” to discuss a meeting with Council where McDowell would answer questions.

Since when do elected officials meet through solicitors, instead of with elected officials and citizens, to “discuss” issues? One can only assume that there is something to hide if an elected official is reluctant to face the citizens who elected him or her to office. I don’t recall electing McGovern, Rinaldi or Minora to represent my interests and I don’t know of any statute which affords them the right to speak for elected officials or citizens when an official is called to answer. Sure they have the right to represent their clients, but their clients have a duty to answer to the public. If there is questionable activity under the leadership of an elected official, they have every right to counsel, but if they are not trying to conceal their activities, using counsel strictly to evade being open and honest to the citizens, then there must be something to hide, one would assume. Either face the public or quit your job. You are not “royalty” and above the law.

Enter Roseanne Novembrino, Controller, who has been on the job for over 20 years. She claims to have had no knowledge that tax office activities were supposed to be monitored by her office. Okay….what planet has she been on? And what does that say about her qualifications? How long would a hamburger flipper at a fast-food restaurant last if he couldn’t flip a burger?

Something is very, very wrong in Scranton and it needs open airing! Every elected official, every appointed official, and everyone on the city payroll is subject to scrutiny by taxpayers and its about time these people were made aware of that fact. The taxpayers pay the bills and they also pay the salaries. Don’t try to hoodwink us with your “holier than thou” attitude!

REVISE THE JR. COUNCIL OR DUMP IT

The once well-intended Scranton Jr. Council has outlived its intended purpose which never seems to have been fulfilled. What started out as a good idea eroded into a one boy show for Doug Miller who got a little too high and mighty and couldn’t keep a council together. Where these kids should have been learning, they were allowed to think and act for themselves and the situation got out of hand. Instead of being guided by the Council, they were instead “groomed” for whatever purpose and took it upon themselves to think they were an official body, often acting as if they were superior to the citizens attending.

If the Jr. Council is to be continued, and we see no reason why it shouldn’t, more mature young people should be encouraged to become members. We refer to college students who are studying political science, civics, government, etc. There is a need to involve young people in local government but restrictions need to be placed on them. It should not be a forum for fostering one’s own youthful ideas at the expense of taxpayers who have a right to speak on subjects germane to Council activities. Certainly concerns of youth should be addressed, but Jr. Council members should not be accorded special privilege and should address the council member who is assigned to mentor them, at a pre-meeting or after the regular meeting, not as an equal partner to Council.

It has become distasteful to many citizens, both those in attendance, and those who watch the TV broadcasts, to see a high school student berate adults and taxpayers because he or she does not agree with them If these kids are to learn, the purpose for which the Jr. Council was formed, they need to listen and have guidance, not be free to act on their own or as spokesmen for others who encourage their own agendas. Fix it or dump it!

CHANNEL 61 FIASCO

Channel 61, the Public Access TV channel which has performed a great service to the area, is once again under fire by the Mayor and the City Council who are attempting to wrest control from Scranton Today. It is apparent that our city leaders wish to silence this volunteer group and to turn the public access channel over the political cronies.

Not very long ago the group asked for $20,000 to help them keep broadcasting. A unanimous vote was taken and the promise made to afford them the money. Shortly thereafter, the Council voted 3-2 to deny them the funds, following the Doherty Trio 3 votes to the 2 votes cast in favor of Scranton taxpayers. Then Mayor Doherty, after stating he would not get involved, managed to pull off a coup by seeing to it that the “franchise” was awarded to a group of his cronies. This group sought to reap some $175,000 of the allotted funding from the Comcast payout to the city, for “Phase One” operations.

Another group, NEPATV sought to acquire the rights to the project but their proposal was never afforded consideration. Instead, the “committee” voted in favor of Doherty;s ECTV “gang”. The NEPATV group filed a protest with the Ethics (in Scranton?) Committee, said missive was delivered via registered mail and signed for, yet no action was ever taken and the City Council knows nothing of the letter. The letter was sent and delivered in early February.

We submitted all three proposals to friends in the industry, including one former top-executive with White-Westinghouse. The unanimous opinion was that if Scranton Today was to be relegated to a “thanks but no thanks” role, the franchise should have been awarded to the NEPA group since their proposal was solid and sound. We have also heard from readers around Scranton and outlying areas of the County who have watched Council, County Commissioner, Taxpayers Assn. meetings and the like religiously.

We have been approached at restaurants, Wal Mart, grocery stores, and have received numerous calls and emails from upset viewers who fail to understand why this is happening. We have tried our best to explain the situation, but most are in agreement, Scranton Today served the public faithfully and openly.

Yes, there were some glitches, but it boils down to the fact that Doherty and his horde don’t want the public informed and will do everything in their power to keep the citizens in the dark. We wonder why the County Commissioners have not stepped into the fray and why others have been reluctant to speak out. We realize the administration exercises a heavy hand over numerous local “wannabes” but what about those who rely on TV broadcasts to keep abreast of civic meetings?

Apparently the old “that’s the way its always been in Scranton” attitude prevails and it is a sad commentary that Ch. 61 will soon probably go dark and thousands will be left out of public meetings viewings and fail to get the real story because of apathy.

We encourage everyone to make a donation to Scranton Today in an effort to help this worthy organization keep Ch 61 on for the benefit of citizens. Checks could be made payable to Scranton Today and mailed in care of the Albright Library, Vine St., Scranton, Pa. 18509. Any amount will be appreciated and will be put to good use to keep all of us informed, It is the only source many have for information about public happenings and it would be disgraceful to let TV61 go dark for the benefit of political payoffs or attempts to keep the public out of city and county business.