Allentown's Yard Sale

The former mayor of Rahway, New Jersey was the star witness for Pawlowski's scheme to sell the water and sewage systems. Never mind that Rahway is one quarter of the size of Allentown, or that it's water system operated at a loss before privatization. Their former mayor testified that the private company even installed brand new meters. Never mind that Allentown just installed new meters at taxpayer expense, which will benefit a private company. The most viable answer to the mess that Pawlowski helped create, and failed to resolve, the police pension issue, is a Public Water Authority. Although the NIZ hockey arena just completed a sale of bonds backed by a mere hope and promise, water revenue bonds, backed by the public need for a basic of life, were dismissed as unmarketable. By the questions asked last night, or more specifically, by the questions not asked, City Council handed the mayor a pre-approval on the sale. Although Pawlowski dangled the $200 million plus figure last night, and said that he wouldn't sell for just $40 million, what happens with a $100 million offer? There is a good chance that the citizens will lose ownership of the water system, yet not fund the pension liability in a meaningful way. Things like that happen at a yard sale.

Storm Disrupts Mission

Mission Molovinsky, to shine a bright light on the dark corners of our city government, has been adjusted to compensate for a disruption in the power source. Although new posts will not appear until the reactor is repaired, our reporters continue to gather the news. Stay tuned, we will return to warp speed.

An Exclusive Bombshell

molovinsky on allentown has learned that the Pawlowski Administration is trying to put obstacles and roadblocks in the way of the Water Lease Referendum group. Julio Guridy requested an opinion from City Solicitor Jerry Snyder, concerning who can collect signatures for the referendum. In what is a convoluted stretch of the City Charter, Snyder concludes that all petition circulators must be pre-registered  at City Hall, with City Clerk Mike Hanlon, just like the Committee members of the referendum. In reality, there was a precedent, the Rental Inspection Referendum of 1999. As documented in the previous post, over 80 circulators were involved in that previous petition, without pre-certification by Hanlon. It appears as if citizen rights under the charter are being repressed.

Allentown's Referendum History

Dan Poresky announces referendum

In 1998, the Neighborhood Community Groups, under the leadership of Tom Burke, organized the first referendum under the new City Charter of 1996. The ballot question asked the voters in the following 1999 May primary if they supported a rental licensing law, rejected that previous fall by City Council. This coming May, voters for the second time in our charter history may be asked a question. The new referendum effort is being headed by citizen activist Dan Poresky, and is designed to stop Pawlowski's effort to privatize the water system. As reported in The Morning Call on November 26, 1998.

The petitions were collected by more than 80 volunteers beginning in earnest at Allentown polling stations on Election Day. Burke said 10 or 15 of the volunteers still have not turned in their petition forms, so the actual number of signatures collected might be even greater than the 2,700 names turned over to City Clerk Michael C. Hanlon.

While Burke and the neighborhood groups were organizing to put the issue directly to the voters, property managers were also organizing against the licensing law, and conducted a large meeting, with over 150 landlords.

Among those who received an invitation and attended the meeting was Edward Pawlowski, executive director of the Alliance for Building Communities, a nonprofit organization that works to return apartment buildings to single-family, owner-occupied homes. "The thing that impressed me most was how many people turned out," said Pawlowski. "It was a packed house."

In 1998, Tom Burke said that he wasn't heading a special interest group with money, and that they had to speak directly to the voters.  Likewise, in 2012,  Dan Poresky is facing the well financed private water industry,  and wants  the homeowners to decide the fate of their water system.

photocredit:Colin McEvoy/The Express Times

This blogger was part of the landlord group opposed to the rental inspection law in 1998

Guridy's Selective Memory

Julio Guridy is the only sitting member of City Council who actually voted for the police pension plan, which is now supposedly crippling the city. He now is advocating for the mayor's 50 year water lease plan. Before starting their referendum petition drive, Dan Poresky, founder of Dan's Camera City, and other members of the citizen committee, offered to work with council and find alternatives to the lease plan. That offer is still on the table.  Guridy rejected their help, because residents of the city would not have as much inside knowledge about the city's financial problems as members of council do. He told Colin McEvoy of the Easton Express Times; "Throwing this issue out to the public would be a big mistake..That's why we're here. We know the ins and the outs. We're more aware of the issues because we're working on it every day." Needless to say, the taxpayers would be much better off with Poresky's business acumen, than Guridy's political considerations. Pawlowski, and his wannabe, Guridy, are working against the referendum, claiming representative democracy knows best. I suppose that depends on who your representatives are. Clearly, some members of this council are not up to a decision that affects rate payers for fifty years.  Looking back at the police pension, I'll take Poresky and the referendum any day.

A Citizen Mission

Yesterday, the citizen group opposed to the privatization of Allentown's water held a press conference at City Hall. There is excellent coverage of the event by reporter Emily Opilo in today's Morning Call. The organizers of this effort are a diverse, impressive group, mostly former supporters of the Mayor's initiatives. They include Dan Poresky from the Mayor's Environmental Advisory Committee and Bill Hoffman, former city controller. Also involved are Richard Fegley from the Brew Works, and the Hunsicker family, icons of southside little league baseball. Below is a condensed version of their statement.

  The public will be asked whether or not the city must come to the voters before it can sell or lease any property or asset worth ten million or more dollars. The mayor's analysis is clearly designed to favor privatization. The mayor is disingenuous in his claims that the only option other than privatizing the water is to have a crippling tax increase. The mayor has said repeatedly that he would prefer not to privatize Allentown's water and sewer operations. But, he says there are no other viable options. Working from the information included in the Mayor's presentations plus our own research, it can be shown that the pension obligation can be met without privatizing our water or having major tax increases. We have petitioned council to give us a chance to work with them and the administration to find the best solution and we were rejected. Our referendum for a ballot question in May doesn't mean we have don't want to work with council now. Our request and our offer to help is still on the table.

Fighting City Hall and putting a referendum on the ballot requires a lot of work. Show above is one of many meetings they will hold to accomplish their mission. They are looking for volunteers to collect signatures on election day. If you support their effort and want to help, call Dan Poresky at 610 434-1396, or other members through their website.