tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post3775720577231740190..comments2023-12-24T05:26:48.861-05:00Comments on The Pittsburgh Comet: COUNCIL ORDERS MAYOR CLAPPED IN IRONS FOR DERELICTION OF DUTY **Bram Reichbaumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-34974087510332186162009-06-13T14:25:55.141-04:002009-06-13T14:25:55.141-04:00I gotta say, this whole "MWAHAHA, Luke!"...I gotta say, this whole "MWAHAHA, Luke!" angle doesn't do much for me if it results in a 5 Year Plan that raises city taxes but leaves the city even more impotent 5 years down the road -- or if it results in a LACK of a recovery plan that allows our costs to really spin out of control for a long time.<br /><br />Council needed to compel Luke's attendance in order to get him to take a position on the current proposal. That afternoon, he took a public position in the affirmative (though with a qualifier that begs for follow-up), so you can make the argument that the need for his presence on Council's home ice has been ameliorated.<br /><br />At the same time, as I think I wrote elsewhere, I'm more sure than ever it would be extremely PRODUCTIVE for the Mayor to attend -- if only to demonstrate with crystal clarity to Council and to the public why the present 5 Year Plan is both tolerable and inevitable (in his view), why discussion of amending it or replacing it is idle grandstanding (I may be assuming too much about his position), or to learn more about some specific amendments he may get on board with.<br /><br />Because here's another news flash, Pittsburgh: these people don't talk to each other. At all! Not behind the scenes, not on the phone, not hardly in exchanges of angry e-mails, nothing. It is almost certain they are all making assumptions about each other's premises and beliefs that have no basis in reality. We've grown so accustomed to such a high level of dysfunction that now that there is a crisis / opportunity facing us demanding a rudimentary level of communication between parties, there's nothing anybody can do over it except shout "Yay!" or "Boo!"<br /><br />So yes, I think the Mayor's participation at this meeting would be productive for all kinds of reasons, and political theater has very little to do with it (although I admit, I am always in favor of political theater).Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-10180721807678415852009-06-13T10:27:30.573-04:002009-06-13T10:27:30.573-04:00No votes
Harris
Smith
Payne
Dowd
Yes votes
Burge...No votes<br /><br />Harris<br />Smith<br />Payne<br />Dowd<br /><br />Yes votes<br />Burgess<br /><br />so what will Shields, Peduto, Motznik, Kraus, do? <br /><br /><br />If they go south on the new Act 47 plan Luke will have his hands full. It also shows how little political capital he has in the council chamber.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-84918269546156992212009-06-13T10:20:00.920-04:002009-06-13T10:20:00.920-04:00so if the council votes this "plan" down...so if the council votes this "plan" down, likely the most important thing the boy mayor must confront as our city's leader, what then? <br /><br />It will require Luke to utilize all of his leadership skills, which are questionable at best. <br /><br />What's he going to do with a Council over which he has little or no control?<br /><br />I can't wait to see the session on Monday for Q&A with all those Coucil members with whom he has shuch a great relationship with. <br /><br />Game on Luke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-89445884772917355092009-06-12T06:16:10.693-04:002009-06-12T06:16:10.693-04:00Folks, there is no way in hell that city council i...Folks, there is no way in hell that city council is going to come up with its own plan. They members there took about 4 hours to decide if the mayor should be called to a meeting. <br /><br />Bill Peduto wrote out a plan of sorts. But, council has not even talked about it.<br /><br />And, council generally talks a lot before it thinks about it. <br /><br />On Wed's meeting, it took council another hour or so just to delay a bill for 3 weeks. That was the one about the curfew center that the mayor had told people that it would be open by June 1. <br /><br />Council has more drag than play. It is all about drag. <br /><br />I'd love to be proven wrong, but then you start the speech by Rev. Ricky Burgess about getting to work and another two days is lost. <br /><br />Folly.<br /><br />Council's ongoing failure to act is why OVERLORDS are in Pittsburgh. They've done nothing to merit the removal of the OVERLORDS to date. <br /><br />Council finding a fix is not even a long shot.Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-31213287872837146772009-06-12T01:39:15.182-04:002009-06-12T01:39:15.182-04:00TheTruth -- Yes, absolutely. My preferred solution...TheTruth -- Yes, absolutely. My preferred solution to this mess is to tax the meganon-profits double whatever it happens to be we've recently been condescendingly permitted to "explore" taxing them, and then to ahem "make City Government more efficient".<br /><br />But we are in a situation here concerning June 30th. 2009, that is. 18 days. That's something I hope to address tomorrow, but for now I'm of the opinion that we cannot sustain opening your particular sluice gate before we dig some semi-permanent trenches. And to even design those trenches, first we need to buy time using our cleverness.<br /><br />(And don't give me "blaming". You'll know it, as always, if I start blaming people.)Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-75398239048455019852009-06-12T01:09:33.302-04:002009-06-12T01:09:33.302-04:00You need to look at those who are dictating our fi...You need to look at those who are dictating our financial future. Do not plead ignorance. There are "Pittsburghers" who have failed to do their part. <br /><br />The boys in blue answer every call we make. What do they get in return? <br /><br />Dogshit. <br /><br />Sure, they make ends meet. I guarantee those who are dictating our financial future are doing much better. Don't gloss over the fact that the "non-profits" own this town. Blaming the underpaid public sector employees is exactly what they want you to do.TheTruthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-71047025324040368902009-06-12T00:52:09.996-04:002009-06-12T00:52:09.996-04:00TheTruth - Point taken. I'm still not sure if...TheTruth - Point taken. I'm still not sure if Pittsburgh is yet constitutionally prepared to take on the ordinary results of the binding contract arbitration that is enforced in the state of Pennsylvania, though. There's a reason they call it "distressed".<br /><br />Look, what I know about the City's employee compensation regime right now couldn't fill a thimble. But lately I've been hearing a lot that we're becoming <i>less competitive</i> compared to what's available in suburbs and some other cities -- and that does bear its own set of dangers. What I'm <i>not</i> hearing personally is any objections that public employees and their families aren't making ends meet. At least not with any greater frequency than the rest of the country is having trouble making ends meet, which is a lot -- perhaps not something we can hope to utterly protect against.Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-46611276626678692662009-06-12T00:35:21.614-04:002009-06-12T00:35:21.614-04:00necessary leverage over our public sector unions
...<i>necessary leverage over our public sector unions</i><br /><br />Sure Bram, blame the underpaid union members. They are the problem. It has nothing to do with those who fail to pay their share. It is the Unions. They are at fault. Right.TheTruthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-22053544226796220812009-06-11T23:32:20.141-04:002009-06-11T23:32:20.141-04:00"Governor Edward G. Rendell nominated George ..."<i>Governor Edward G. Rendell nominated George E. Cornelius to be secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development on Jan. 22, 2009.</i>" <a href="http://www.newpa.com/newsroom/ActingSecretaryCornelius/index.aspx" rel="nofollow">LINK</a>.<br /><br />I'm not positive if Cornelius is still "acting" secretary or not.<br /><br />I'm gathering the impression that June 30th is a real and significant deadline, vis a vis our ability to retain unfortunately necessary leverage over our public sector unions.<br /><br />However I don't yet have a clear picture politically of whether Mr. Rendell's Mr. Cornelius will be inclined to float all the stakeholders (of which Pittsburgh is the most immediately significant) a little extra time to attempt creatively tackle its problems and come up with a new recovery plan that is realistic, that is palatable near-statewide, and represents some real progress.<br /><br />Just a thought: New Act 47 Amended and Revised 5-MONTH plan, anyone? 5-WEEK plan? That would be a nice Step One if the City can collectively communicate the notion as worthwhile.<br /><br />(By the way, I just realized why we used to have a City Planning position named <i>"Director of Community and Economic Development"</i>. It's like, "Here, obviously, is where to put the money." Brilliant!)Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-22974540444156119312009-06-11T22:51:19.197-04:002009-06-11T22:51:19.197-04:00If the coordinator’s plan is rejected by the munic...<i>If the coordinator’s plan is rejected by the municipality, the municipality shall develop its own plan which will be subject to approval by the Secretary.</i> <br /><br />Who is the secretary? Why?<br /><br />These are not difficult questions.TheTruthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-7608994785680345822009-06-11T16:26:58.235-04:002009-06-11T16:26:58.235-04:00Hold on a sec. If we reject the plan given us, we...Hold on a sec. If we reject the plan given us, we *SHALL* develop our own plan, which will be subject to approvals by the coordinators and I assume the Legislature.<br /><br />So let's say we develop that plan (from what it sounds like, it'd be akin to what Councilman Motznik told me they did with one of Murphy's annual budgets) and it comes with a lot more leeway and perhaps a few goodies, and then we stone cold PRESENT it upstairs. What happens to the politics at that point, given Harrisburg's own sets of clocks?<br /><br />I would think the Governor would not want Pittsburgh to be roundly and severely punished just prior to his preferred successor making his run for office. I would think urban Democrats would naturally take our side, and some other D's. Add to that some R's who don't really care that much personally, who may be swayed or sufficiently steimied by a 'We can't let our 2nd biggest city go down the toilet' argument, or who just fear the Great Unknown ...<br /><br />If Pittsburgh takes possession, do you think we could force something more palatable through? Do you think this is what the Mayor alluded to in saying (paraphrasing) 'hoping the Council isn't intent on precipitating some kind of Newt Gingrich budget showdown', someone please remind me where I read that? Because that would be interesting.Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-47574327938439590632009-06-11T15:01:58.928-04:002009-06-11T15:01:58.928-04:00115.5 (c) If the coordinator’s plan is rejected b...115.5 (c) If the coordinator’s plan is rejected by the municipality, the municipality shall develop its own plan which will be subject to approval by the Secretary. <br /><br />Would seem that under the law quoted above, that the Mayor would be the right person to lead the "municipality" in crafting a new plan. Hey, if he wants to stay on the beach, I know a couple of Councillors that would be more than happy to hash out there own plan without the Mayor's input. I'm rooting for Council to act.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-89974154647155638212009-06-11T09:47:47.817-04:002009-06-11T09:47:47.817-04:00A very compelling post Bram.
Sorry. Had to.
/sh...A very <b><i>compelling</i></b> post Bram. <br /><br />Sorry. Had to.<br /><br />/shows self outJokeForAMayornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-32921407706710157052009-06-11T02:34:49.223-04:002009-06-11T02:34:49.223-04:00Luke's been awol a o tin his careerLuke's been awol a o tin his careerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1588280325775325323.post-81127357036865967782009-06-10T20:11:48.554-04:002009-06-10T20:11:48.554-04:00see bob mayo tv: "Mayo finishs his story wit...see bob mayo tv: "Mayo finishs his story with "..and he [the mayor] says his door is always open" <br /><br />"the door is always open..." yes but he never seems to be there. there.<br /><br />Go Pens, say hello to Luke in Detroit for us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com