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| Hamburger Fortress Version 1.0 |
Look for the latest fast food entry on Route 22, White Castle, to open somewhere around the end of June.
2. Municipal Budget Battle: Round Two:
The absence of Councilman Ken Shick (who may now yield the deciding vote) from the previous Town Council meeting has now necessitated that an interim meeting be held in attempt to break the budget deadlock. Mayor James Kern and Councilwoman Mary Van Lieu are dug in on the "no increase/keep taxes flat" side of the battle line against Council tax hikers Sal Vangeli and Kevin Synder. Come see the action live as it commences tonight at the Alpha Municipal Building.
When: Tuesday, May 1st, 7pm
Where: 1001 East Boulevard, Alpha, NJ (map)
3. Say it Ain't So Department:
We always thought the point of, and success of, the ubiquitous Panera Bread franchise was the unhurried, un-fast food like vibe they put out in their restaurants. When haven't legions of common folk not used this as their office away from home? I can't remember. Nevertheless, plans are apparently underway to add a drive-thru component for those patrons who prefer to eat and slurp while they drive. Look for this to happen sometime later this year.
Do you actually pay attention at council meeting or read? Yes, Kern and Van Lieu are dug in at a zero increase. Snyder and Vangelli are proposing a tax cut by using the salary of a police officer who will not be replaced......yes, this allows council to give non-union personnel a percentage raise this year in preparation of not offering any raises in the years to come dependent upon the economy, township finances. Blindly following change for the sake of change have many in the community trusting their future in a child looking to add to a resume for a career in politics.
ReplyDeleteNice try with the spin. The stage has been set since the March Town Council meeting when Snyder/Vangelli proposed their increases and Kern drew the line in the sand for keeping things flat. In the between monthly meetings, there was a resignation from the police department -the budgetary implications of which are still unclear. Will the town now be paying more in overtime costs? Will Alpha Township demand a pro-rated reduction in their payments to Pohatcong? Who knows?..but Snyder/Vangelli were acting presumptively in assuming that this salary slot can be used to increase employee salaries. Using this ruse they can reframe their tax increase as a "decrease". Apparently, you along with David Foster fell for it. No one else who was at this past April township meeting would see things differently but as one of our township employees I can understand your self-interest in this matter.
ReplyDeleteOnce again you have proven my point about you paying attention at the township meetings which you habitually arrive late to. If you were paying attention, replacing the officer who left would be covered in addition to the $8,000 it will cost to offer the raises to the non-contracted employees. Additionally, the contract with Alpha is pretty much dead in the water, worrying about a pro-rated reduction is futile. Kern has already stated that he will not vote on any budget that is not his own, regardless of whether it is a tax increase, decrease or flat. I find it hysterical that you assume that I am a township employee and not a resident who sits quietly in the back of the courtroom watching the circus unfold, community members rant on for 17 minutes about the highlands, Kern stumbling over his own words constantly looking at the attorney for reassurance. I leave most months sick to my stomach over the leadership I voted for. What a joke.
DeleteYour contempt for the public at large and for Mayor Kern, in particular, has been duly noted. Instead of sitting as quietly as a dormouse at these meeting and suffering such grievous medical symptoms as a result-why don't you just speak up then?
DeleteIf you were to leave that bubble that you live in for a moment, then you would understand that the people you have so much contempt for, are just plain fed up with tax increases and want to see a change in direction. Those of us who do not collect a public paycheck have seen our real incomes decreasing for many years while the value of our major assets, such as the houses we live in-have gone into steep decline. Here's a suggestion for you: Stop by the town's food pantry at the Methodist Church in Finesville one Wednesday morning for further edification on how things are going for some folks in town. Maybe you'll start getting it then.
As a regular reader John Michael Greer's "Arch Druid Report" I can always anticipate a good, civil conversation regarding the weekly topic on hand. Here is how he so eloquently puts forth his guidelines regarding posting to his blog:
ReplyDelete"Courteous, concise comments relevant to the topic of the current week's post are welcome, whether or not they agree with the views expressed here, and I try to respond to each comment as time permits. Long screeds proclaiming the infallibility of some ideology or other, however, will be deleted; so will repeated attempts to hammer on a point already addressed, and so will comments containing profanity, abusive language, flamebaiting and the like -- I filled up my supply of Troll Bingo cards years ago and have no interest in adding any more to my collection. I'm quite aware that the concept of polite discourse is hopelessly dowdy and out of date, but then so are a good many other things we will have to preserve, or laboriously reinvent, on the long road down from Hubbert's peak. Thank you for reading"
Well said John Michael Greer. Henceforth I will be pursuing a similar policy here on Pohatcong Blog. I also encourage posters to refrain from posting anonymously and to use a username. It makes a conversation easier to follow for the readers out there.
Pohatcong Blog is a calm oasis for a regular reader like me. Please keep it that way.
ReplyDeleteI would like to agree with that. I read this to get actual Pohatcong info and it is nice that you curb the vile that exists on Lehighvalleylive. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and the endorsement. I agree about Lehighvalleylive. Most times, there is not much value to the commentary you find there-way too much trolling,flaming,etc. Don't know if you remember how the town's former website message board became an ugly, free-for-all dumping ground due to unwillingness to impose standards and moderate. This will not happen here. Thanks again.
ReplyDelete