Guns and money were on the agenda for action by Bethlehem City Council Tuesday night.
Council gave initial approval to changing firearms rules in two ordinances so the city will be in compliance with state Act 192, which allows organizations to sue municipalities if they fail to revoke local firearms ordinances that are stricter than state laws.
Council also gave initial approval to borrowing $5 million for capital projects in the city, as well as refinancing another $4.4 million of existing debt— which is expected to save Bethlehem more than $111,000.
Changes in the ordinances involving firearms, as well as the new borrowing/refinancing, will be up for final approval by council at its March 17 meeting.
All got unanimous first reading approval from council Tuesday.
Also during council’s meeting, a resident blasted the city administration, suggesting it is forcing a long-time administrator out of her job.
Resident Dana Grubb stood to tell council that Mary Jo Reed, the city’s purchasing director, will work her final day Friday.
Grubb, who later guessed Reed has been employed by the city for at least 20 years, said she is leaving before she planned to do so.
He charged that Reed, as well as others in City Hall, “has been bullied, intimidated and shown nothing but disrespect by certain administrators.”
“I find it disgusting that this kind of behavior is permitted and continues in City Hall,” said Grubb.
“Morale needs to be built, not destroyed, because it does affect the quality of services owed to the taxpayers.”
Grubb, who worked in the city’s community and economic development department for 27 years, told council he worked closely with Reed.
He praised her for saving Bethlehem money and for “the integrity she has bought to the position.”
He said Reed is held in high regard by other government purchasing agents in the Lehigh Valley area.
And he noted she is one of “a shrinking group of city administrators who actually reside in Bethlehem.”
Maintaining many “veteran employees” are leaving City Hall, Grubb told council that city government is being left “with much inexperience and even less institutional knowledge. That does not serve this city well.”
He urged the city to advertise to fill the purchasing director vacancy to get “the best and the brightest” applicants from outside City Hall. To do otherwise, said Grubb, would be completely irresponsible.
“You can’t claim to be hiring the best people if you don’t at least advertise and seek qualified candidates outside of city government.”
But he told council that won’t happen “with the inbreeding that might take place if another member of a certain City Hall clique is slotted into this position."
Grubb continued: “I’d be very concerned if another amateur from that clique is placed in a position that requires a huge amount of responsibility.
“We have a number of people already in the administration who are not qualified to do their jobs. The taxpayers deserve much better qualified public servants.”
No one from the administration responded to Grubb’s criticism. Mayor Robert Donchez was not at the council meeting.
This isn’t the first time Grubb has been highly critical of the city administration at a City Council meeting.
Last June, he told City Council that the administration’s Continuous Improvement program for city employees was like something out of Nazi Germany — run by vicious tyrants who used Gestapo tactics and interrogation methods.
That time Grubb also did not name names when addressing council, but later said he was talking about David Brong, the city’s business administrator who headed that program.
Changing gun laws
Council made initial votes to change firearms language in two ordinances.
One change removes language banning firearms in Bethlehem parks. The other regulates discharging firearms in the city.
Dr. Fritz Walker of South Whitehall Township, a board member of CeaseFirePA, spoke in response to threats of lawsuits against Bethlehem, and even criminal action against City Council members, if they did not change their ordinances.
Walker told council members the threat of criminal prosecution against them has no support in law and that “every attorney I speak to is incredulous regarding the threat.”
“It is unfortunate that the gun lobby has so little regard for the safety and welfare of Pennsylvania’s cities like Bethlehem that they threaten you with such a suit,” said Walker.
“It is typical of extreme gun rights organizations like the NRA and Pennsylvanians for Self-Protection that they resort to such bullying tactics.”
The threats were made to council at its Feb. 17 meeting by Tom Campione of Pennsylvanians for Self-Protection.
Campione said warnings of civil action against the city, and criminal action against council members who did not agree to change the ordinances, were in a Feb. 10 letter to City Council from Atty. Joshua Prince, who represents Pennsylvanians for Self Protection and other organizations.
“I urge Bethlehem City Council not to be intimidated by this bully’s ridiculous threats,” said Walker Tuesday.
Campione of Pennsylvanians for Self-Protection, who was not at Tuesday’s meeting, also introduces himself as vice chairman of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party.
Bethlehem resident Frank Baran said the Tea Party claims it wants local control over public affairs, “yet here they’ve asked the state to invalidate our local control.”
Baran stood before council to repeat a suggestion he made on Feb. 17 — that Bethlehem should file a friend of the court brief in support of legal action being taken by Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh to challenge the legality of Act 192.
Baran said doing that would pose no legal liability for the city or City Council members.
“City Council has the right to pass resolutions that express its opinion,” he said. “There’s nothing in Act 192 that precludes a city from expressing an opinion under the First Amendment.
“It’s important that the city make a statement that residents of the city do not support what Pennsylvanians for Self-Protection and the other groups want to do.”
Council president William Reynolds was the only council member to comment on firearms changes in the two ordinances before council unanimously voted to give them initial approval.
Reynolds said he agreed with many of the comments made by Walker and Baran, adding: “You would find that many members of council would agree as well.”
Said Reynolds: “The future here, as far as some of these issues are concerned, does unfortunately lay out of our hands.”
But he added council and its solicitor, in conjunction with the city administration, will look at available options.
“Hopefully, in Harrisburg we will have leadership that will act in a way that is consistent with the wishes of the majority of Americans, the majority of Pennsylvanians and the majority of the citizens of Bethlehem,” said Reynolds.
Capital improvements and refinancing
The $5 million Bethlehem plans to borrow will be used for two dozen capital improvement projects this year, according to a list provided by Mark Sivak, the city budget & finance director.
The most expensive items on that list are $920,000 for a 911 radio system software upgrade, $600,000 for street overlays, $597,500 for a fire apparatus replacement program and $300,000 for city center improvements.
Among other items on that list are $225,000 for park and playground improvements, $185,000 for a large dump truck, $140,000 for bridge repairs, $125,000 for pool repairs, $75,000 for Broad Street crosswalks and $75,000 for firehouse improvements.
Those “non-utility capital projects” were presented to City Council with the 2015 budget in December, said Brong, the city’s business administrator.
He predicted the city will have that money around the beginning of May and indicated it will be used for those projects this year and in 2016.
While borrowing that $5 million, the city also plans to refinance about $4.4 million of debt on bonds issued in 2010, in order to get a lower interest rate.
Refinancing that debt is projected to save Bethlehem $111,395.
Earlier Tuesday night, Scott Shearer, managing director with Public Financial Management in Harrisburg, told council’s finance committee that interest rates no longer are at all-time lows, but it’s still a very good time for borrowing.
Shearer said the average interest rate on the 2010 bonds is 3.15 percent. He said the average rate on new bonds should be about 2.25 percent.
“We’re lowering the interest rate by not quite a full percent,” said Shearer. “That’s what’s generating the savings.”
The financial consultant said if long-term interest rates go up a quarter of a percent, “we just won’t do the transaction.”
He added the $4.4 million refinancing component of the proposed deal can just be dropped “if market conditions dictate that.”
After hearing Shearer’s presentation, the three council members on the finance committee voted to advise council to approve the refinancing and new borrowing deal.
It did so with a 7-0 initial vote.
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