Barletta Rips Obama Campaign Visit

In this Times Leader article by Jonathan Riskind Congressman Lou Barletta rips into President Obama for playing politics with his visit to Scranton, Pennsylvania today.

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta said Tuesday he supports extending the Social Security payroll tax cut into 2012, but criticized President Obama’s visit to Scranton today as playing politics with the issue.

Guest speaker, U.S. Congressman, Lou Barletta, addresses the gathering at the Chamber of Commerce autumn Breakfast Meeting.

Obama

Obama is to make a pitch for the payroll tax cut extension during his speech this afternoon at Scranton High School.

Barletta, a Republican from Hazleton, said keeping the payroll tax low for another year is a good idea because “I believe that money is better staying in the pockets of American citizens than it is in the coffers of the federal government.”

But Barletta said Obama would be better served by staying in Washington and working with Senate Democrats to pass “some of the 20-plus job-creating bills that we in the House passed, and that are now sitting in the Senate.

Rep. Tom Marino On President Obama's Visit To Scranton, PA.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Tom Marino, PA-10, today issued this statement regarding President Obama’s visit to Scranton, Pa., in the neighboring 11th Congressional District:

“A visit by a President is always exciting but today’s appearance has lost some of its luster because of the President’s poor performance in the White House.

“His lack of leadership and his refusal to do what is best for the country and his insistence on sticking to his worn-out ideologies and Chicago-style politics is clearly hurting the national economy and Americans of all walks of life.

“He delays making important decisions and leading at a time when we need a strong and reassuring President.

“One of the best examples is the President’s delaying of the Keystone Pipeline, a project that would immediately employ 20,000 people with the promise of 200,000 jobs down the road.

“A true leader would not table such an important project just to appeal to opposing sides of his political base. The question is clear: `President Obama, do you want to pander to extreme leftist environmentalists or do you want to create thousands of good-paying, union-labor jobs?’

“If the President wants to make a career out of not being able to make a decision, he should go back to the U.S. Senate where the Democratic leadership has refused to vote on important bills passed by the House including 20-plus job-creating measures.

“President Obama can do all the campaigning he wants but we in Pennsylvania have a good memory. We remember what he really thinks of us and how he mocked our respect for our religion, for life and for our Second Amendment rights.”

Did Kanjorski Say He Supported A High Speed Rail Line From Scranton To New York ?

In this video form Moe Lane of Red State Kanjorski says he would support a Maglev line for Boston to Richmond into Cleveland. Evidently the high speed rail line he has been touting for Scranton to New York would have a slight detour.

Moe's comment: first he was babbling about how nobody expected unemployment to get this high, and how he didn’t vote for the stimulus because it wasn’t big enough, and then he got into the entire maglev thing

General Dynamics- Tax Free Scranton Site Comes With Earmarks Too!

Today's Times Tribune features a news analysis article by Josh Mrozinski detailing that 1,204 properties in Scranton out of 27.037 enjoy tax-exempt status. One of those properties houses General Dynamics, a self described, market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat vehicles and systems, armaments, and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and mission-critical information systems and technologies. The Scranton facility is listed as a "Land Systems" plant.

Between 2006 and 2009, mammoth defense contractor General Dynamics secured more than $380 million in government contracts for its nearly 700,000-square-foot facility on South Washington Avenue in Scranton.

With an assessed value of more than $5.5 million, the former Chamberlain Corp. property would generate nearly $694,000 annually in taxes for the city, or about $2.7 million over four years. Lackawanna County and the Scranton School District would annually receive about $220,882 and $603,529, respectively.

The Virginia-based multibillion-dollar contractor pays no property taxes on its Scranton facility, however, because the land is owned by the federal government, rendering it tax-exempt. It also does not pay the city's mercantile tax, which exempts manufacturers. General Dynamics is also exempt from paying sales tax, because it makes products for the federal government.

Aside from being off the tax rolls, the facility, which employs 349 people, has cost the city in additional services, including heightened police protection after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Mayor Chris Doherty said. The mayor said he plans to approach the company about making payments in lieu of taxes, a longstanding issue in the city that was thrust back into the headlines by city council's recent clash with the University of Scranton over an easement needed for a $33 million dormitory project in the 900 block of Mulberry Street.

The university withdrew its request for the easement after council made approval contingent upon the school increasing its payment in lieu of taxes. The university raised its voluntary payment nearly 60 percent to $175,000 a year, far short of council's demand of $1 million over four years.

Council President Janet Evans and the lawmakers' solicitor, Boyd Hughes, did not return phone calls for comment. The council majority previously has said that it intends to seek payments in lieu of taxes from the city's tax-exempt organizations. Scranton School Board member Chris Phillips said the school district does not receive payments in lieu of taxes from any tax-exempt organization.

General Dynamics' position as a for-profit company operating on a tax-exempt property highlights the complexities of local property taxation and exemptions in Scranton. It also is part of a system in which regulations and limited resources hamper local authorities in their oversight of tax-exempt properties.

Mrzonski penned another article pointing out new legislation introduced in Harrisburg to address some of the concerns of municipalities with tax-exempt properties.

State Rep. Robert Freeman, D-136, Easton, has authored HB 2018 - known as the Tax Exempt Property Municipal Assistance Fund.

The bill would direct state liquor tax revenue to a fund for municipalties to offset revenue lost on tax-exempt properties.

The measure is a "very reasonable use of the money" because the tax is no longer used for its original purpose, rebuilding Johnstown after disastrous flooding in 1889, Mr. Freeman said. He plans to reintroduce the bill in the next session.

The Senate Finance Committee is also considering a measure that would amend the state Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act. The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-42, Brookline, would allow local governments to levy an "essential services fee" annually on exempt property claimed by a purely public charity. The fee can't exceed $100 per every 1,000 square feet under the legislation.

Yesterday I wrote about Paul Kanjorski and the earmark he secured for SCHOTT North America despite the fact the company settled an EEOC complaint of sexual discrimination for $1.45 million last year.

A look at the same report from OpenSecrets.org shows that General Dynamics was a beneficiary of a 2.8 million earmark supplied by Paul Kanjorski for fiscal year 2010. For fiscal year 2009 there is a $1.92 million earmark to General Dynamics as well as $3.2 million for 2008.

While the property housing General Dynamics, a for profit company, enjoys tax free status the City of Scranton remains under Act 47 since 1992 losing out on millions in lost tax revenue. Taxpayers have funneled $380 million in government contracts to General Dynamics at the same time.

I am sure Kanjorski's district isn't the only one with this issue but he surely can't be blind to it either. I hear alot of chatter about KOZ but isn't this a similar situation?

Under Freeman's proposal General Dynamics would have paid $2.1 million to the City of Scranton while it earned $380 million in government contracts. Not a bad trade off. I am sure the Firefighter's Union which hasn't had a pay raise in years would benefit from such a requirement.

Ed Mitchell is lying to you. Again- From The Barletta Campaign

I received the following release from the Lou Barletta For Congress Communications Coordinator Shawn Kelly.

Once again, the Kanjorski campaign is stretching the facts in a desperate bid to stay in power.

Kanjorski spokesman Ed Mitchell lied to you about the City of Hazleton’s pension fund. Mitchell said Tuesday: "Other cities have pension problems, but like the jobless rate, Hazleton's is the worst.”

Completely false.

Here’s what the Scranton Times published today:
“Scranton, compared to cities of similar size, has one of the most poorly funded pension plans in the state, the report states, while 55 percent of pension systems in the region are in some form of distressed status. … Scranton has $64.3 million in its pension fund, but obligations of twice that, $138 million, for a funding ratio of 47 percent. Any funding ratio under 50 percent is deemed severely distressed by the Public Employee Retirement Commission.” (“State: 55 percent of NEPA municipal pensions distressed,” Scranton Times, July 28, 2010)

Hazleton’s funding ratio, for comparison, is 52 percent, and the city is considered “moderately distressed” by the state. (“Pa.: 28 pension plans distressed,” Times Leader, July 27, 2010)

And once again, Mitchell lied about Hazleton’s unemployment rate.

According to the Citizens’ Voice, William Sholly, industry and business analyst for the Pa. Center for Workforce Information & Analysis (the center that published the unemployment rate Kanjorski and his spokesman tout), Hazleton’s high unemployment rate is misleading: “There were fewer employed people in the city of Hazleton since last year, but more people are in the labor force and so the rate can increase quite a bit, based on the numbers." (“Hazleton’s unemployment highest in Pa.,” Citizens’ Voice, July 7, 2010)

Mitchell continues to lie on behalf of his desperate boss, and reporters continue to report their bogus claims as fact.

I know it’s easy to get drawn in by the lies of Kanjorski and his spokesman. Kanjorski and his Mitchell-led spin machine are getting incredibly desperate.

Look at the facts:
• Kanjorski has represented this region for 26 years.
• Kanjorski took more than $4.2 million in campaign contributions from the financial services industry – the very industry he is supposed to oversee (Source: Center for Responsive Politics).
• Kanjorski’s failure to exert proper oversight led to the biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression.
• That collapse knocked billions of dollars out of pension funds, 401(k)s, and other retirement portfolios.
• More than half – 55 percent – of pension systems in Northeastern Pennsylvania are in some form of distressed status.

And Kanjorski blames Lou Barletta for Hazleton’s pension fund? How does he explain the pension fund situation in Scranton? Or Roaring Brook Township? Or Dunmore? Or Hanover Township? Or the dozen other municipalities with
similar or worse pension fund issues?

Kanjorski and Mitchell are trying to shift the blame away from Kanjorski’s failed policies and failed leadership – and they’re doing it by lying and stretching the facts about Lou Barletta’s record. They’re blaming Lou Barletta for problems that exist on a national and statewide level.
This isn’t the first time Mitchell lied to you, either. He lied about Hazleton being unique in balancing its budget and claimed that no other municipalities had to raise taxes or cut services. Think of your own coverage area – possibly even your own neighborhood – and you know that’s not true. More than that, it’s demonstrably not true.

We fully expect Kanjorski and Mitchell to continue their desperate attacks. I strongly encourage you to factcheck every single claim Mitchell makes, as he clearly cannot distinguish fact from fantasy. This is a very important race, and the entire Kanjorski/Mitchell strategy is to lie, to mislead, and to get media outlets to publish blurbs that can be used in television ads.

If you have any questions, please contact me.
Thanks.


Shawn

Palin Rumor??

Back in 2008 then Governor Sarah Palin stumped in Northeastern Pennsylvania as a candidate for Vice President of the United States. She has been very critical of Congressman Chris Carney and wants to hold his feet to the fire on his healthcare vote.

Rumor has it that she may be back into Northeastern Pennsylvania for the trifecta involving Carney, Kanjorski, and Sestak. Let's wait and see.

Mini-Stimulus Plan For Scranton Courtesy of Single Tax Office

Remember the $12 million "found" at the Scranton Single Tax Office. Forensic accoutants are happy to report that the money isn't dead. WNEP is carrying a story by Ryan Leckey, that "Twelve million dollars of taxpayer money has been sitting in an account for years and nearly half of it should have gone to communties years ago."

From 1999 to 2008 investigators from a Philadelphia accounting firm said money was mishandled, tax dollars weren't distributed correctly and it made a giant financial mess.

"We have already started, myself and my team, to make corrections when we knew that things needed to be changed, so we're changing it," explained city tax collector Marilyn Vitali Flynn. She took over from Ken McDowell last year when he was elected as the new Lackawanna County controller. "(We are) really working very diligently to makes sure that the people are being treated fairly and with respect and that they money due to them will be there."

The city, county, and school district will be seeing some of the money released in the coming weeks.

Gang Activity In Lackawanna County- Doherty, Is It Time To Admit It?

Detractors mocked Mayor Lou Barletta over his illegal immigration stance. One of the primary focuses of his efforts dealt with gang activity within the community of Hazleton. Posters on the blogs would state there was no gang activity in Hazleton and the Mayor plus supporters were making more out of it than was actually happening.

Let's roll the tape forward. Hazleton’s violent crime rate dropped over the past few years, despite a number of high-profile cases.

Contrast that fact with an article that appeared in today's Times Leader.

Residents of Lackawanna County should not “stick their heads in the sand” about local gang activity, according to county law enforcement officials who spoke to the Scranton-Lackawanna County Taxpayers & Citizens Association on Thursday night.

Robert Maguire, from the Lackawanna County Prison, and county first assistant district attorney Eugene Talerico advised the group of an ongoing effort to stem the growth of local street gangs.

One sign of local gangs is graffiti. He showed photographs of local graffiti, also known as the “newspaper of the street.”

The artistic or “tagger” graffiti is common in very high places, Maguire said. It is meant to impress other gang members.

The more ominous “gang” graffiti gives specific messages meant to intimidate other gangs and mark territory, he said. This type is usually easy to read, he added.

The Allentown area now has a rampant gang problem, he added. For the last four years, he and Maguire pushed gang awareness initiatives to help keep it down, Talerico said.

It is rumored among the troops that Mayor Doherty has a gag order on the police concerning the illegal gang activity occuring in Scranton. It would appear he doesn't want the public to know the extent his liberal policies are affecting his constituents.

As far as Allentown goes “After two agonizing hours of public comment Wednesday, Allentown City Council shot down Councilman Lou Hershmans proposal to fight illegal immigration, forcing supporters to try collecting the signatures of 2,000 city voters to put it on the ballot.