So the average Pennsylvania township has a couple of thousand souls but self-governs. For many towns this arrangement is increasingly unsustainable as federal aid is cut and state-level tax slashing guts once-reliable sources of support for schools and roads and social safety nets. Yet service consolidations and mergers between jurisdictions are not only rare, but sometimes fail after the fact. Everybody loves their town! Struggles faced by small Pa. towns.
Category Archives: Governmental Triage
Self-Interested Professors?
So, says this Dean, more than the academic quality of community college courses is involved when transferring students arrive at a four year college only to discover that not all their courses count towards the bachelor’s degree. Faculty self-interest, helped along by an arcane credit system that dominates academic bean-counting, is also in play. Who’d a thunk? Don’t Forget Self-Interest… | Inside Higher Ed.
Tarnished Brass in Philly
Police Inspector hears from his pal, a retired Captain, who asks that a relative’s arrest after a scuffle with two police officers go away. No problem. 2 police officials suspended for alleged cover-up of arrest.
Stockton Snake Oil
Like many jurisdictions, Stockton, California dug itself a hole in the late 1990’s by assuming that a few banner years’ return on pension investments would continue forever—so why not skip or cut back on pension contributions to pay for other things? Wrong! Facing a financial cliff, Stockton then bit on a Wall Street firm’s sales pitch to reduce its pension debt by rolling it over into new, lower interest loans that were a good deal as long as the economy grew steadily, a very bad deal if it did not, which happened, bankrupting Stockton. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/business/how-a-plan-to-help-stockton-calif-pay-pensions-backfired.html?smid=pl-share
Irish Hovels: Custom-Built
Where to start? How about what happens when you buy totally into deregulation by leaving it all to the industry–builders in this case? Or what happens when starry-eyed governments let banks off the hook for the economic collapse their financial excesses did much to bring about? What happens is folks owe 350K on condos they can’t even enter. Restrain me! It’ll be easier than restraining the seething Irish if they lose it. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/europe/in-ruined-apartments-symbol-of-irelands-fall.html?smid=pl-share
Their Computer Talked to Ours
The New York State Assembly sexual harassment allegations aren’t going away. Here comes the Times’ finger-waving editorial, with an interesting oversight angle regarding how pay-offs to two female staffers stayed under the radar thanks to closely held accounts and robo-signoffs on money transfers. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/opinion/the-sexual-bully-in-albany.html?ref=opinion
Harrassment: Job Condition?
This story will have legs. The New York State Assemblyman at its center has already been censured by colleagues more used to circling the wagons when one of their own is accused. But this case is also sucking in the Assembly Speaker relative to secret payoffs to women who complained, so I think we’ll hear more. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/nyregion/women-employed-by-vito-j-lopez-describe-sexually-hostile-office.html?smid=pl-share
Another Deadly Cop Car
I wouldn’t bet against the “Big Brother” technological fixes Memphis officials are contemplating, even though the rank and file are likely to howl. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/aug/28/memphis-officer-involved-in-crash-on-force-for/
Conflict of interest rears up!
Not as if this case hadn’t been percolating a few years. City ethics board member quits to help wife indicted for fraud.
Be Nice to the Troops, Boss!
Bombastic, bullying bosses are apparently becoming a rare breed in the military, and also in policing, where over the top supervisors can be enabled by military-like rank structures. O’Reilly to be replaced as missile agency chief – Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World – Military Times.