Scranton City Council To Introduce Commuter Tax

Scranton City Council will be voting Thursday to introduce a commuter tax, according to a public notice issued today.

A commuter tax – a 1 percent earned-income tax on nonresidents of Scranton who work in the city – is one of the city’s key alternatives to property tax hikes under its revised Act 47 recovery plan adopted Aug. 23.

A 1 percent commuter tax is expected to raise $2.5 million next year and $4 million in 2014 and 2015, city officials have said.

The council ordinance would propose to increase the non-resident earned-income tax from the current 1 percent to 2 percent, while maintaining the earned-income tax of 2.4 percent on city residents, the public notice states.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-city-council-to-introduce-commuter-tax-1.1384991

Vick Fumbles Away Eagles’ Opportunity To Win In Pittsburgh

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick after the Eagles’ training camp in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PITTSBURGH, PA  – As long as Michael Vick thinks fumbling the ball away on the opponent’s goal line is just one of those things that happens sometimes, the Eagles are never going to be a championship-level team.

If you were to view Sunday’s missed opportunity in a vacuum, that assessment might seem harsh.  Vick wasn’t waving the ball around on the first-quarter quarterback draw that took him from the Steelers‘ 3 to the 1, then took the ball into the end zone, without Vick attached.  Safety Ryan Clark made a great play, jarring the fumble loose with his shoulder.  Then linebacker Larry Foote recovered it in the end zone.  In one play, a scoreless game went from first-and-goal, Eagles, to Steelers’ ball at their 20.

Read more:   http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20121008_Vick_fumbles_away_Eagles__opportunity_to_win_in_Pittsburgh.html

Gas Prices Set A Record In California

This map shows the incorporated areas in Los Angeles County, California. Torrance is highlighted in red. I created it in Inkscape using data from the Los Angeles County Website (Los Angeles County Incorporated Area and District Map (PDF). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

California’s average gasoline price set a record Saturday of $4.614 for a gallon of regular, up 12.8 cents overnight – but anyone who filled up in the last few days probably isn’t surprised.

Gasoline prices skyrocketed after the Exxon Mobile refinery in Torrance was knocked offline Monday by a power outage. Other lingering refinery and pipeline problems also contributed to the soaring costs at the pump.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/sns-la-fi-mo-gas-price-record-20121006,0,2206438.story

The Grinches Who Might Cancel Pottstown’s Annual Halloween Parade

The Dr. Seuss Memorial and Museum of Fine Arts. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After spending nearly 30 years living in and around Pottstown, I get lulled into thinking nothing will surprise me anymore.  However, every now and again I am astounded by the ridiculous behavior of Pottstown Borough Council.

It seems council might be all “let’s draw a line in the sand” Tuesday night over a few thousand dollars in fees for the Pottstown Halloween Parade.  Let’s put this penny wise and pound foolish behavior under a microscope, shall we.

The Pottstown Borough budget is around $38,000,000.00 (entirely too high for a town of 22,377 people, but I digress).

The amount of money in question is a “blip” on this over-inflated budget.

Yet, council is poised to spend $35,000.00 (give or take) on a consultant who will most likely recommend outsourcing the Codes Department so Borough Council won’t feel guilty about laying off their overpaid cronies and pals.  You can’t put a price tag on guilt evidently.

I seem to recall thousands of dollars being taken out of the Pottstown Area Rapid Transit fund the other year to pay for a “holiday” party for a select group of “wannabe’s” in Pottstown.  But that was different because the illustrious leadership of Pottstown wanted to throw themselves a “holiday” party.  What’s the matter guys – no more mass transit funds available to pay for a parade that would benefits TEN times the number of people who attended the “holiday” party/ball or whatever the hell you called it.  Most people who live in Pottstown could never have been able to afford the tickets to attend that party.

The leadership of Pottstown doesn’t seem to care about the children of the community they serve (who come out by the hundreds, dressed up in costumes, to have some fun one night a year.) More than half the children in the Pottstown School District qualify for reduced or free lunches. Churches around town are collecting food for Operation Backpack so these same children have something to eat over the weekend and now you people want to suddenly become fiscally prudent over a few thousand dollars in fees and cancel a community event that is eagerly anticipated every year?

In case you haven’t noticed, there isn’t much for many Pottstown residents to look forward to that they can afford to take part in.  The amount of property and school taxes homeowners pay in Pottstown is a family budget killer.  Borough Council is certainly not shy when it comes to raising taxes!  I guess all the “for sale” signs dotting the streets of Pottstown have escaped your collective eye?

Five out of seven council seats are up for re-election next year.  Maybe it’s time to get new folks on council who will be more “in tune” with the average Pottstonian!