Philadelphia Region Braces For More Snow

The Philadelphia area is preparing for another round of snow to hit during the night.

The snowfall would be the second the area has seen this week, an unusual occurrence in a winter that’s been nearly snow-free thus far.

The biggest threat appears to be hazardous driving conditions overnight, from around midnight through around 6 a.m. Saturday, with snow, ice and a wintry mix threatening to hit much of eastern Pennsylvania and non-coastal parts of New Jersey.

Transportation officials were gearing up for plowing and salting operations. PennDot was warning motorists that clearing roads during a storm was a time-consuming operation, and drivers should use caution.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150124_Philadelphia_region_braces_for_more_snow.html#oKKHbQdlhTVGVMZ0.99

Settlement Reached Between Monroeville, Former Manager

A former Monroeville manager will receive $45,000 in back pay in addition to retirement benefits as part of a settlement with the municipality.

In exchange, Lynette Mc­Kinney, 48, of Monroeville will drop lawsuits she filed over her termination a year ago, according to the terms of the settlement the Tribune-Review obtained Thursday under a Right-to-Know request. Old National Insurance Co. will pay McKinney $45,000 in back wages and $23,000 to her attorney, Joseph Chivers. Monroeville will pay $7,000 in insurance premiums directly to her.

Council approved the terms of the settlement this month.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/7619207-74/settlement-court-mckinney#ixzz3PelzOnq0
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Error in Scranton Budget Puts Bottom Line Off By Nearly $800,000

Turns out Scranton didn’t balance its 2015 budget.

Through an error, the city budgeted $783,000 more in expenditures than revenues, city Controller Roseann Novembrino told the mayor and council. She said it needs to be amended to fix the mistake.

City Business Administrator David Bulzoni said he made an error while creating the budget by inputting an incorrect figure from one line item instead of a total number for that one line and three others in the same group.

The four items, which involve lease expenditures, total $833,082.87. Instead of inputting that total amount when adding up that section, Mr. Bulzoni said he used the figure that was above it, $50,000, which was only for the last lease in the group. That resulted in an understating of expenditures by $783,082.87.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/error-in-scranton-budget-puts-bottom-line-off-by-nearly-800-000-1.1821319

Bethlehem Main Street Streetscape Project Scaled Back, Next Phase To Start In March

Instead of another $2.7 million in upgrades, Bethlehem’s Main Street will be getting a $500,000 overhaul come spring.

Building upon a $532,000 upgrade of the intersection of Main and Market streets, city officials had planned on an extensive $3.2 million streetscape project between Broad and Church streets. But both the city and property owners say a scaled-back $1 million total project is more feasible.

The city had planned to replace all of the street’s sidewalks as it did at Main and Market but will instead just be repairing broken slate and brick on the four blocks, which is Bethlehem’s busiest business thoroughfare.

Hotel Bethlehem managing partner Bruce Haines said he and other Main Street property owners couldn’t afford the higher-priced overhaul. The city is seeking a 50-50 project cost split with property owners.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2015/01/bethlehem_main_street_streetsc_1.html