NOT BUYING IT YOUR MAJESTY!!

JUST GOT THIS IN MY MAIL FROM A CONCERNED GROUP OF BENSALEM CITIZENS, AND FELT YOU ALL NEEDED TO SEE THIS. LAST NIGHT'S 'TOWN HALL MEETING', WAS ANYTHING BUT, AND NOW THE WHOLE TOWN KNOWS AND SEES THE MAYOR'S TRUE COLORS. CHECK OUT THIS INFO, AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN.
Several older members of the fire service and their families attended the “town hall” meeting you held at the Cornwells Fire Company. They said there were a lot of people there. They have provided us with some information from the meeting that we decided to share with you. It was a town hall meeting in name only. No questions were answered justifying the need for this sudden huge tax increase.
You tried to explain the need for the sudden tax increase because you submit the budget to the Council in November, but due to the holidays they don’t see it until mid-December! That, you said was why the tax was so suddenly needed!
A member of your finance department got up and explained to the members of the community that the township has a five year financial plan shortly after you spoke Mr. Mayor. If that is true, how come no one saw the budget gap until November of this year? This does not sound like a very thorough financial plan and those responsible for it should be let go before there is another financial disaster!
We also heard that you were upset that so many people showed up at this meeting. You complained to them that they don’t attend County meetings or school board meetings. You were quick to point out that you have nothing to do with the school board; they are independent from the township. They are supposed to be independent from you, but we all know that isn’t true. We also remember that when you sold the township on the casino, you promised to send half the money to the school district to keep taxes down. That never happened. You claim that you haven’t raised taxes in 22 years. What you failed to admit was that you have been spending the reserve fund down from 72 million to 42 million. You cut the stipend to property owners from $500.00 to $100.00. That’s a 75% reduction which is an increase in taxes! You failed to mention that you spend the casino money as fast as it comes in without building up our reserve fund. That you have grown the size of our local government so big that it cannot be supported by the community. Just look at Atlantic City, what happens when that happens here? Without the 11million plus we receive from the Casino host fees we would have a 20 million dollar budget gap.
The Mayor did try to create his usual public fear by claiming that they would have to lay off “a bunch of police officers” and he wouldn’t do that. Why did he allow the police department to grow so big that it could not be funded with the available funds from taxes? Why did the township continue to hire more personnel when for almost a decade our Country and our township were in an economic down turn? You created a Deputy Public Works Director position for a township mechanic. Why? The Public Works Director rarely puts in a 40 hour week and has not done so for years. You did manage to hire his family member as the Assistant Director of License and Inspection. Even though, you admit that the amount of work for that department has drastically reduced in the last decade. You already hired another close friend’s family member as an assistant to the Public Works Director. Gee, that department must really need a lot of supervision!
We were told that the council members present at the town hall meeting were so embarrassed that they sat in the front row facing forward and refused to look at the members of the community who were present or answer any questions from the community.
Mr. Mayor, you never explained how Bensalem became the only community in the State to enact an E.I.T. AFTER it received host fees for a casino. Another first for Bensalem Mr. Mayor!
This was not a town hall meeting for the public to ask questions, this was a meeting where you could try to justify your years of mismanagement that “suddenly appeared”.
You complain about the Democrats all the time, however, if we didn’t know any better we would think you are one by growing a government so big that it cannot be supported by the community EVEN with 11 million dollars coming in from Parx casino. Not a single justification was made to those present to justify this sudden tax. Shame on you and the members of Council who blindly follow you!
Maybe you and your department heads should sit down with the volunteer fire companies so they can teach you how to operate with the available funds they receive!
We are glad we didn’t waste our time attending your meeting. We also noted that you didn’t hold it in Council chambers where it could be televised! It continues to amaze the members of the emergency services that you use the same fear and threatening tactics to get your way. Remember when you ordered the fire chiefs to come to the township building but wouldn’t tell them why? Then you announced that you were taking part of their funding to cover yet another error made by your administration. When it was brought to the public’s attention, you had your minions write to the local newspaper that they were fine with it, that the volunteer fire companies needed to tighten their belts because we were all suffering from the economic situation in our country. Now, you reverse your position and say there is no other way to avoid police layoffs. What about laying off the political appointees? How much money would that save us? We noticed that when high paid members of your staff are forced to resign, they are not replaced. They do leave with a very large ($741,000.00) pay out before they go. If they weren’t replaced, maybe they were not needed in the first place.
We did learn that one of your department heads were videotaped by a local news agency driving a township vehicle after drinking alcohol for several hours at the township golf course. Not only did you refuse to view the tape, you had yet another township lawyer call that news agency and tell them the department head can do what he wants with his issued township vehicle. Amazing!
One thing we learned for sure from this sudden tax increase which for some families is a 120% increase in their local taxes. More and more community members are learning that you are not the leader you claim to be.
The next time you have a town hall meeting, please leave the solicitor home! Those that attended would like to have our elected officials explain why they let you run amuck! Or, at least look up what a town hall meeting is and try to follow the rules. Despite what you think, you do have to answer for your mismanagement of the government of our community!
If you get a chance, maybe you or a member of council can explain where the new community playground is that we traded township property on Independence Court to the Head of Public Works is? He made a small fortune on that deal.
There were a lot of people at the local watering hole last night who were not buying what you were saying! We guess someone finally got the nerve to say; “the emperor has no clothes”!
AFTER SEEING ALL OF THIS, ONE WOULD THINK THT THE PEOPLE OF THIS TOWN WOULD WISE UP, AND DO SOMETHING, BUT I BET NO ONE WILL!! I BET ANY AMOUNT OF $$$ THAT HIS MAJESTY, WILL PLY THE PEOLE OF THIS TOWN WITH MORE LIES AND PROPAGANDA THAT THE WHOLE TOWN WILL FALL FOR, AND MAKE THEM ‘FORGET’ ALL OF THIS. I FURTHER BET THAT THE DEMOCRATS OF THIS TOWN WILL, AS USUAL, DO NOTHING ABOUT THIS, AND THINGS WILL GO ON AS ‘NORMAL’ WITH NO ONE BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS. IT’S TIME TO RAISE THE WARNING LIGHTS, THE RED FLAGS, AND SHOUT OUT FROM THE ROOF TOPS, THAT THE EMPEROR NOT ONLY HAS NO CLOTHES, BUT HE’S BEEN EXPOSED FOR THE PHONY AND COWARD HE TRULY IS!!
WAKE UP AND GET A SPINE BENSALEM!!!