Vinny: I Did It for the Taxpayers!!!!!

In today's News-Item and Daily-Item, Northumberland County Commissioner explains his meltdown.  Here is the News-Item version.

What will it cost the taxpayers to get new attorneys up to par on current county lawsuits??? 

Mr. Phillips will be deciding Ms. Best's fate today.  Anyone taking any bets?????

Vinny's "Best" Problem

Photo courtesy of the Daily Item

 

 

It seems like last week's alleged threat (there is an ongoing investigation) has grown to the county solicitor not having direct contact with the county commissioner.  This may or may not play out in the public forum but either way it is not conducive for the business of the taxpayers of Northumberland County.  

 

The voters get two chances to pull the plug on Clausi in May and possibly in November.  I believe in the best interest of the county, Ms. Best should resign as chief clerk remain on as assistant solicitor and have due process take over.  Don't expect any help for a positive work environment from Commissioner Phillips.

Northumberland County Blowin In The Wind

Northumberland County's effort to partner with a private firm for a proposed wind farm south of Shamokin may be blowin' in the wind very soon. Commissioner Vinny Clausi was not on the board when the original deal was signed back in 2007 by the previous board.

The sticking point seems to be the flat fee of 56,000 per year the county will see over a 20-year period. Pennwind want to sell it's lease to a California company. Pennwind have leased the land since 2007 for a grand total of $3.

Sawicki becomes annoyed. Why isn't there solid figures on the acreage???

If the meeting becomes public with Pennwind the question to ask is how much of the cost of electricity generation by a wind farm will be fixed over the life of the lease. You put up an wind farm and it's done?

Thanks to our Pennsylvania legislators having no balls, the rate caps for electricity have expired. While the $56,000 flat fee royalty seems promising in the first few years, would it be more prudent for the county to look for a percentage?

Why was the first lease given away so cheaply?

Who Ya' Gonna Call??????

Since the story broke on December 29th, Northumberland County Sheriff Chad Reiner has been back peddling from who is responsible for viewing porn inside the sheriff's office. The sheriff has gone on record to say it is possibly a remote user.

In today's Daily-Item, Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi suggests bringing in ghostbusters.

For some reason this issue doesn't want to go away. Regardless of viewing porn or not, the sheriff's computers of serious computer breaches. It is basic law enforcement or basic computer security. You take your pick.

Democratic Party Regains Northumberland County

It is hard to point out what was the main reason for the victory by the Democratic Party on Tuesday night in Northumberland County. When you look at the results, the difference was huge in the 107th as the election moved north to the 108th. Only 158 votes separated the top three candidates.

Both sides offered up their own versions of misinformation. Vinny Clausi who ran a separate campaign from fellow Democratic Party member Frank Sawicki had "fuzzy" math regarding a commissioner's pay raise. While Republican candidates Sam Deitrick and Kurt Masser had one believe they were running against former commissioners Allen Cwalina and Charles "Chap" Lewis. Cwalina and Lewis resigned before the end of their terms and left the county in huge debt.

Clausi campaigned tirelessly of "telling the truth" in regards to a bond refinance issue which he claimed the county used a million dollars to balance the budget in 2006. This was later confirmed by controller Chuck Erdman. Deitrick and Masser held a press conference to clear the issue, but as reported in the News-Item. The issue still remained cloudy. Will the rift with Erdman and his fellow Republicans continue?

It may have been a last minute flier sent out by Deitrick and Masser a few days before the election that had the Coal Township Commissioners up in arms. It had to do with the development of the Coal Township Industrial Park. In the flier, it was highlighted as project that Deitrick and Masser were involved.

When you look at some of the counties in NEPA like Lakawanna, Luzerne, and Schuylkill, the Republican Party really took a beating. In all, 11 counties in PA switched from Republican to the Democratic Party. Was this the issue in Northumberland?

When you look at the three candidates that won. Clausi is a hero to the underserved and underdog. Masser and his family are long known for the charitable efforts before he was in politics and will probably be long after he leaves the political ring. Sawicki is known for his intelligence to look for information when he isn't familiar with a situation. When you subscribe to the theory all politics are local, the three who won held serve with their own constituents.