County schedules budget hearings

The Lebanon County commissioners will be working to close a $3.6 million gap between revenue and spending next week when they enter three days of budget hearings -- when the heads of various departments and agencies that receive county funding come before the board and explain why they should get what they've asked for.

[Olive Garden]

Solution to our worries? Two words, Mrs. Litz: Olive Garden

[carl]

why dont the 911 fees cover the new consoles?

[Lookin up]

Those consoles are about 8 years old. They need replaced already????? Maybe EMA should stop buying vehicles every year. How many new vehicles have they gotten in the past 3 years?

[what]

What no Republican bank loan to cover for a tax increases this year.

[funny]

carl wrote:

why dont the 911 fees cover the new consoles?

Why "dont" you stop looking like a illiterate Republican idiot ?

[Red Alert]

The grammar police are in the building again!!! Speaking of which....its "an illiterate" no "a illiterate". Get it right before you make fun of someone else! Democratic Fool!!! Blahhahahaha

[Red Alert]

correction...*NOT* "a illiterate"

[Ann Ville]

They would save a bundle by eliminating the Central Booking fiasco created by DA Eshelman which arrests and incarcerates many people who should simply be served by mail in the normal way. It's unconscionable - and expensive - to arrest, chain, jail and set bail for people who failed to pay tickets or have summary offense charges, and pay to transport them back and forth to the jail. A postage stamp would do instead.

They did it to try make extra fees for fingerprinting and booking but that stupid scheme did not work out to their advantage. This bizarre Gulag situation they run also costs extra for the prison count. Expensive and outrageous. They should request the President Judge to revise that whole system.

EMA is grossly mismanaged, incompetent and over funded. Ask any firefighter. They need intelligent new management, not a new 800,000 console. They need trained workers and competent leadership, not high tech gizmos they will not be able to operate anyway. The console and the rest of their requests will cost us a tax hike for no real public benefit anyway.

[FSM]

Lookin up wrote:

Those consoles are about 8 years old. They need replaced already????? Maybe EMA should stop buying vehicles every year. How many new vehicles have they gotten in the past 3 years?

Tell us then... How many vehicle have they purchased? I still see the same vehicles from when I worked there three years ago. And please tell me what the average life span is for dispatch equipment. Guess what, it sure as heck isn't 8 years! Just don't cry when something terrible happens and nobody gets dispatched because the equipment failed

[FSM]

Ann Ville wrote:

They would save a bundle by eliminating the Central Booking fiasco created by DA Eshelman which arrests and incarcerates many people who should simply be served by mail in the normal way. It's unconscionable - and expensive - to arrest, chain, jail and set bail for people who failed to pay tickets or have summary offense charges, and pay to transport them back and forth to the jail. A postage stamp would do instead.
They did it to try make extra fees for fingerprinting and booking but that stupid scheme did not work out to their advantage. This bizarre Gulag situation they run also costs extra for the prison count. Expensive and outrageous. They should request the President Judge to revise that whole system.
EMA is grossly mismanaged, incompetent and over funded. Ask any firefighter. They need intelligent new management, not a new 800,000 console. They need trained workers and competent leadership, not high tech gizmos they will not be able to operate anyway. The console and the rest of their requests will cost us a tax hike for no real public benefit anyway.

Yes and how many whackers can tie their boots? The whackers are part of the problem, rather complain instead of communicating. Trained workers? Ask any dispatcher, how many are not trained, aside from the few currently in training, all have many years experience and countless hours of training.

[Ann Ville]

FSM wrote:

<quoted text>
Yes and how many whackers can tie their boots? The whackers are part of the problem, rather complain instead of communicating. Trained workers? Ask any dispatcher, how many are not trained, aside from the few currently in training, all have many years experience and countless hours of training.

"Whackers" as you call the firefighters, are very well trained and many are certified firefighters. In most of the county, they are all volunteers who save the taxpayers many many millions of dollars each year.

Your scornful attitude brings up a major problem at EMA - the complete and arrogant disrespect and hostility for the public and for firefighters. The EMA dispatchers need competent training and competent management instead of whatever they get now.

[FSM]

give me a break, half of them are whackers too! My views do not have anything to do with EMA, other than you not having a clue about dispatch

[carl]

Ann Ville wrote:

<quoted text>
"Whackers" as you call the firefighters, are very well trained and many are certified firefighters. In most of the county, they are all volunteers who save the taxpayers many many millions of dollars each year.
Your scornful attitude brings up a major problem at EMA - the complete and arrogant disrespect and hostility for the public and for firefighters. The EMA dispatchers need competent training and competent management instead of whatever they get now.

Oh you nailed it AnnVille. I would have thought the sometime harsh treatment for the common firefighter would have ended when Kauffman was hired. Its better but still happens, they forget that the guy getting in the truck is not on the radio day after day...

[Just another volunteer]

carl wrote:

<quoted text>
Oh you nailed it AnnVille. I would have thought the sometime harsh treatment for the common firefighter would have ended when Kauffman was hired. Its better but still happens, they forget that the guy getting in the truck is not on the radio day after day...

No - Kauffman is the problem. The horrible radio system and unreadable pagers he picked out still do not work right, and his dispatchers can't spell or find the right locations when seconds count. They regularly call the wrong companies or fail to call the right ones, and they have no idea what harm the consequences of their many mistakes cause. They are just stuck in a dark basement pushing random buttons and having a good joke about it. Arrogant, incompetent and nearly useless, they copy the obnoxious attitude of their boss. Time for a new EMA chief.

[ZIPPY]

So what type of raises will the county employees be receiving? Maybe reduce their raises or no raise at all. Unfortunately where i work they can't afford to give me 3-3.5% a year. I'm not complaining at least i have a job.

[Disgusted with politics]

Everytime there is a "money shortage" (which I don't believe there is), the first thing they want to do is RAISE taxes...that's their favorite solution. Why don't they lower some of their salaries which are way to high. But why? The poor tax payer will take care of it.

[Funky Tut]

I agree. Some of these clowns could take a pay cut. They are already overpaid for what little they actually do.

[7uzzy 3unny 5lippers]

Never thought I would find myself defending the Commissioners, but this county is run about as bare-bones as possible.

[carl]

Just another volunteer wrote:

<quoted text>
No - Kauffman is the problem. The horrible radio system and unreadable pagers he picked out still do not work right, and his dispatchers can't spell or find the right locations when seconds count. They regularly call the wrong companies or fail to call the right ones, and they have no idea what harm the consequences of their many mistakes cause. They are just stuck in a dark basement pushing random buttons and having a good joke about it. Arrogant, incompetent and nearly useless, they copy the obnoxious attitude of their boss. Time for a new EMA chief.

wait a minute.. who ( EMA director) started this whole radio system debacle? it WAS NOT Kauffman. Not saying a new chief isn't in order but its not his baby

[carl]

7uzzy 3unny 5lippers wrote:

Never thought I would find myself defending the Commissioners, but this county is run about as bare-bones as possible.

yeah agreed, where are the "high salaries" certainly not the ave worker.

How much is earmarked for farmland welfare? I mean preservation? scratch that for the next year for sure!