posted by Joe Polk at 10:31 AM /
That's the title of 5th Ward Commissioner Dan Miller's latest blog posting which discusses a controversial vote that occurred at Monday evening's commission meeting.
This isn't the first time that KOSD has asked for a Mt. Lebanon police officer to be stationed at this school -- but this time, the commission went against the recommendation of Chief Tom Ogden of the Mt. Lebanon Police Department because the current proposal removes a police officer from traffic duty in Mt. Lebanon in order to be located at KOHS. The commission voted 3-2 (Colby, DeIuliis and Raja for and Miller and Daley against) on this issue.
I highly recommend reading all of Commissioner Miller's posting to learn all of the details of the issue and vote.
Link: www.danmillerward5.com/commission-votes-to-reduce-traffic-enforcement
UPDATE: The Almanac has also published an article regarding this issue.
This isn't the first time that KOSD has asked for a Mt. Lebanon police officer to be stationed at this school -- but this time, the commission went against the recommendation of Chief Tom Ogden of the Mt. Lebanon Police Department because the current proposal removes a police officer from traffic duty in Mt. Lebanon in order to be located at KOHS. The commission voted 3-2 (Colby, DeIuliis and Raja for and Miller and Daley against) on this issue.
I highly recommend reading all of Commissioner Miller's posting to learn all of the details of the issue and vote.
Link: www.danmillerward5.com/commission-votes-to-reduce-traffic-enforcement
UPDATE: The Almanac has also published an article regarding this issue.
Labels: Dan Miller, keystone oaks high school, police, security
14 Comments:
It is truly unfortunate, the outcome of this vote. That being said, Commissioner Raja stood on my door step while running for election and I asked him, “I understand you are interested in cutting Mt. Lebanon Police Officers if elected. Is that true?” He would only grin and reply that he was interested in cutting the budget by 20%.
Although he evaded the question, it is clear that he is at least living up to his word, and doing everything in his power to cut the budget.
I invite you, Commissioner Raja, to come have dinner or breakfast on my front porch. You can watch all the young mothers and their children making their way through intense and sometimes dangerous traffic on the neighborhood intersection at 201 Overlook and Arden Rd near Shops on Beverly. I invite you, sincerely, to tell me how switching my traffic enforcement officer to KO is a good and safe way to enable you to say “I cut the budget.”
I am gravely disappointed in Commissioners Raja, Colby and DeIuliis who chose to put the safety of my 2 year-old, the safety of our streets, and the safety of our Officers behind the budget. As 911 call volumes continue to increase year after year, and as the crisis level of those calls increases, now is not the time to reduce the efficacy of our force.
Raja: as my representative, you have chosen to handcuff MY Police Force, and I disagree.
Imagine what our Community would become if three cowboys could get off their high horse, twice a month, and simply vote to change the Community’s fiscal priorities. This is exactly what Commissioners Raja, Colby and DeIuliis did on Monday.
Purposely, and in flagrant violation of our Home Rule Charter, these public servants are intending to direct Manager Feller to spend funds, not otherwise appropriated for in the officially adopted budget.
The School Resource Program had previously been a discrete Service Level expressly appropriated for by previous Commissions. Beginning in 2007, when the funding was lost this service level was dropped. It was not included in the 2007 or the 2008 budgets.
It is important to note that Manager Feller is explicitly directed by the Charter to “make certain that no money is paid out, unless the same shall have been previously appropriated by the Commission to the purpose for which it is to be paid.” To direct the Manager to violate the Charter is inexplicable and dubious.
Further, in case the Commissioners can't understand the Manager's responsibilities the our Charter also states: “No payment of any funds of the Municipality shall be made unless provided for in the budget.”
If the three Commissioners wish to provide this service to KO, the budget must be amended in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Charter.
Some additional highlights of the MTL Charter that relate to the disbursement of funds:
1. What are the Powers and Duties of the Manager relative to the disbursement of Municipal funds? … He shall make certain that no money is paid out, unless the same shall have been previously appropriated by the Commission to the purpose for which it is to be paid… Article V, Section 502 Sub-section 6
2. What is an appropriation? Adoption of the budget and amendments thereof shall constitute appropriations for the expenditures set forth therein. Article IX, Section 908
3. “Expenditures set forth therein”? (The budget) shall indicate proposed operating expenditures … detailed by offices, departments and agencies, in terms of their respective work programs … Article IX, Section 904, Sub-section 5
4. Who adopts the budget? After the public hearing, the Commission may adopt the budget with or without amendment. Article IX, Section 905
5. Can the budget be subsequently amended? The Commission may amend the budget by ordinance during the fiscal year for which the budget was adopted; provided, however, that such amendment follows a public hearing … Article IX, Section 907
6. Who disburses funds? All checks or drafts of the Municipality shall be signed by the Manager or Acting Manager and shall be counter-signed by the President or Vice President of the Commission, and by the Treasurer or Acting Treasurer. Article IX, Section 909
7. Can funds not provided for in the budget be disbursed? No payment of any funds of the Municipality shall be made unless provided for in the budget … Article IX, Section 909
The partisan behavior of the three "cowboys" Bill Matthews refers to above is disheartening and absolutely inappropriate... and has been their M.O. all year.Traffic safety is considered of highest importance by residents and taxpayers of Mt. Lebanon. It is the sworn duty & responsibility of Commissioners to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents citizens of Mt. Lebanon. Removing and not replacing an officer from our Traffic Div. is likely a breach of their oaths under the circumstances .. the testimony of Chief Ogden and Commissioner Miller.
Commissioner Raja is seeking more businesses on Washington Road... how about a tar & feathers shop in close proximity to the Commission chambers ? !
For $60k? Out of a $24.7 million general fund budget? And they're justifying the decision because of "savings?"
$60k works out to somewhere between $2 and $10 per property taxpayer. Is this really the best way to acheive budget reduction?
I'd like to hear what the commissioners in favor have to say - specifically Commissioner Raja. Dan Miller has done just an outstanding job of keeping the Ward 5 residents involved through his website and emails. Raja seemed to be interested in maintaining a blog to keep his constituency involved, but there's been nothing there since he was put into office.
Or put the commission meetings on the web, already. Now that we have enough money.
Commissioners Raja,DeIullius, and Colby: How does cutting traffic enforcement and ignoring the counsel of our police chief make Mt. Lebanon safer???
If you believe that there is not traffic problem in Mt. Lebanon, you each need to get out more and cross the streets you are sworn to serve. Notice your oaths said nothing about saving a few bucks so you could appear frugal.
I did an informal count at dinner this evening. At the stop sign in front of my home in Ward 1, 29 of the 60 cars that came to the stop sign drove right through without stopping. This happens every evening. Someone is going to get hurt. I don't see how cutting traffic enforcement is going to help the situation. If you don't believe me, come on over and I will show you that INDEED, we do have a traffic problem in this community.
We have only heard Mr. Miller's side of the story, so I will reserve complete judgment on this issue until Messrs. Colby, Raja and DeIllius explain their votes. However, I can state that at first glance I am very disappointed in this result.
I spent nearly six years serving on the Mt. Lebanon Traffic Board. During that period, our monthly meeting grew from about 45 minutes to 3 hours in length. The number of complaints received on a monthly basis easily tripled. The crowds at these meetings dwarfed the attendance at Commission and School Board meetings, and our debates and discussions regularly received coverage in the Post-Gazette.
During this time period, traffic rose so dramatically to the forefront that we spent nearly 14 months developing an official Traffic Calming Policy. This policy was created in response to the unfortunate fact that not every traffic problem in our community is solvable through the placement of a Stop, One Way, No Left Turn or No Parking sign. For the record, Mt. Lebanon paid its traffic engineer close to $40,000 to assist the Traffic Board with the development of this policy . . . not to mention the volunteer man hours the were expended by the Traffic Board in the development of this policy at both regular meetings and special community comment sessions. Unfortunately, since the approval of the Policy, it has only been formally used to completion once. The Policy was utilized to modify Mission Hills to include speed humps and other features. Other communities have started the Traffic Calming process - most notably the Mapleton-Marietta area - but no final measures have been formally approved by the Commission.
In the case of Mapleton-Marietta, Mt. Lebanon spent in excess of $25,000 to study alternatives for this neighborhood. After a series of meetings (often hotly contested), significant press coverage, petitions, hostile phone calls and letters and countless volunteer hours, the Traffic Board made a recommendation to the Commission. This recommendation has been repeatedly tabled by the Commission since it was received in 2006. A more detailed history of the Mapleton Marietta saga and the recommendations can be found here: http://www.mtlebanon.org/index.asp?NID=417.
Make no mistake about it, traffic is a huge problem in Mt. Lebanon. Whether it is a completely solvable problem remains to be seen. Personally, I have been a traffic calming skeptic - not only because I doubt the Commission will give it the time, attention and resources ($$) that it deserves, but because the amount of traffic travelling through Mt. Lebanon has reached such high levels that cut-thrus etc are inevitable. Further, I firmly believe that if every Mt. Lebanon resident policed themselves, many issues would decrease or disappear. For example, our testing and evaluation in Mission Hills revealed that many of the speeders in that neighborhood were the Mission Hills residents themselves and not cut-thru drivers. Admit it, you cut though a neighborhood or two on you way Downtown or to Beverly Rd. or South Hills Village. We all do it. So, if we all did our part to stay on the main drags, the cut thru traffic and the speed on the neighborhood streets would undoubtedly decrease.
However, the one traffic issue that has remained constant during and since my involvement is the need for increased enforcement. For the most part, our community has all of the signs and reduced speed limits that it needs. The well paid traffic engineers and the police will concur that if each and every traffic control device (lights, signs, speed limits, etc) were enforced, many of our traffic problems would disappear. The volume might even decrease if cut thru drivers came to appreciate that Mt. Lebanon is not driver friendly. Unfortunately, our police force cannot sit behind every stop sign or sit on every street looking for speeders. There are too many other issues and calls to address. However, decreasing this already light and over worked force is clearly a step in the wrong direction. Whether you are traffic calming skeptic or not, one thing is beyond debate - fewer police patrolling and enforcing our traffic regulations will not reduce the problem.
"Further, I firmly believe that if every Mt. Lebanon resident policed themselves, many issues would decrease or disappear. "
I highly doubt that. While I am sure in some of the interior neighborhoods like Mission Hills the speeders are more likely to be residents, most of the speeders over here by Foster are not Mt Lebanon residents - they live on the other side of our border with Castle Shannon and Bethel Park.
The volume of people cutting through our neighborhoods means that yes, you will have some Mt Lebanon residents who do not drive the speed limit or come to complete stops at the stop signs, but if the only solution is policing ourselves then the problem is still going to be there. It's a nice thought but we're dealing with human nature here. If people who are in a hurry can speed and run stop signs to shave a few minutes off of their commute they will continue to do so until they get caught and fined.
I don't think you could have said it better than Dave Franklin's last post.
What recourse is available to us as citizens?
Schultz, I think you missed my point. The self-policing is not just within one's own neighborhood, but in Lebo generally. Specifically, I know Lincoln/Jefferson/Markham/Washington area residents cut thru the Foster area to get to the Village or the Giant Eagle. Similarly, Foster/Markham/Washington/Jefferson area folks cut thru the Lincoln area to get downtown. If we all stayed on the main drags we would greatly reduce the traffic that invades the interior neighborhoods. Your suggestion that we can't reduce the problem by altering our own conduct is a cop out and frankly, selfish.
I'm not disagreeing with you on your statement that Mt Lebanites are part of the problem, but I disagree with your solution to the problem, which is to just police ourselves.
"Your suggestion that we can't reduce the problem by altering our own conduct is a cop out and frankly, selfish."
Selfish? Cop out? You're joking right? I make it a point to come to a complete stop at stop signs and to obey the speed limits, so don't call me selfish. My point is that we need to do more than police ourselves, because there are others who will break the rules. If anything my comment was realistic, because we do not live in a perfect world where everyone obeys the laws of the land. So, call that selfish thinking on my part if that makes you feel better, but your assertion that the problem will go away if we all just police ourselves is wishful thinking at best.
As a mother, I am deeply disappointed in the reduction in traffic enforcement resources passed by Commissioners Raja, Colby and Deluliis. I hope the children of this community do not pay the price for this decision.
I recall that Mr. Raja's campaign promise was to cut the budget "while improving services". This service cut will directly affect public safety in a community with tremendous traffic safety problems. The dollars saved will make a negligible impact on the overall budget. It's hard to believe that careful consideration was given to the risks versus the rewards (a sound business practice) when the ‘yes’ votes were cast for this cut. There must be a better path to fiscal conservatism.
"What recourse is available to us as citizens?"
After more than a year of attending and participating in very frustrating Traffic Board meetings, I moved out of Mt. Lebanon.
If traffic bothers you, I recommend it.
Mr. Pike, I remember you well from the traffic meetings. I'm sorry you were frustrated to the point of moving, but as you know, the traffic board only makes recommendations. The Commission holds the ulltimate vote. However, if memory serves, we never even got to consider your neighborhood due to budget constraints etc.
I'd be curious to know, where did you end up?
Bernard,
I'm not willing to give up that easily and move out. This is still a wonderful community.
But failing to recognize and do anything to act on the traffic problems we have here, will quickly have very bad consequences. The more traffic you have the more likely it becomes that people get hurt, and property values are negatively impacted.
Furthermore, I don't think the decision by Commissioners Raja, Colby, and DeIlius was reflecting the values of their constituencies. The posts on this topic seem to show that.
So aside from moving out of Mt. Lebo, do we have other recourse? Bill Matthews post was interesting in that it would appear that the Commissioners over-stepped their bounds. Is that the case?
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