Lower Alsace and Mount Penn mull whether to swiftly weigh the possibility of pursuing a study to determine if they should study whether the communities should merge

Should the communities of Lower Alsace Township and Mount Penn join forces and become one super-community -- the Berks County equivalent of the Avengers?

That is not a question that is as easy to answer as it sounds, nor even one that is simple to study

One can't forget that Lower Alsace supervisor James Oswald still has Mount Penn on his shitlist because he thinks the borough stuck it up the township's duppa when it came time to pony up some cash to help Lower Alsace out financially with the purchase of the Antietam Lake property from the city, to prevent the beloved recreation area from turning into a tax-poor housing development, or a filthy dump.

Meanwhile, one Mount Penn resident who spoke at a study hall yesterday on whether they should study whether to conduct a study thinks a merger would bail out the paupers in Lower Alsace by snatching money out of his piggy bank, an irrational thought he said that he could not shake and therefore is worthy of further study.

And, of course, officials in both communities have to recognize the reality that people everywhere want to have big government. It's the law of the land, which the officials must kowtow to, because they have studied it.

So how properly to proceed? Why not conduct more studies on whether you really need more studies and whether you really should study whether or not this is an issue that is worth studying because, after all, they studied this same thing just 10 years ago in 2002, and absolutely did nothing?

Guess it's time to call in the consultants.

Spencer won't permit watercooler chatter unless it is first filtered through his phantom communications director

Everybody knows that rank-and-file workers, government and otherwise, waste thousands of hours every year gossiping at their desks, posting sarcastic Facebook updates, dishing dirt on how hapless the bureaucrats are, or otherwise venting about their bosses, whom they generally despise.

Vaughn Spencer,m less than a month into his term as Reading mayor, will hear none of it.

Over the weekend, Hizzoner issued a sweeping Media and Communications Policy, designed to muzzle not only department heads who might turn out to be blabbermouths, but also the drones who sit in cubicles all day long, their carpel tunnel getting worse by the minute.

Henceforth, the proles will have to shut the hell up about city policies while on the clock. And all contact with the media by their superiors must be authorized by the city's Communications Director, a position that has not yet been filled by a Spencer crony and, in fact, does not even exist.

Here's what the policy has to say about the requirement of employees to zip it:

In other words, don't say anything bad about the mayor or his policies while in City Hall or you'll be lining up for food stamps.

Already, city firefighters are afraid to talk to the press about a fire.

Oh, for the glory days of Joe Eppihimer!

How far Spencer's muzzling gets depends on council, and already members are in revolt.

Donna Reed, herself a former reporter, wrote in an e-mail:

This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read and certainly speaks to how poorly the administration thinks of our city employees.  Anyone who tries to obstruct or abridge any citizen's (particularly a public servant's) right to free speech clearly lacks the understanding of what constitutes a true democracy and a free press.
 
Please remember City Council has not sanctioned the position of communications "director."  I therefore question the validity and enforcement of this policy and will seek a charter advisory board opinion.
 
I will remain vocal on this matter and continue -- as Vaughn asked of me during his campaign -- to be a proponent for open and transparent government.  Zipping lips is not acceptable policy and certainly raises the spectre of government officials trying to hide dealings from the public.

Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz concurs:

It is important to establish a communications policy but it must be done within the framework of the governing laws.  Beyond the issue of constitutional rights to free speech, I believe the city budget process has been bypassed by a policy being promulgated by a position that has not been approved through the position ordinance.  Through my attendance at the public meetings held by Mayor Spencer, I have found that there is a lack of understanding and adherence of the correct process to amend the city budget, create new positions, and to move forward policy changes.

The mayor (ha, ha) referred all media inquiries to his Communications Director.

You can read the complete jackass document here.

EARTHQUAKE TERROR OPEN THREAD!!!

• An earthquake on Tuesday, a hurricane on Sunday. THE WEATHER is running amok!
• Penn Street Bridge shut down due to crack. Driving in Reading has ended as we know it.
• Best sources for news are not traditional outlets, but Facebook and Twitter.
• This kind of even takes the lustre off the Kardashian nuptials.
• Must be God seeking revenge on Obama for vacationing in Martha's Vineyard while the rich are still paying some taxes.
• Is it 2012 yet?
• The Breaking News banner on CNN's website says there were no reports of damage, so that thing about the Penn Street Bridge must be a crock.
• Report: Tremors felt in Gadhafi's compound; dictator may have escaped in mid-waterboarding.
• Nuclear power plant in Mineral built directly over the fault line. Rut-row.
• Fox News reporting Washington Monument may be tilting.

About that cap on property taxes

Putting a cap on property taxes to fund public schools is a hot-button issue in Pennsylvania. Here's what one editorial said today (emphasis added):

When politicians go on about how Pennsylvania fails to draw businesses because of high taxes, even they must know that’s ridiculous. Taxes generally rank behind education, infrastructure and other criteria when businesses decide to relocate and invest. Employees and bosses want to know about the schools. Business owners want to know if there is an educated work force. No public services? Who wants to move or work there?

Actually, that editorial ran in The New York Times so you have to substitute New York for Pennsylvania in the text, but you get the drift. Not that this is an endorsement of sky's-the-limit property taxes. (A boost in the earned income tax would soak the rich as well as the poor.) But a simplistic solution involving ceilings, referendums, etc. is, as the Times pointed out, a recipe for disaster.