Parking, Leasing, or Fleecing?

King Tommy, and his Bootlicking Sidekicks have been telling us for months now that we “The City Taxpayers” will benefit from the proposed Fleecing of the city’s parking assets, and some in the press have been lapping it up, but not the new Citizens Voice report Josh Moyer who had the audacity to go looking for answers.

In the May 24, 2012 edition: Parking consultant disputes city's claims

Desman Associates told Josh 

• "We did not validate the $20 million and we haven't really done a report yet," 

Wait, What, The Kings Mouthpiece Droopy Drew told us last week they did. "We stuck with the reserve price of $20 million and Desman was comfortable with that," McLaughlin said at the time.

• McLaughlin said Wednesday his previous comments do not contradict Desman's position, maintaining that Desman was "comfortable" with the city's proposal.

Sounds to me like Desman is playing the liar, liar pants on fire card here Drew!

King Tommy told Josh

• "It's not that we're pushing this," Mayor Tom Leighton said Wednesday, "We're on a schedule. If it would not have been detrimental, we would have (waited)."

• But then our King declined to specify how waiting for Salzman's report would have been detrimental. Instead, the city released the request Friday, and it's now unclear how much input Desman had.

Could it have anything to do with the fact that council people are telling city employees that if this PARKING DEAL doesn’t go through they won’t get paid?

What the Kings Mouthpieces said

• McLaughlin said previously that the "conservative" $20 million estimate was formed by City Hall, with the help of Fox Rothschild and J.J. Murphy, early in the process.

• Neither Wohlstetter nor Murphy returned messages seeking comment, and neither Leighton nor Desman has released Desman's estimates.

I wonder if that’s because neither Wohlstetter no Murphy, never had a clue on how much a deal like this was really worth!

I also wonder if “the conservative $20 million estimate” was just the number LAZ offered the King back in the winter when they all hatched this Get Rich Quick Scheme!

• We all heard Alan Wohlstetter, the Liar with Fox Rothschild singing Desman's praises for more than a month."If you want to have a credible bid process, you need that box checked," he said, regarding Desman, during an April parking authority meeting.

• Even Charlie Lyons, vice president for parking consultant Shelly Communications AKA The Slick P.R. Firm, said after another parking authority meeting that, "In order to get these companies to actually invest a lot of time and money - they're going to go in and say, 'They've got Desman doing their work for them. This is legitimate, these numbers are real, this proposal's real.' "

So what’s really going on here? Well my friends I will tell you.

• We “The City of Wilkes Barre” are BROKE!
• Loans are due, payment time and we can’t refinance any further!
• That means Distressed City Status!

Problems:

• The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) appoints a recovery team with a recovery coordinator to oversee a recovery plan.

In other words a full Audit of City Hall!

• Prior to February 14, 2008 Pennsylvania Citizens didn’t have Right To Know, so there were little worries about all the shady backroom deals being made public, but as we have seen the Karen Ceppa-Hirko’s of Wilkes Barre have been fighting to make this all public.

• So after February 14, 2008 The City quickly implemented a CYA initiative, but as we all know state law on retention, requires all records MUST be maintained for 7 years. 

• So we 'The City" cannot safely file Distressed City Status until February 15, 2015, or many at City Hall may end up being fully housed by the taxpayers!

Wake Up Wilkes Barre

Read More:

• Leasing parking assets would be sellout for city
• Act 47 - Distressed Status
• W-B City Debt Services
• Financially Distressed Municipalities Act
• Parking consultant disputes city's claims