More bonds or maybe not

“I’m tired of being the scapegoat, and things are going to change around here. Everyone else is going to be accountable, too.” -DebitCardmmissioner Greg Skrepenak

County Budget Finance Chief Sam Diaz is predicting the sky will fall because Luzerne County might not be able to issue yet another bond because taxpayer Timothy Grier, of Wilkes-Barre, filed complaints with the state Department of Community and Economic Development to stop commissioners from borrowing $80.05 million to fund capital projects and the county deficit.

Tim's response:

Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak, in regards to a possible county government shut-down, is quoted in one of today’s local papers as stating, “We have a very serious issue.”

All of the issues in county government are serious; Mr. Skrepenak is one of MANY at the Luzerne County Courthouse who are apparently just now figuring that out. Sadly, I believe that Commissioner Skrepenak and the rest of his cronies think that this is some type of game, as they continue to treat this issue as a matter of politics rather than policy. While American soldiers continue to die overseas for a government they believe in back home, Greg Skrepenak and political hacks like himself throughout Luzerne County continue to betray those individuals and their families.

Commissioner Skrepenak and the friends he hired ignored a policy the commissioner himself helped to create; they deceived us and bilked us out of tens of thousands of dollars so they could live like kings while the taxpayers were treated like peasants. These morally bankrupt individuals continue to remain unapologetic and refuse to acknowledge the gravity of their mistakes.

Have I made mistakes in life? Certainly. Not a one of us is perfect. The best we can do is get up every day and try to be the best we can be. Mr. Skrepenak, Mr. Hyder, Mr. Brace, and the rest of the crew at the Luzerne County Courthouse apparently get out of bed every day trying to figure out how to rip the rest of us off.

The petitions I submitted to DCED are clear. Deny the county’s requests to borrow as they stand, demand that the county follow the law and tell us what it intends to borrow the money for, and force the county to follow the guidelines for borrowing unfunded debt which are clearly established by the legislature.

Interestingly, just as Commissioner Skrepenak refuses to accept responsibility for the debit card fiasco, he is now trying to side-step my request. In another comment to Citizen’s Voice staff, Mr. Skrepenak claims, “We’re confident we can dispute any argument made.” I realize he is being told by his handlers, “stick to your guns, admit no shortcomings, give them nothing,” but Commissioner Skrepenak’s continued allegiance to those who paid for his campaign rather than to those who pay his salary may ultimately prove to be his downfall.

Mr. Skrepenak fails to understand the simple fact that if he follows the law, in this case the Local Government Unit Debt Act, I will withdraw my petitions. In fact, Commissioner Skrepenak, if you had done this from the beginning, it would not be such a grave issue today. I never would have had to file a complaint. This is now the quickest way to resolve this matter. There is no need to ask Commissioner Urban or anyone else to help you come up with a solution. The solution already exists; you continue to exacerbate the problem by trying to skirt the law.

I encourage everyone in Luzerne County to call on their state legislators and firmly, but politely, demand that this problem be rectified immediately and correctly – by the DCED forcing the county to follow the law. Contact information for state house and senate representatives can be found here:

http://www.house.state.pa.us/

http://www.pasen.gov/index.cfm