I thought a different kind of thread would be interesting, so here's a question for the all those out there reading this: What are Scranton's greatest (real* ) obstacles?
Here's a stab at it from my end, in no particular order:
1. Lack of cross-governmental cooperation. By this I mean cooperation between the Scranton School District and the City Administration, as well as with other local municipalities. We need to think about ways to make government smaller and more efficient. A perfect place to start by looking at redundant operations across governments. The Mayor needs to lead this charge.
2. Attitude...but this is getting better. I was working with a group of newly hired employees last week at the office and I mentioned that I lived in Scranton. Now these are all people who are mostly in their mid-twenties, and to the letter all commented on how they think Scranton is becoming much more progressive. Mayor Doherty gets a lot of credi t for this, but more needs to be done. I think something that has a lot of potential to help will be the proposed rail link to Hoboken NJ. The less isolated this city is...the more we are connected to other metropolitian areas...the better off we will be. Now I know some people will claim that this will only bring more crime, but that implies that we are somehow shielded from that presently, which is not the case.
3. Lack of Labor Progress The dirty little secret of Scranton's government is that the vast majority of the citys costs are labor-related and the majority of those costs are tied up in union contracts. Until efficiencies are built into these contracts to drive down costs, Scranton will continue to have a structural deficit. I know that this will probably be decided by the courts, but until then the fiscal picture in the city will continue to be a major obstacle.
4. The Circus that is Citizens Participation Don't get me wrong...I think people should be allowed to speak at City Council meetings. Furthermore, all of their comments, no matter how inane, insane or just plain bizarre should be included in a public record that is available to all citizens on-line or at the library. What I object to is the 'Parade of Champions' who speak at council meetings just so that they can have their weekly 5 minutes of television fame. Here's a suggestion...let's simply not televise citizens participation. Instead just televise the opening comments, motions, votes, etc., basically everything except Citizens Participation. City Council meetings should showcase how our government works, not how bitter, angry and attention-hungry some residents have become. It's time to take the faces away from the camera, draw attention away from the freak-show that this has become and instead focus on the real issues facing the city.
But hey, this is just what I think.
(*) Note: This thread is about REAL obstacles facing Scranton, not paranoia-fueled crap centering around super-secret organizations that some think "really run things" (IBM...errr I mean ICN, Jesuits, Illuminati, etc.). In other words, this is meant to be thought...not laughter...provoking.
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Free Speech does't require a multi-paragrah disclaimer Mr. Pilchesky.
Scranton's biggest obstacle is this: Scranton is not as important as it thinks it is. I don't mean this in a bad way. Sure we have some stuff going for us, but we also have plenty of stuff working against us. Scranton needs to fix things on a neighborhood level first; i.e. safe neighborhoods, clean and attractive (not necessarily all "the city's" responsibility. Neighbors can all pitch in and clean that vacant lot, pick up trash, cut brush, etc.), get the utilities to dig up the streets BEFORE paving them, rather than a week afterwards, and then actually paving them. Cold patch is not the same; stop pretending that it is. I liked the idea about a neighborhood spokesman being the representative at the open forum at council meetings rather than any citizen. Whether it's the South Side Residents Association president or whatever, get one person to do the speaking for the neighborhood. Keep it on city business. It'll cut through the fat of how you feel about cats or whatever, and maybe get something accomplished. Lets get some neighbors together to clean up Robinson Park, rather than holding our breaths for the city to do it. Citizens need to be accountable for themselves and their little corner of the world. Don't rely on the next guy to do it. Let's be a little self sufficient. Once we get things going on a neighborhood level, then we can maybe all pitch in and start attacking general city problems. Together. We should do what we can do, ourselves, then maybe the government can help with stuff we can't do for ourselves, like they're supposed to. We sit around like a bunch of helpless infants, whining about this and that, waiting for someone to come by and do something we can easily do for ourselves. We can't allow that to happen anymore. If we all did a little bit, then we wouldn't have arrogant tools like that crochety old man on Sunset Street who takes one insignificant and pointless action and thinks he speaks for or for the benefit of all of us.
Secondly, the government needs to realize that it is a not-for-profit institution. It's not there to get **** done for themselves, it's there for the greater good of the city. All 76,000 of us, not just the fortunate few. When all of Scranton is paved, when all of Scranton gets it's streets plowed, when all of Scranton is patrolled, then you can throw some money to your pet projects. I, myself, have been begging to get my street paved for years, but the monkeys at the zoo have all the friggin' Fruit Loops and soft serve ice cream they can eat. It's no wonder the administration thinks it needs to "restore my pride" in my city. How proud can one be when he's busting up his suspension parking in front of his own house, while the tiger pen looks like a PENNDOT dumping ground? Great, the city has a bocce court at Weston. Doesn't help me when I have to spend an hour shovelling out my own street so I can see my family after a snowstorm. Make the basic quality of life better for everyone, before spending a bunch of coin on one or two recreational areas. Scranton relaxes not only at Weston and Nay Aug, Mr. Mayor. Scranton used to be all about the neighborhood flavor. I'm only 35, but I miss that.
Scranton needs priorities. About time we got some.
Scranton's biggest obstacle is this: Scranton is not as important as it thinks it is. I don't mean this in a bad way. Sure we have some stuff going for us, but we also have plenty of stuff working against us. Scranton needs to fix things on a neighborhood level first; i.e. safe neighborhoods, clean and attractive (not necessarily all "the city's" responsibility. Neighbors can all pitch in and clean that vacant lot, pick up trash, cut brush, etc.), get the utilities to dig up the streets BEFORE paving them, rather than a week afterwards, and then actually paving them. Cold patch is not the same; stop pretending that it is. I liked the idea about a neighborhood spokesman being the representative at the open forum at council meetings rather than any citizen. Whether it's the South Side Residents Association president or whatever, get one person to do the speaking for the neighborhood. Keep it on city business. It'll cut through the fat of how you feel about cats or whatever, and maybe get something accomplished. Lets get some neighbors together to clean up Robinson Park, rather than holding our breaths for the city to do it. Citizens need to be accountable for themselves and their little corner of the world. Don't rely on the next guy to do it. Let's be a little self sufficient. Once we get things going on a neighborhood level, then we can maybe all pitch in and start attacking general city problems. Together. We should do what we can do, ourselves, then maybe the government can help with stuff we can't do for ourselves, like they're supposed to. We sit around like a bunch of helpless infants, whining about this and that, waiting for someone to come by and do something we can easily do for ourselves. We can't allow that to happen anymore. If we all did a little bit, then we wouldn't have arrogant tools like that crochety old man on Sunset Street who takes one insignificant and pointless action and thinks he speaks for or for the benefit of all of us.
Secondly, the government needs to realize that it is a not-for-profit institution. It's not there to get **** done for themselves, it's there for the greater good of the city. All 76,000 of us, not just the fortunate few. When all of Scranton is paved, when all of Scranton gets it's streets plowed, when all of Scranton is patrolled, then you can throw some money to your pet projects. I, myself, have been begging to get my street paved for years, but the monkeys at the zoo have all the friggin' Fruit Loops and soft serve ice cream they can eat. It's no wonder the administration thinks it needs to "restore my pride" in my city. How proud can one be when he's busting up his suspension parking in front of his own house, while the tiger pen looks like a PENNDOT dumping ground? Great, the city has a bocce court at Weston. Doesn't help me when I have to spend an hour shovelling out my own street so I can see my family after a snowstorm. Make the basic quality of life better for everyone, before spending a bunch of coin on one or two recreational areas. Scranton relaxes not only at Weston and Nay Aug, Mr. Mayor. Scranton used to be all about the neighborhood flavor. I'm only 35, but I miss that.
Scranton needs priorities. About time we got some.
I have really nothing else to add....especially since its 1 AM and I need sleep.... Paul's post pretty much sums up my feelings on the city right about now.
I can't say that I disagree with the underlying premise of your second paragraph, as cities do need to pay attention to basic services. Bocce ball never prevented an accident in the Hill Section in January. However, I do a fair amount of traveling related to business, and I can honestly say that in the northeast, I've yet to be in a city that had roads that were in that much better shape than Scranton's. Honestly things are better in the midwest though...I go to Iowa a few times a year and they do a much better job out there in road maintenance. As for my street, luckily I live a few houses down from an elementary school, so my street is usually in pretty good condition.
Where I'll part company with you though is in the notion that cities should pay attention to infrastructure exclusively first. The reality is that it all (road maintenance...things like plowing & paving, as well as economic development, as well as quality of life things) has to be done at the same time. There isn't really a choice, as Scranton competes with other areas for both jobs and dollars for projects on the economic development side. KOZs are a great example: yes, they have been misused by this and other administrations, but the underlying concept is very sound. If we didn't use tools like KOZs and other economic development initiatives, we loose the potential benefit that they provide to the community. In the end, whether we want to admit it or not, a thriving business community is going to do more for Scranton's tax base than anything else, by simple virtue of the fact that the business community in Scranton pays far more in taxes (gross receipts, payroll, business privilege, property) than other sectors of the city.
Is it very difficult to do all the infrastructure stuff and economic development at the same time? Yes, and as I've said, I've not seen or heard of too many examples in the northeast where it is happening. However I don't think we have a choice. All the more reason to be frustrated at people like Janet Evans, who applies 'One Size Fits All' logic ("Just cut the administration and all will be okay") solutions to Scranton's problems. I think Mayor Doherty is doing a good job on the economic development side, but like I said before, it has to be balanced with basic infrastructure needs as well. Early in his administration he made some strides...such as in re-structuring the refuse collection routes...but I think more momentum is needed.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that we have a mild winter.
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Free Speech does't require a multi-paragrah disclaimer Mr. Pilchesky.
Heh. Sorry about that. It was after a holiday party at the house. A few beverages and I get a little long winded and rambly. :D
But the main point was that the city, and by that I mean the citizens, need to take on some responsibility for themselves. Sitting around bitching about how corrupt the city is isn't helping when that's all one does. Les is tired of waiting for the city to build him a curb? Then yes, Les, go to the Home Depot and get the stuff to do it yourself. Show some initiative, man.
A few parents (my wife does this, as she's home early) can pitch in and watch the kids as they're coming home from school. These parents not only watch out for the kids' safety, but they probably have deterred at least one act of vandalism. It takes all of about 15 minutes, and it makes the neighborhood a bit more pleasant.
If you see a drainage ditch getting backed up on your street, take 10 minutes and clear it out instead of waiting for the city to do it. Cant see around the corner on account of the overgrowth? Take a few minutes to cut it back.
If every neighborhood did a little bit for themselves, and it doesn't have to be something major--clean up and repair the school playground or ballfield for example, then those little things will begin to add up. THAT is what restores the pride in the city, our neighborhoods, and ourselves. We don't need an administration slogan to take credit for what we, as residents and responsible homeowners, should be doing on general principle. It's not going to happen overnight, and it's not going to cure all the ills of the city, but it'll be someting proactive.
When the citizens are proud, the government can be proud, and businesses will might want to come here and associate themselves with that inherent pride.
No matter what sweetheart deals you make, if the population is as disgruntled and hostile as we're being portrayed (one guy suing the city 15 times in three years does not reflect well on the city, you idiot. You. Are. Not. Helping.), then no one's going to want to invest in us. No one's going to want to associate themselves with a city of whiners.
Again, there's a lot wrong with the city, but there's also a lot right with it. We just need to shine it up a little where we can. It's not curing the disease, to be sure, but it's treating a symptom, and that's a step in the right direction.
Very good Post Paul ... I like what you have to say ... I couldn't agree more that we all need to take the steps to improve our neighborhoods ... because if we do not care enough to make things better then I guess why would anyone want to move into our city ... you make very good points ... there are many problems although there are more things (in my opinion) that are so very right with our city than there are wrong ... Good post again I don't think I could have said it better ... thank you!
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This is just one person's opinion -- mine! ~~PD where True Freedom of Speech Rings ... DD ... where freedom of speech only applies if you agree with King Joe Pilchesky ... I prefer true Freedom of Speech!
Wonderful posts, each of you - I wholeheartedly agree that each and every neighborhood must first be respected by its' residents, and the idea that ONE person from each neighborhood association be chosen to speak is a VERY good idea. Let them hash their bull**** out at their OWN weekly meetings and have one level-headed person do the speaking at the televised meeting. That should please about 75,000 of us.
OK, I'm only here for the comic relief, so I'll just sit back and shut up and nod my head in agreement !! Cudos.
-- Edited by His Girl Thursday at 21:17, 2006-12-27
I agree with everything you wrote. In the end, we all have to be responsible for our city, although some find it a lot more fun to sue and whine (and whine and sue). As for Les building his own curb, I'll look for that around the same time Granma composes a coherent paragrah.
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Free Speech does't require a multi-paragrah disclaimer Mr. Pilchesky.
I couldn't agree more that we all need to take the steps to improve our neighborhoods ... because if we do not care enough to make things better then I guess why would anyone want to move into our city ... you make very good points ... there are many problems although there are more things (in my opinion) that are so very right with our city than there are wrong ... Good post again I don't think I could have said it better ... thank you!
