Monday, February 16, 2009

Comment on Mayor Fazzone of Burlington


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Name Removed by EP Reporter@comcast.net>
To: edgewaterparkreporter@yahoo.com
Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 10:58:38 PM
Subject: Mayor Fazzone of Burlington
I am a first time writer to your blog. I am not sure how you work this but this is what I would like to write to you about. Mayor Fazzone and his football team from high school who call themselves administration are attempting to destroy the historic City of Burlington . 

The Mayor and his Administrator are attempting to eliminate the housing/code and building departments and the current employees of the departments and recruit the Township of Willingboro.

 Mayor Fazzone thinks he can save over two hundred thousand dollars by bringing in inter-local services. It just happens that the administrator came to our town from Willingboro . 

It seems Mayor Fazzone is trying to keep campaign promises he made during his run for office. It's a shame that these promises were made to landlords that are not the caliber of landlord you would want in your town. 

The sad part of this is the way Mayor Fazzone is trying to eliminate these positions. You're talking about six full time and six part-time people. The administration has just passed, by ordinance, fee increases to pay for the cost of the housing/code department. 

The Common counsel would have to pass an ordinance to approve the elimination of these departments. I would hope that after the presences of the housing/code department of some ten years or so, they would have enough sense to see the value of this department with the employees that enforce it. Nothing against Willingboro , but every day you read in the paper about housing and code issues.

Mayor Fazzone should look at projects on his to do list, like buying window treatments for the Lyceum Hall at a cost of ten thousand dollars for one window. 

He brings a riverboat and docks it at our beautiful riverfront that came from below Philadelphia , as an undesirable tenant, for the low rent of two thousand dollars a month and is behind in his rent already. 

Our administration decided to put out the expense of over forty thousand dollars for improvements of our utilities for this boat to dock. 

Then you have a miniature golf course across the street from the boat that common counsel approved only to find out Mayor Fazzone was one hundred thousand dollars short for the walkways around the golf course. Mr. Mayor wants to cut jobs that are helping with the housing stock of our city, but will hire people for maintenance and running a miniature golf course, with these poor economic times.   

I understand that our administration is moving forward with remodeling a room for tourism at the Metro building located at High and Broad Street for the cost of seventy five thousand dollars with an expectance of maybe two thousand dollars per year in revenue. 

Mr. John Alexander, an Edgewater park resident, who Mayor Fazzone brought on as a Director, had to hire two additional part time employees, totaling 3 employees, 80 hours, previously the job of one full time person. Then the city had to bring on consultants because Mr. Alexander was not sure how things are done. Sounds like Mr. Alexander, is not a qualified person for the position. 

Until Mayor Fazzone came along, I do not ever remember our city needing two administrators, which must be a cost of close to two hundred thousand dollars a year.. Then you have another former Edgewater Park resident, employee, Bill Jenkins, who is a director that is in charge of the departments that Mayor Fazzone is hoping to do away with. I wonder if he will be staying on if the departments go.  

 

Thank you,

The Burlington Reporter

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gee, I wonder where the mayor got the idea of bringing in the 'boro? I guess the 'boro is just sittin back laughing all the way to the bank. maybe next they can get into the banking game with all the money they're making from EP & BC....

Or maybe oneday, EP, BC and the Boro will become one town. Can you imagine that?!!! But then I guess the people of EP & BC enjoy being eft in the butt!

Wake the hell up people!!

Anonymous said...

Yeah they should keep the current inspectors. They have done such a fine job keeping the Yorkshire area looking fine. They should have lost the jobs due to incompetence let alone saving money!

Anonymous said...

Look around at the two or should I say three towns mentioned here, Burlington City, Willingboro and Edgewater. Do they appeal to you as a place you want to move, or visit? I hardly think so. It just shows what happens when you elect incompetent people to run your town. Small thinkers come up with ideas like miniature golf courses, conference centers, town-homes, condos and apts. to fund stupid projects that the government has no business being in. It's all about the schools and if you look at the test scores for Burlington, Willingboro and Edgewater you will understand why they will never recover to be the towns that they once were.

Anonymous said...

AMEN Burlington Person. Nothing else needs to be said.

Anonymous said...

Fazzone is a goofball just like Alexander. You forgot to mention the 2 rickshaws they came up with for 7K. How much return on that investment did they see so far? I guess when the golf course is open they'll need 10 more rickshaws to shuttle all the golfers down there.
I guess the folks in Beverly passed on Fazzone for their school superintendant for some reason and if B.C. is smart they'll do the same now that Gola is done. Couldn't imagine the ideas he'd come up with in schools which are already the largest portion of our tax bills. Wish us luck, we need it.

Anonymous said...

I think that the City Rulers should pass an ordinance taxing all residents with registered automobiles say $200.00 for the first and $100 for any additional cars, but give a property tax deduction of $500.00 if you only use a rickshaw. This would pay for Disney Land and would encourage exercise. It is a win/win. Then the city could run a fleet of rickshaws for rent to run between the train station and the New Yorkshire neighborhood. This would allow the tourist to sample our local goods; drugs, guns, murders and ladies of the night and the City to make money providing the service. The new Lyceum building, could be used for a shooting gallery with the City charging fees. With all this new money the city could rebuild the amusement park on Burlington Island so that we could attract more tourist from Trenton, Camden, Philadelphia and New York. With all this money coming in, maybe we will no longer need a property tax like the old days. I say, Jim for King of Burlington if he pulls this off. Hell I might even support him for School Superintendent.

Anonymous said...

Hey Old Burlington Geezer, they could turn the Lyceum bldg into a carnival like "shooting gallery" complete with air-guns w/corks attached or the red laser dot could trigger that something has been shot. Or perhaps like a whole gun/slinging side show with cardboard cutouts of the town hoodlums & gov officials and charge the visitors to see the "wild, wild west burlington"! Oooo..we could just make so much money making Burlington into a side/freak show town. I may visit Burlington more often!

Anonymous said...

To anonymous: Why should it be up to the "inspectors" to clean up the Yorkshire neighborhood? They are "INSPECTORS" not "BABYSITTERS". Perhaps the people of Yorkshire should take some pride in their neighborhood. Why should anyone have to tell grown people to clean up after themselves. It's certainly not the inspectors job to clean it up, it's their job to write them up. However, if the POOR souls don't have money to pay a fine, what good does it do to take them to court. I respect the inspectors who have to go into the neighborhoods and write violations. I have personally witnessed what some of them go through. They should keep the inspectors they have instead of giving away their jobs to another town. How cruel and inconsiderate can a Mayor be to do this to his own town. Now rumor has it, he is also doing away with the Fire Depts. and apparatus. Unbelievable considering the amount of calls they have.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the "doing away" with the fire dept and apparatus is just a rumor. He probably is just downsizing them because there are still about 4 operating stations. Not that I'm defending the mayor, but I will find out if this is just a rumor.

Anonymous said...

Sure, take residents who work for Burlington and pay taxes and vote these officials into office and replace them with outsiders. The city has more properties for sale then ever before. Maybe Mr. Mayor can help these people get a ride on the bus to Great Adventure.

Anonymous said...

The City Of Burlington doesn't need gimmicks and side shows to attract tourists. It needs to stand on its' historic roots, rebuild its shopping district and have more outdoor events at its beautiful riverfront.

As far as the miniature golf course is concerned, wouldn't this be a diversion of City tax payer money into the pockets of the mayors girlfriends' family? The tax payer money shouldn't be invested in more property to manage or maintain, but in construction of responsible future residents. It should be invested in the children and the Recreation Dept. How can you form a responsible society if you neglect the children?

How come all these new "Welcome to Historic Burlington" signs do not showcase our history, but portray Burlington as an exit for the bridge and a dock for the riverboat? Anyone seeking a 3 ring circus only needs to visit the Housing & Code Dept! It's not the quanity of inspectors, but the quality!

I think its obsurd to bring in another town to tell us how to live. And who is the City to tell us how to manage our property when they clearly have mismanaged all of there's?

Urban redevelopment starts with pride not with persecution.

"Common Sense" by Thomas Paine

Anonymous said...

I am a Burlington City resident, and business owner, and would like to set the record straight on a few things noted above. Fazzone has something a lot of the above posters lack.....a positive attitude! He sells this city as if it is already the greatest place to be, and that is more than I can say for all the naysayers who only focus on gossip and negative attacks. The Lyceum Hall is a very important part of our history, being carefully restored to become a center for the arts, thus bringing much needed culture into our city. Lyceum will have tenants that will pay rent to offset the cost, but let's also remember the VALUE of having more people come to our town for the culture. The Liberty Bell boat pays $2k per month according to above poster....that is $48K in 2 years, which is a 20% return on the city's initial investment of $40k in only 2 years....where else can you make that type of return in today's economy. Let us also remember the exposure it has given for the city, and the use of the boat for other fund raising events that benefit the city in helping to offset other expenses. Everyone needs to get the facts on the golf course, instead of continuing to just pass along all the negative gossip that has been traded around town since it was first mentioned. There are probably 25 different versions of this story. If you want to know the truth, talk to the mayor. He has always been willing to talk to me and set the record straight. As far as the tourism office is concerned, the Metropolitan Inn has been an eyesore due to it's long standing vacancy. This is what all of the passengers on the river line see when they pass through our town. Now it will not only be a much needed, more visible, and more centrally located center for our tourism office, but will also house the Main Street office. Finally, these two organizations may start to work more in conjunction with eachother, but more importantly, it will improve the look of our city tremendously for the of thousands of business people that use the River Line each day. If we don't take steps to make our business district more appealing, then we will never return Burlingon into a destination, which is what is needed. Now about the gateway signs. Minimal cost, major exposure. I do not remember the number of cars per day coming over the bridge, but I know there is an estimated 130,000 people a day on Rte 130. That is 130K people that now have an opportunity to learn that there is a historical town when they turn. A very small amount of money was spent to market our town to probably over 200,000 peopls a day. Now on to the rickshaws. No one bothered to mention that James Birch was a Burlington City resident and business man, who manufactured and exported the first rickshaws right here in Burlington. Rickshaws are a very important part of our history, and for such a small investment, adds tremendous charm and marketing potential for the city. Let us not forget that when Fazzone spends money, he usually has a plan to raise funds to offset the costs. I am particularly taken back by the comment that he made promises to the problematic landlords, when it was Fazzone's team that finally implemented a sound landlord ordinance that has the potential to really make life more difficult for irresponsible landlords, while not costing responsible landlords thousands of dollars a year, as was proposed by the previous administration. Fazzone's team actually listened to what the residents wanted, and delivered! I am not an all out fan of Fazzone's administration, but what i see every day is a team that is trying hard to improve life in Burlington for everyone,, not just the elite favored of their own group. For the first time since I have lived here, people from the the different parts of the city are finally being brought together and are starting to work together as one community. So give the man a chance, and ask for answers from him, instead of relying on gossip and helping to perpitrate the two things that always drags burlington down, which is gossip and negative attitudes. We have a most fantastic town, rich in history and oozing with potential. Fazzone is at least trying to tap into that potential, instead of focusing on all the naysayers gossip in town. Sorry all, but if you aren't going to be a part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.

Anonymous said...

John Alexander....What a nice PR Puff Comment to try and justify your bosses incompetent decisions that are and will in the future cause us taxpayers to cough up more money and cost city employees their jobs.
Yea, great job Mr. Mayor!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Guess again, SC.