Thanks for helping me to see things in a dinffreet light.

you saw in my post from August, Mitch took me to see Guys and Dolls for my birthday. For the ocacoisn, he told me I needed to dress nice, so I felt a new dress was in

I also am disappointed in Senator Folmer’s November 5th edaiirtol comments. He states that the present city government is not open or transparent and that there is fraud, waste and mismanagement present in city departments. As the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Lebanon, I assure you that since I was sworn into office in January of 2010, my administration has been very forthcoming. In politics, transparency means holding officials accountable and fighting corruption. I and City Council have done nothing but that since I took office. Many steps were immediately taken to hold every department financially accountable by implementing a purchase order system and by increasing accounting controls. Enhancements were made to the budget process, which improved the amount of information provided. This assisted with allowing not only council, but the public to be more informed than ever. We discovered that numerous checks from as far back as 2003 were not cashed and permits not processed in the public works department and took immediate action to hold the employees accountable. This resulted in more monies being processed in this department. We re-opened a closed employment matter and investigated financial discrepancies in the public safety department, which resulted in criminal charges being filed. We have addressed numerous audit findings from past audit years. All of these above items exemplify efforts to hold officials accountable and to fight corruption.Regarding waste and mismanagement, I believe you will be hard-pressed to find it. When 83.38% of the General Fund Budget is salaries and benefits, it is difficult to find waste. However, this was addressed by implementing the purchase order system so I can scrutinize every single purchase made by any government employee. I believe this has truly increased our control on expenditures.Regarding mismanagement, I believe all of the departments are run competently. Do we have difficulties and mis-communication on occasions, of course we do. However, I believe we handle most operations as efficiently as possible when you consider the lack of staff and funding. This is comparable to all 3rd Class Cities in the State of Pennsylvania. In fact, all municipal leaders are facing severe challenges and unprecedented sacrifices. Municipalities expend the largest share of resources maintaining fundamental and much needed services. We need help. We cannot solve our challenges with the existing authorities, mandates and tools provided to us by our state. We need long-term structural change and it is essential for our future success. A prosperous city is absolutely essential for a prosperous county and, in turn, a prosperous state. I would respectfully ask that Senator Folmer focus on this effort. The present city council and I have only the best interests of our city at heart and we will continue on that path.Thank you for interest.Sherry CapelloLebanon City Mayor

Posts like this brighten up my day. Thnkas for taking the time.