We received the following email from Dan Arrison.
To Erock’s Beat:
With the budget
discussions happening in Eddystone, I thought it imperative to break my silence
in an attempt to quash some of the rumors floating around town regarding the projected
revenue the Borough anticipated to receive from Camden Iron and Metal and the
timing of capital investment decisions made by Borough Council and Mayor Orr.
Specifically:
1. The 2013 budget shortage is not
a result of Camden Iron’s missing money.
2. The 2013 budget shortage is a direct
result of the unanimous decision of the Borough Council, supported
by Mayor Orr, to spend almost 3 million dollars on capital investment prior to
receiving a dime to finance a new firehouse.
Please consider:
1. In November 2010, Tom Corbett was elected
into office after running on a platform of fiscal austerity. ‘Wasteful spending,’ according to him,
included the 31 million dollar Philadelphia Regional Port Authority grant for
CIM.
2. In December 2010, CIM representatives
contacted my wife and I in an attempt to mediate an understanding, presumably,
so they could go to Governor Rendell and get their money prior to his leaving
office.
3. In May 2011(one month prior to the
Firehouse vote), I was acutely aware that CIM was unsure of its plans to move
into the Borough, thanks to my meeting with CIM executives and representatives
during the winter and spring of 2011.
In May, CIM had not confirmed its decision to move into Eddystone, as
they had yet to receive the PRPA grant.
4. In June 2011 Council voted to build a 3
million dollar firehouse assuming that CIM’s money would finance this project,
despite the above information; news reports confirm this fact.
5. In October 2011, the PRPA formally
notified CIM that Governor Corbett had reauthorized the 31 million dollar grant
to another project. To say it another way, CIM would not
receive the 31 million dollars. This
decision is public record.
6. It was common knowledge to the active
stakeholders within this issue that CIM would not move without that grant. It is why we fought so hard against the company’s receipt of it, starting as far back as April 2010. Our goal back then was to delay the money long enough for a new Governor to take office.
7. In October 2011, no work had started on
the firehouse project, nor did either the Council or Mayor verify if the CIM
money was available to finance the project. We knew the money did not exist; Council and the Mayor,
apparently, did not.
8. In November 2011, the Borough broke
ground on the firehouse despite the above information and with no alternative plan
for the financing.
9. Thus, the Mayor and Council effectively
spent 3 million dollars, which equates to nearly 100% of the Borough's annual budget, in anticipated taxpayer money they never actually
collected.
Knowing Governor
Corbett’s campaign platform of fiscal austerity, it should have been clear to the
Borough Manager, President Pappas, and Mayor Orr that the CIM grant would be in
danger when he took office. Understanding
that CIM had hoped to be operational in 2010 but had not broken ground in June
2011 should been a clue that a problem existed. Seeing in October 2011 that no developments on the former
Foamex property started should have, at minimum, nudged one of these three
people to ask a question to determine what was delaying the CIM project.
If/when our
taxes go up, it is not because a few residents spoke up and fought for
something they believed to be right.
If/when our taxes go up, it is a direct result of the lack of foresight,
coupled with a mountain of spite, existing within a Council and Mayor who
refused to consider for even one second that its residents might know something
they did not know. To this day, I
sincerely believe that neither Mayor Orr nor President Pappas comprehend the
level of complexity that went into the challenge that ultimately thwarted the
CIM project.
Sincerely,
Dan Arrison