Democrats address tax hike, vaccine availability
“I think the tax increase combined with the stormwater fee was entirely too much for all those families struggling.”
— Dana Grubb
“You can borrow from your fund balance, you can use one-time revenues, but that catches up with you and the citizens get stuck with 20% tax increases like we’ve seen in other cities, ”
— J. William Reynolds
Bethlehem’s Democratic mayoral candidates faced off during a virtual televised debate on PBS39 Thursday night, days ahead of the May 18 primary election.
The event, hosted in conjunction with 91.3 WLVR, Lehigh Valley Live and the Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley, is available on the PBS39 and 91.3 WLVR Facebook pages. It was moderated by WLVR News Director Jen Rehill and Lehigh Valley Live journalist Kurt Bresswein.
Former City Administrator Dana Grubb and City Councilmember J. William Reynolds are the Democratic candidates vying to become Bethlehem’s next mayor. Because of the city’s term limits, Mayor Robert Donchez, who has been in office since 2014, cannot run for reelection.
The winner of the primary election will face off against former Lehigh County Administrator John Kachmar, the city’s first Republican candidate for mayor in 24 years.
Below are some of the questions candidates answered Thursday night:
Q. Mr. Reynolds, you lost the 2013 mayoral primary against current Mayor Robert Donchez by fewer than 300 votes. Now you have his endorsement, the backing of other party leaders and 13 years of experience on City Council. Do you see yourself as the heir apparent in this race?
Reynolds: I appreciate my relationship with Mayor Donchez, and you’re right, after we had that bitter primary in 2013 I think a lot of people expected us not to get along, but one of the things he did was he sat down and said, ‘Mr. Reynolds I believe you have a lot of great ideas and I want to help make them happen,’ and we’ve done that. If you look at my record as far as climate action, as far as neighborhood revitalization, the Northside 2027 plan, as far as expanding opportunities for the City of Bethlehem and all of our residents, that wouldn’t have been possible without Mr. Donchez’s cooperation. So, I’m proud of his endorsement, I’m proud of the progress that we’ve made and I’m looking forward to continuing our rich history as the next mayor.
Q. Mr. Grubb, you were a longtime city employee, but your departure from government was abrupt. You were given the option to retire or be fired after you got into a fist fight with a colleague in City Hall in 2004. How do you answer voters concerned about your temperament for the job now?
Grubb: I think the first thing I’d do is explain to them what the circumstances were surrounding what happened. We had an employee who had been accused of taking bribes. I reported it immediately to human resources and to the law bureau, and over time I think resentment developed. One day our paths crossed, and unfortunately it became physical. He got in my face. I tried to move him back and he swung and fractured my nose. ... It was over with very quickly. I never hit him and we were both held accountable. Being an accountability kind of guy, I can live with that. We make mistakes in life and we move on.
Q. Here in Bethlehem only 8% of more than 31,000 COVID vaccines given out by the Bethlehem Health Bureau have gone to Latinos. Knowing that this disease disproportionately affects this group, what’s your plan to get more shots into arms where they are needed?
Reynolds: Absolutely we need more clinics. We need to find people to host these, whether its churches or community groups. Our Bethlehem Health Bureau has done a great job getting as many shots into arms as people who want to get them. But now we are entering a new phase, and it’s part education, it’s part access and part that just comes down to how willing are we to get out into the community and find people who want the shot, who need the shot, but because of inequities did not have access to it. It absolutely is a priority and one of the first things we should do with any money we get from the federal government.
Grubb: I think the COVID money should be used to promote and engage the community and get the shots out there. I agree our health bureau has done a fantastic job, but I think promotion, education, we got to get the message out and it seems to me with these statistics we haven’t been doing such a good job. Using the COVID money to provide not only the education, the promotion and availability, but to have the shots available is the best way to head into this and solve the problem.
Q. Mr. Reynolds, the latest city budget cuts services, raises taxes by 5% and includes a $60 per household stormwater fee, and we know council is considering raising water rates. This is a time when a lot of families are struggling economically. How do you justify this?
Reynolds: I think Bethlehem didn’t become Bethlehem by avoiding hard decisions. If you take a look at the progress we’ve made compared to any other city in the state of Pennsylvania, it’s because we’ve taken those challenges head-on. Budgets are about delivering high-quality services and keeping promises to your employees. When a police officer, when a firefighter, when a paramedic signs that contract, we are guaranteeing we are going to take care of their family, healthcare, pension, salary. There’s no easy way. Every year we have to find about $2 million. We need to keep those promises, and we also need to deliver those services. Through the budget process, working with the administration, working with the department heads, it’s about trying to balance out those needs ... You can borrow from your fund balance, you can use one-time revenues, but that catches up with you and the citizens get stuck with 20% tax increases like we’ve seen in other cities, or the selling of assets. We don’t have to make those decisions in Bethlehem because we have the strong leaders who are willing to make the difficult decisions that might be difficult today, but over the long term, they have put us in strong financial position.
Q. Mr. Grubb, what do you make of these increases in taxes and fees in the midst of a pandemic. Are they necessary right now?
Grubb: I think it was piling on. I believe that, first of all, four firefighters didn’t have to be cut. I think some of the raises given to city employees were exorbitant. That’s hard to justify when people are struggling financially. I think the stormwater fee that was assessed could have been deferred another year or two to provide some relief . ... People are struggling financially and I think city government did not take that into consideration and I think they piled onto the residents of the city. I think there were other cuts that could have been made in city government, other positions, and I think the tax increase combined with the stormwater fee was entirely too much for all those families struggling.