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Posted: Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:19 pm | Updated: 10:35 pm, Thu Feb 16, 2012.

ECONOMY — Can a municipality secede from a school district?

People in Economy, upset with property taxes and school debt, have begun talking about the possibility of leaving Ambridge Area and merging with neighboring Freedom Area.

The topic has been raised by residents at consecutive Economy Council meetings, and in telephone and Facebook conversations.

“I’ve had a lot of discussions with people who think we need to explore our options,” Mayor David Poling said.

However, Ambridge school board members did not even mention the proposed secession at their Thursday night meeting.

The school tax rate in Ambridge is 69.83 mills, highest in Beaver County, and the school board has a proposed preliminary budget that requires an 18-mill hike. Freedom’s current rate is 44 mills and its preliminary budget requires no tax hike.

Poling said “there was complete outrage in Economy” when Ambridge Area revealed the possibility of an 18-mill hike after a 6.5-mill hike a year ago.

In January, Poling called Freedom Superintendent Ron Sofo to inquire about the possibility of merging, and the Freedom school board authorized solicitor Matthew Hoffman to prepare a report on the “law and procedures” that apply to a secession and merger. Sofo said the solicitor’s report, which has been shared with Poling, should not be viewed as the district’s commitment to the proposal.

“Our board has made no formal decision,” Sofo said. “We need to explore how this works. We need to learn more about the process.”

Sofo, after reviewing Hoffman’s 17-page report, said “it is not an easy, simple thing to do” and would probably be a 12- to 16-month process.

The process involves petitions signed by a majority of Economy’s taxable residents, a review of the petitions by Beaver County Court and a review of the impact on both school districts by the state Department of Education, according to Hoffman’s report.

“We need to do this. We can do this,” resident Jo Ann Borato said during the public comment portion of the borough council meeting this week. “I think you’ll start to see petitions start to be circulated soon by residents like myself ... Either (school board members) serve the people, or people leave your jurisdiction.”

Poling wants Economy Council to create an exploratory committee, but council President Larry Googins said he thinks the possibility should remain “a resident initiative.”

Some residents suggested launching a new school district.

“That’s almost an impossibility,” Poling said. “It’s more realistic to merge with Freedom.”

Poling said he has heard from people who think he should not get involved with school-related issues.

“I’m the mayor of Economy and I’m looking to see what’s best for Economy Borough,” he said.

“I think we should get behind the mayor,” Borato said. “This impacts all of our properties.”

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Economy may seek Freedom from Ambridge

Enlarge Carolyn Kaster/AP

Expect the rest of 2012 to bring more political symbolism like Thursday's House hearing on birth control and religious freedom than actual passage of major legislation that solves Americans' problems.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Expect the rest of 2012 to bring more political symbolism like Thursday's House hearing on birth control and religious freedom than actual passage of major legislation that solves Americans' problems.

Now that Congress has passed the extension of the payroll tax cut and jobless insurance benefits for the long-term uninsured, as well as a fix that prevents cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, there's the sense that not much else will get done on Capitol Hill, it being a general-election year and all.

And that sense, captured in a recent Politico article, may be true in so far as major legislation goes. In Washington's superpolarized political atmosphere, it's hard enough to get such bills passed in a year when the White House isn't up for grabs, let alone a year like 2012 when it is.

But whether a Congress can be defined as do-something or do-nothing is really in the eye of the beholder.

If you judge Congress by its ability to pass landmark legislation or bills that address the real needs of the U.S. population, then you likely won't be giving Congress over the next year high marks for accomplishing much.

 

But if you judge Congress by the standard of whether lawmakers make numerous symbolic statements with their legislative maneuvering, then you're likely to view the coming months as very productive indeed.

James Thurber, an American University professor and director of the school's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, is in the first camp, defining an effective Congress as one that produces "outcomes that solve problems."

By that standard, he doesn't have high hopes for the rest of the year. "There'll be a lot of wedge issues and agony and angst," said Thurber. "There'll be lots of oversight that will go a long way to try and point out what the parties believe in, instead of legislation that's likely to pass."

For instance, you'll probably see quite a few more sessions like Thursday's humdinger of a hearing by the House Oversight and Investigations Committee focusing on the question of whether the Obama administration's new birth-control rule threatens religious freedom.

Not surprisingly, Republicans stacked the deck, as is the majority's prerogative, with witnesses who agreed that the regulation is such a threat, while some Democrats walked out of the hearing because the first panel had no women on it.

Even with it being an election year, it would seem that Congress has some "musts" on its to-do list. For instance, deep cuts in the defense budget are scheduled to start taking effect in 2013 and beyond if Congress does nothing to head them off.

Norm Ornstein, of the American Enterprise Institute, an expert on Congress, isn't so sure that even that sword of Damocles is enough to get Republicans and Democrats to agree on averting cuts.

"There's not much incentive of Democrats to negotiate if there's no broader deal that includes revenue (or new tax increases). And given how on the Republican side, the politics are driven by the presidential race, any deal that included higher revenues would be greeted with blowback from the Republican base."

Also, Ornstein added, the just approved payroll tax cut agreement is a fly in the ointment going forward for GOP leaders.

Many rank-and-file House Republicans and some in the Senate were unhappy with it because they didn't want to extend the cut in the first place and certainly didn't want to do so without offsetting it with spending cuts.

"Overall, the deal was seen as caving," Ornstein said, which means when it comes to future negotiations that might include some form of higher taxes, Republican leaders aren't "going to have the troops behind them."

So it could very well shape up to be a do-nothing Congress in terms of legislative achievement from here on out, though as Ornstein reminds us, circumstances often have a way of making Congress act.

"The world may force Congress to do something because of economic circumstances or foreign policy," he said.

If Congress essentially runs the clock out the rest of the year, that wouldn't necessarily make everyone unhappy. Hundreds of Washington lobbyists spend their working hours trying to make sure that the federal policies that benefit their clients stay exactly the way they are.

"The big winner on the Hill is the status quo," Thurber said. "It's great to lobby for the status quo because you usually win and you get paid a lot of money for it."

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With Payroll Tax Cut Done, Is It Do-Nothing Congress Time? It Depends

By Shaffiq Alkhatib
The New Paper
Friday, Feb 17, 2012

The police will spare no effort in tracking down the two fugitives in the Suntec City brawl case.

They are looking at legal options to bring the two options brokers who absconded - Robert James Springall, 25, and Robert Stephen Dahlberg, 34 - back here to face the court.

Responding to queries from The New Paper, a police spokesman said: "Police would like to assure the public that the investigation into the Suntec City brawl case was thorough and complete.

"As each case differs in complexity, the time taken to investigate individual cases may vary based on the specific facts of the case and the available evidence...

"Warrants of arrest have been issued against Robert Stephen Dahlberg and Robert James Springall who absconded while on bail.

"We will work closely with Interpol to locate the two of them and bring them to justice."

The latest news comes as a relief to two of the victims in the case.

Dahlberg and Springall were charged over the incident, during which a taxi was hijacked and four people assaulted. The pair absconded separately while out on court bail.

Inquiry

The police spokesman added that the police are also conducting an inquiry into whether there was any mismanagement of the case.

The incident happened at 12.17am on April 11, 2010, but it took 10 months before the trio were charged. TNP first reported the case on May 11 last year.

The spokesman said: "In this case, the investigation findings were tendered to AGC (the Attorney General's Chambers) on 9 June 2011, and all three accused were charged in court on 7 July 2011.

"The court granted the defendants bail and permission to travel after considering representations made by all parties."

Springall, a Briton, had applied to the court on Aug11 last year for permission to go to the United Kingdom, saying that his grandfather had suffered a stroke.

His request was granted by the judge and his court bail of $6,000 was doubled. He was then allowed to leave Singapore from Aug 25 to Sept 5 last year.

Springall returned to Singapore on Sept 5 and was supposed to surrender his passport to the authorities, but he failed to do so.

On Dec 11 last year, he flew out of Singapore and absconded. His warrant of arrest was issued last month.

It is unclear who Springall was supposed to hand his passport to, and the police will be looking into this as part of the inquiry.

The police spokesman added: "We acknowledge that the case took a significant amount of time to be completed and are conducting an internal inquiry to establish the full facts of how the case was handled.

"If there have been any lapses, or any officers are found to have been professionally lacking or negligent in carrying out their duties, disciplinary action will be taken against them."

Collision

Springall faced one charge each of using a taxi without the owner's consent, voluntarily causing hurt to a cabby, Mr Tan Boon Kin, 57, and failing to keep a proper lookout while driving the vehicle, resulting in a collision with a signage pole.

In Dahlberg's case, he had been granted bail by the court to leave for London and Hong Kong from July 11 to 29 last year.

He was granted bail of $25,000, but he failed to return from the trip.

A warrant of arrest was issued on Sept 12 last year.

Dahlberg, a New Zealander, faces one charge each of causing hurt by an act which endangers life and voluntarily causing grievous hurt.

As warrants of arrest have already been issued against the two men, they will be arrested if they try to re-enter Singapore.

The duo's friend, Australian business development manager, Nathan Robert Miller, 35, pleaded guilty to his charges and was sentenced to three weeks' jail lastMonday.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by punching cabby Tay Gek Heng, 45, in the face. One charge of disorderly behaviour was taken into consideration during sentencing.

All three men had attended a black-tie charity event known as the White Collar Boxing before the attack.

Although it is not known where Dahlberg and Springall are, Singapore has extradition treaties with Commonwealth countries, including New Zealand and Britain, where the two men are from.

The authorities here have to track down the men's whereabouts before the AGC can submit a request for extradition.

When a person is charged in court, he can be granted bail in most cases if the offence involved is not a capital offence.

The bail amount is fixed by the judge, depending on the severity of the offence and other factors, such as whether the person is a flight risk.

While out on bail, the accused can also apply to the court to travel overseas. But in such cases, the bail amount will usually be increased by the judge.

Lawyers TNP talked to said that not all accused parties will have their passports impounded. But passports belonging to foreigners usually are.

An accused person will also not face additional charges for absconding.

But the judge will see the matter as an aggravating factor if he or she is later caught and dealt with in court.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

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Expats who jump bail: We will bring them to justice

British expats are being implored to add their signatures to a petition calling for an end to the Government’s controversial frozen pensions policy

The appeal, which was lodged by campaign group the International Consortium of British Pensioners on the Government’s e-petitions website last year, will become eligible for discussion in the House of Commons if it reaches at least 100,000 signatures by September 8.

At the moment however, there are less than 15,000 signatures posted despite the fact that the policy affects over a half a million pensioners worldwide.

Under current regulations, expats in Europe (Chicago Options: ^REURUSD - news) , the US and a number of other countries receive the same annual cost-of-living increases as their UK counterparts, but those living in other countries (including most of the Commonwealth states) have their pensions frozen as soon as they start receiving them abroad.

Tony Bockman, chairman of the ICBP, said: “It's time to ask all overseas recipients of the British state pension to understand that if we are ever going to get the Government to pay attention to the frozen pensions issue, then everyone needs to get involved.

“That's not just the current 550,000 plus pensioners overseas whose pensions are already frozen, but all of you who are not yet of pensionable age but might qualify for a state pension later on.

“I know there is no guarantee that our case will be debated in the House of Commons when we reach 100,000 signatures, but there is every guarantee that it certainly will not be debated if we don't participate. So get involved and get all of your friends and relatives in the UK involved too.”

Expats who wish to sign the petition should visit http://bit.ly/BritPensions , and follow the instructions.

Visit Telegraph Retirement Services for expert advice on Maximising Retirement Income

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Appeal to expats to sign frozen pensions petition

Expats living in Australia need to keep a close eye on their UK debit and credit cards as retailers in the country increasingly move towards lowered security

Australia is among the most popular destinations for emigrating Brits, with over 100,000 moving Down Under between 2005 and 2010. While most living abroad open accounts in their new home, a 2010 study revealed that more than half those Brits that emigrated over five years ago retained a UK current account.

However, little-used cards that sit in a drawer forgotten could pose a big threat to those living Down Under. Last year, a payment system was introduced that removes the need for a pin or signature for transactions under AU$35 (£24). Companies involved so far include the country’s main supermarkets Coles and Woolworths (Xetra: 886853 - news) , McDonald’s and K-Mart. Unlike contactless payment systems, which only work with specially issued cards, the system works with existing cards, including those issued overseas, confirmed Mark Austin of Visa Europe .

“A UK card used at the participating merchants will work without a signature or PIN for transactions under AU$35. This is true whether the card is used via the chip or via the magstripe. It will work as long as the issuing bank approves this transaction; an issuer could choose to decline the transaction if they felt that it was too risky,” said Austin.

Consumer groups in Australia have raised concerns about these “time-saving” measures and the fact there is no way cardholders can opt out. Card issuers and retailers claim the low limit deters thieves, but fraudsters could still run up a big bill by making lots of small transactions.

However, the UK Cards Association confirmed that UK cardholders would not be liable if someone stole their card and used it in such a manner, so long as any unauthorised use was reported to the card issuer within 13 months as required by the Payment Services Regulations.

“If the retailer decided not to take a pin or a signature, the onus is on the bank to prove that the customer was negligent,” said a UK Cards Association spokesperson.

“In the case of fraudulent use, the cardholder is protected by the same liabilities and chargeback rights as in the UK,” added Austin.

Given that the Financial Ombudsman has said that dealing with complaints about disputed transactions forms a significant part of its workload, it seems banks can be difficult when it comes to unauthorised card use. Those living in Australia are advised to be extra vigilant about the whereabouts of all their cards and report any loss immediately.

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Expats in Australia warned about card fraud