Telecom Right to Know 1-12-11

January 12, 2011
Gennaro A. Marino P.E.
409 W. Main St.
Kutztown, Pa 19530
610-683-7977
kmayor@ptd.net
Kutztown Mayor Green
Kutztown Borough Council
Kutztown Telecom Advisory Commission
Kutztown Borough Manager\ Treasurer\RTK Officer Khalife
Kutztown Information Technology Director Caruso
Kutztown Borough Solicitor Keith Mooney\Barley Snyder
Kutztown Independent Auditor Long & Barrell
Ladies and Gentlemen,

You are all involved in a scheme to keep all financial records and statistics of Telecom from the public. You are also defying the Final Determination of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records which orders you to publish the financial records of Telecom for 2008 and 2009 plus additional information. You are all guilty of violating the Commonwealth Right to Know Law. I am in the process of getting the Court of Common Pleas to enforce the Order.

I notice you call meetings, put out bids for new equipment, retain marketing specialists, make new policies and invest more funds in Telecom without ever seeing a financial report on this business venture. You are also aware of Solicitor Mooney’s letter to the Office of Open Records where he stated Telecom was a department of the Borough as is the water, sewer and electric. That is an out and out lie. Telecom is a business venture, and not a utility, that can generate a profit or incur a loss. In this same letter Counselor Mooney also states it would be a herculean task for the Borough to list all the expenditures for Telecom for 2008 and 2009 for Mr. Marino. You all know that revenues and expenditures in all businesses are totaled periodically and at the end of the year. Therefore the expenditures do not have to be totaled for me, they should exist.

My opinion is that Telecom loses about $1 million a year and has lost $1 million a year since its inception in 2002. The facts are that the Borough Debt is $13 million and if the loan was paid weekly the payment would be about $25,000 a week

You keep spending more and more money every year and continue to raise all the Borough utility rates, fees and permits. The latest was the electricity rate which was raised 6.5% and Council President Eidle stated the raise was due to the increased cost of electricity. Then he states 3% of the increase would go into the General Fund. Before the rate increase the Borough’s electricity rate was about double the rate of the surrounding area.

My opinion is that the Borough is defying the Order of the Office of Open Records because the budget is falsified and the Borough publishes fraudulent financial reports. Revenue and expenditures from the General Fund and the utilities are illegally totaled together with Telecom to mask the losses of Telecom Department.

I am sure the Court of Common Pleas will prevail and you will have to publish the records. Remember I requested information that should have been published periodically legally not records that are not required to be made public.
It is time for you all to explain to the Borough residents what you are doing. Thank you.

Sincerely,


Gennaro A. Marino P.E.