If there was an award show for the stupid things done by government leadership at the city, state and the federal levels, then Scranton, PA, would win one of the big prizes. There seems to be no end to the misadventures and mishaps cities inflict on themselves. If only the quest for greatness brought about mediocrity, at the very least, but instead, the fundraisers, pretty speeches, and campaign promises end in a grand show of ineptitude.
Scranton lost around $5,000 in January because 600 of its 1,095 on-street parking meters had dead batteries. Read on for more details. Shortly after that, the city hired a private group to manage its meters. Good thinking.
3 Responses
As I read the article, the new entity took over the meters on Jan 1. What motivation do you suppose the outgoing maintenance folks had to replace those batteries in the cold?
their motivation should be their jobs. they were city workers. But something does not add up… the had 50% of meters down, but only lost 7% of revenue. Either Scranton people are brutally honest and most paid the broken meter or something else is going on.
Where are the citation statistics????????
They also “forgot” to go out for bid on the privatization project;
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-never-bid-on-parking-meter-management-agreement-1.1452108