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Small Pennsylvania Town Sues the Fire Department Over Shady Accounting

I would expect more and more items like these in the news in the months and years ahead but that’s just my humble opinion.

Apparently commissioners in Lawrence Park Township, Pennsylvania are sick of messing around and would like an Erie County judge to appoint a custodian to handle the volunteer Lawrence Park Fire Department. On Friday, the township filed a petition, after a July 12th vote of 3-2 to go to court.

Via Firehouse.com:

The three commissioners are claiming the Fire Department is violating a township ordinance by not providing an accounting of how the department is spending township money. The commissioners are arguing a custodian should be in place long enough to bring the department in compliance with the law.

The commissioners and the Fire Department have been feuding over the department’s finances since 2009. The firefighters have said the department is fiscally sound.

The funny part of all this is that the fire department claimed part of the reason why their finances were so jacked up was the Form 990 they “never knew existed” according to department president Maureen Crotty. Apparently the township commissioners felt the lack of a 990 (which reveals any non-profit organization’s expenses and revenues and is required for all non-profits above $250,000) was one of many good reasons not to give the department more money.

So back in April, almost a year after the IRS said all required 990s better be in or else, the fire department was still waiting to get a completed 990 back from its newly hired accountant, who didn’t have time to fill out the simple form while also auditing the department’s financial records by request of the stingy township commissioners.

Back then, Crotty stated she hoped the finished 990 and audit would help repair the strained relationship between the fire department and the five-member board of commissioners. Guess that didn’t happen.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Invite Citizens to Get on This Fiscal Crisis Thing

Either some Pennsylvania lawmakers are out of ideas for closing the state’s budget gap or they’re sick of the belly aching from the Keystone citizens because they’ve decided to put out there for the ordinary Quakers to give their suggestions for fiscal improvement.

So far there has been approximately 750 suggestions that range from consolidating school districts, “El excess management positions. 15 school districts in one county equals 15 superintendents, health care plans, IT departments, administrative departments, maintenance depts and so on” to downsizing the size of the state legislature, “downsize our legislature, there has been several articles on our size compared to other states whith [sic] smaller legislatures and much larger populations.”

Of course there are less constructive ideas such as the idea of having one huge pee party from “Gary” in Mount Joy (our bolding):

URINALYSIS for everyone who receives their salary from Tax dollars. Every tax dollar that comes out of our pocket pays for every teacher in the state, every state trooper, every state university professor, every congressman. We as taxpayers need to know that our tax dollars are not being used to fund illegal/ illicit drug use. We should have a Urinalysis for Every Teacher, every Congressman, every State worker, Every Professor of the state universities. If that is implemented, you will notice a lot of retirements/resignations. Saving the tax payers loads of money as well as stimulating the workforce because of the jobs that will need to be filled. This Is not an invasion of privacy.

EVERYONE IS ON DOPE!

And then there’s “frank” from York, PA who isn’t buying this pollution nonsense:

get rid of state car inspections & emissions testting [sic] – all the garbage about the air is all made up. And if we are the only country doing so, it proves that the goverment are liars! Yea every knows thats true

“Joe Wehner” from Pittsburgh just feels like hating on the whole process, thankyouverymuch:

Like our government, this site is a joke! They only publish dumb democrat liberal views. GOD Forbid any views that work… They won’t publish views outside of their agenda to ruin America.

But we like we said, there are some decent suggestions.

Pennsylvania website takes taxpayers’ ideas to save money [Philadelphia Inquirer]

URINALYSIS for everyone who receives their salary from Tax dollars. Every tax dollar that comes out of our pocket pays for every teacher in the state, every state trooper, every state university professor, every congressman. We as taxpayers need to know that our tax dollars are not being used to fund illegal/ illicit drug use. We should have a Urinalysis for Every Teacher, every Congressman, every State worker, Every Professor of the state universities. If that is implemented, you will notice a lot of retirements/resignations. Saving the tax payers loads of money as well as stimulating the workforce because of the jobs that will need to be filled. This Is not an invasion of privacy.

EVERYONE IS ON DOPE!

And then there’s “frank” from York, PA who isn’t buying this pollution nonsense:

get rid of state car inspections & emissions testting [sic] – all the garbage about the air is all made up. And if we are the only country doing so, it proves that the goverment are liars! Yea every knows thats true

“Joe Wehner” from Pittsburgh just feels like hating on the whole process, thankyouverymuch:

Like our government, this site is a joke! They only publish dumb democrat liberal views. GOD Forbid any views that work… They won’t publish views outside of their agenda to ruin America.

But we like we said, there are some decent suggestions.

Pennsylvania website takes taxpayers’ ideas to save money [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Pennsylvania’s Tax Amnesty Ad Will Work on the Most Paranoid of Citizens

Pennsylvania’s tax amnesty program started on April 26th and to help taxpayers get off their non-complying asses, this ad has been introduced to motivate Keystone Staters that owe back taxes.

If this doesn’t get Quaker stoners into compliance, nothing will:


Personally, we would liked to have seen the PA Dept of Rev go the route of PICPA and incorporate Snuggies or breathlessly judgmental friends. Although we understand that scare tactics may be effective, a state must be pretty desperate to run this to get taxpayers motivated.

Btw, Philadelphia’s tax amnesty program started today and, so far, is considerably less Orwellian.

Earlier:
Tax Amnesty Programs: A Gold Mine for States or Bad Policy?

Pennsylvania CPAs Insist Accountants Are Funny in New Videos. Which Are Funny

The Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs is tired of everyone thinking that accountants are humorless, soulless, number crunching (did we mention green eyeshade wearing?) nerds, so they decided do something about it.

The PICPA has developed two videos to show everyone that not only are CPAs important business advisors, they can be creative and yes, funny. Despite where you fall on the comedic spectrum (Brian Regan, Chris Rock, Lewis Black, Larry the Cable Guy, Seinfeld, whatevs) you’ve got to admit that this is by far the best attempt at plugging the services that CPAs can provide out there. It doesn’t go the emotional route like Grant Thornton’s campaign or just miss the mark completely like BDO. This is purely for comedic value and it’s refreshing.

Granted, the PICPA is a professional association and not a firm so we aren’t expecting any firm to go with a Big Foot parody or 80s drug ads but let’s keep this angle fresh in our minds, shall we, accounting firms?

Pennsylvania Firms to Merge, Attempt to Expand Non-Quaker Client Base

quaker_1.jpgTwo Pennsylvania CPA firms, Parente Randolph and Beard Miller Co., announced yesterday that they are merging.
The combined firm, still without a name (we’re pulling for “Beard”) will have 170 partners, over 1,200 professionals, and 27 offices in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Texas(?).
The combined firm will have a stranglehold on the coveted Quaker market in Pennsylvania and will be well positioned in the New York City market. It will be focusing its growth efforts to find similarly pious and plain clothed, plain speaking business people in upstate New York, New Jersey, and Maryland.
Pa. accounting firms Parente Randolph, Beard Miller to merge [Triangle Business Journal]