Nate Covington
Private Citizen
Politics
Township Auditors and their involvement when a CPA firm does the audit
I’ve heard from other 2nd Class Township Auditors about their involvement in the auditing process when a CPA firm does the audit. Here are some of my findings.
The CPA firm typically does their township over the summer. When the audit is complete the auditors receive an PDF copy via email from the township, and they are invited to attend the meetings between the CPA firm and the supervisors to go over the audit.
Township Supervisor Conflict of Interests
It’s a politically exciting time in Barrett nowadays, as our voters recently elected 3 new supervisors. One of the new supervisors is also the township treasurer, secretary, webmaster, right to know officer...
Cryptocurrency: How Decentralized Is Bitcoin, Ethereum?
This video talks about the relative size between Bitcoin and Visa, and the implications for a growing blockchain.
Township Management & Hiring Practices
I recently filed a Right to Know request about our township's job openings, asking for a copy of any help wanted, job opening, or career opportunity posting that the township put together in the last 5 years. In 2019 Barrett Township reported almost $400,000 in payroll expenses so it would make sense that they regularly post ads and hold interviews, right?
Wrong.
The RTK response came back indicating the "records do not exist."
In other words, the Township has filled all of its employment needs by hiring people from within its own network, rather than advertising the openings and interviewing the best candidates for the positions.
DENIED: Right to know request for township financial records
This started out as a simple request for a 5 year budget comparison. When the township treasurer was unable to provide the requested financial report, I requested the Quickbooks data file, so I could create the report myself. The response wobbled: first the RTK request response said that Quickbooks data is unavailable. Then I asked more questions and it turns out that they do have that Quickbooks file, now they are saying they can't share it because it has confidential information.
Which is it?
PENNSYLVANIA VOTER ROLL ANALYSIS SETH KESHEL (8 AUGUST 2021)
Here is the promised voter registration rolls with analysis on FIVE COUNTIES holding an estimated 92,000 extra Biden votes (AKA, enough to flip the state!)
- ERIE
- LUZERNE
- FRANKLIN
- MONTGOMERY
- YORK
This is only useful if you guys do something locally with it, demand action, and pressure the living hell out of the PA RINO coalition to have these explained. Every word in this document is understandable and we have the rolls for when they ask.
(see attachment below)
Libertarian Party Being Excluded from Motor Voter Registration
Over the weekend the LPPA has received multiple concerning reports. It seems that the Libertarian and Green party are being excluded from “Motor Voter” registration access. One member provided photo evidence. Under Pennsylvania law both Minor and Major parties are to be listed as a registration option to anyone that wishes to affiliate when being issued a license at a PennDOT. As such PennDOT is in violation of Motor Voter laws since both parties had secured Minor party status in the 2020 general election.
We had hoped this was an isolated incident as it has been in the past however, we are skeptical.
Resources for Aging at Home & Independent Living
The following information should be helpful if your loved one qualifies for Medicaid and you feel it would be inappropriate to place them in a nursing home.
1. The first term you should be familiar with is Medicaid "waivers" - which means that if someone qualifies for Medicaid, that money can be spent on services to keep them in their home.
It's sometimes referred to as Community Based Services.
FYI / background: DHS used to fund this - it was subcontracted through agencies. Now they use Managed Care Organizations
2. The second term Self Directed Services or the "Consumer model"
This is 1 set of paperwork that legally sets you up as an employer, so that you can hire your friends, family, neighbors, anyone you want - to take care of you, using Medicaid funds. This takes the government out as middleman. There is an app for managing hours, payroll, etc. Restriction: can't hire spouse or power of attorney. Pay starts at $10.87 (PA)
Third-party vote not a waste if you consider the FEC 5% public funding factor
No such thing as a wasted vote!
MANCHESTER, NH – And now for a public service announcement:
It’s Election Day, which means the vote-shaming is almost over. But if you don’t have the stomach for one more day of being ashamed of your personal choice for president, you should probably avoid social media, where there are four basic messages circulating:
Forming a Political Committee in Pennsylvania
This article is primarily aimed at people who are considering running for public office, but the information can be used to form any type of political committee. For example, you don't have to be a candidate running for office, you can be a group of concerned citizens who care about a specific political issue.
Hopefuly this article will help streamline that process because I just had to learn and jump through all of these hoops in the last 2 months. This article will be most applicable to state-level positions but the same approach will work for county and municipal, you'll just be filing your reports with a different office, as I understand.
Can't I run as an individual instead of forming a committee?
Yes, technically you can. And if you take in and spend less than $250 there is a special one-page form that can save you a lot of headaches. That "under $250" form can also be utilized by a campaign committee but I would imagine most will need to use the long form.
Special Election Campaign Postmortem Report (May 2021)
Low Turnout:
Expected Win Number: 50,000
Actual win number: 28,500
Website Traffic: Hit Counts
- March 28, 2021: Campaign Announced (0 hits)
- April 20, 2021: 10,000 hits
- April 29, 2021: 15,000 hits
- May 6, 2021: 20,000 hits
- May 12, 2021: 25,000 hits
- May 19, 2021: 30,000 hits
- May 31, 2021: 35,000 hits
- June 18, 2021: 40,000 hits
- July 7, 2021: 45,000 hits
Cost per Vote Analysis - Expected $1 per vote
In a PA Second Class Township Near You
Edit 7/14/21: Act 65 of 2021
It appears Pennsylvania is revising their Sunshine Law to require better public notice of meeting agendas (see attachments)
Editor's Note: This poem is intentionally awkward.
In a second class township near you, Auditors don't audit because townships hire a CPA firm instead, making the township is legally eligible for grant money. Unfortunately this defeats the entire purpose of having elected auditors.
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Additional Information re: Township Owned Properties
23 March 2023...
Fellow Barrett Township Taxpayers -
I've compiled some additional information regarding properties owned by the Township.
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Due to the recent flurry of information regarding real estate & property transactions in Barrett Township, I've filed a
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Below are the comments that I read during the public Auditor's meeting on January 4, -
Should the Barrett Township LST (Local Services Tax) be repealed?
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My opinion is that the Local Services tax should be repealed because it drives away business and makes it harder to attract workers in
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Question:
Did we save money by switching from Barrett Township to Pocono Mountain Regional police?
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"I think one of the things that really separates us from the high primates is that we’re tool builders. I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. And, humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing, about a third of the way down the list. It was not too proud a showing for the crown of creation. So, that didn’t look so good. But, then somebody at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And, a man on a bicycle, a human on a bicycle, blew the condor away, completely off the top of the charts.
And that’s what a computer is to me. What a computer is to me is it’s the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with, and it’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”
~ Steve Jobs
