Thread: McAdoo mayor again criticizes council for not enacting IIRA

http://www.standardspeaker.com/index.ph ... 2&Itemid=2

McAdoo mayor again criticizes council for not enacting IIRA
Tuesday, 05 September 2006
By SAM GALSKI
McAdoo Mayor Steve Holly accused majority council members of “cheating” residents by failing to adopt an Illegal Immigration Relief Act.

But council President Brian Kolbush said he personally wants to see the borough continue looking to officials from nearby Hazleton for guidance as the city council works to revise its own IIRA.

Holly on Monday picked up where he left off earlier this month – lambasting majority council members for not enacting an IIRA.

The mayor has publicly called on borough council over the past two months to adopt an IIRA-type ordinance and did the same at last week’s regular meeting.

Council took no action on the IIRA at a recent regular meeting, triggering criticism from Holly and some meeting attendees, the mayor recalled.

“Once again, they claim they’re afraid of getting sued,” Holly said of council’s decision to refrain from moving on the IIRA. “The bottom line is you are fighting for what is right. We would just be saying, ‘If you’re legal, it’s not going to work out.’”

Kolbush said Sunday that Hazleton is expected to amend ambiguous aspects of its ordinance. The council president said he would be happy to get a copy of the amended city ordinance and distribute it to McAdoo council members.

“Once they make revisions, we’re going to request a copy and give it to everyone to review,” Kolbush said. “Again, we’re waiting for Hazleton to revise theirs.”

Kolbush said earlier this month that that while he personally does not object to adopting an IIRA, he would rather take a wait-and-see approach, particularly to see how Hazleton’s ordinance fares in federal court.

Hazleton City has a significantly larger general fund budget than McAdoo Borough and Kolbush said he doesn’t know how the borough would be able to afford a federal court case when the borough has only a $500,000 budget.

“I’m not against adopting the illegal immigration ordinance, but at the same time, I don’t want to open us up to a lawsuit,” Kolbush said at the time.

Holly says he’s not concerned with legal fees – and insisted that majority council members are hurting the community by waiting to act on the IIRA.

“I told them they have to stop spectating,” Holly said. “The longer they wait and see what happens in Hazleton, illegals are just going to keep pouring in. It’s a shame you almost have to persuade majority council to do the right thing.”

Councilwoman Mary Labert said that while she favors adopting an IIRA, she said that the governing body needs to base its version from Hazleton’s ordinance, which will be amended.

“We have to pattern the ordinance after Hazleton,” Labert said. “We have to get guidance from their expertise. We also have to make sure it’s enforced once it’s passed.”

While Labert and Kolbush said they want to wait on Hazleton before acting on the IIRA, they said that borough council is taking steps to keep tabs on who’s moving into and out of the borough.

Kolbush said he obtained a copy of another city ordinance that requires tenants, rather than landlords, to pay a one-time $10 occupancy permit fee. This ordinance can also be tailored to fit McAdoo’s needs, Kolbush said.

The ordinance will help officials in McAdoo keep tabs on who is moving into and out of the borough, the council members said.

Kolbush said he distributed copies of the occupancy-related ordinance to council, saying the issue could be discussed at the Sept. 13 work session.

“I reviewed it and asked council to review it and bring their comments to the work session,” Kolbush said. “Maybe by the September (regular) meeting, we could have something we could advertise.”

if enough cities stand up.. the ACLU and LULAC and whoever else won't stand a chance.