Home Contracting Costs Shaved With Springfield Man’s MyBidPortal
Brian Murphy at a customer’s.
A Springfield man’s plan is already shaving thousands from plumbing, heating and air conditioning costs for homeowners throughout Southeast Pennsylvania and it’s just a few months old.
Brian Murphy, a master plumber, began MyBidPortal.com earlier this year. The concept is simple. A homeowner fills an online form about the kind of work desired. A MyBidPortal representative consults with the homeowner by phone, online or via an at home visit. A system is selected and the rep then requests bids from local rated installation professionals.
A professional seeking work sees the request on MyBidPortal and submits a bid. Once MyBidPortal gets multiple competing bids the homeowner is contacted. The homeowner compares the pricing with the latest MyBidPortal score and picks a pro.
The bidders are blind to each others offers.
Murphy says these pros are screened either by himself or one of his 11 agents before being allowed to submit bids on MyBidPortal, and their work is reviewed quarterly. The screening and reviews include interviews with their previous customers, ensuring that licenses and insurance are up to date, and observing them at job sites.
Customers are not charged for work requests. MyBidPortal takes a small percent of the fee from the contractor when the bid is accepted.
Murphy says savings for customers are often $4,000-plus for major jobs. Advantages to the contractor include far less idle time and far less expensive leads and sales commissions.
Murphy has been doing plumbing and HVAC work for more than three decades. With the growing success of MyBidPortal in his line, he says he is working with his wife, Holly, to expand the concept to retail.
Home Contracting Costs Shaved With Springfield Man’s MyBidPortal
Charlton Opponent Submits 900 Signatures — Regina Scheerer, the retired teacher who is taking on incumbent State Rep. Alex Charlton, delivered nominating petitions containing nearly 900 signatures, Friday, to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation.
Only 300 signatures are needed.
Unless there are some bizarrely major issues (shenanigans), expect to see Mrs. Scheerer’s name on the ballot for the May 15 Republican Primary.
Charlton was elected to represent Pennsylvania’s 165th District in 2016 replacing long-time incumbent Bill Adolph.
Since then, he has time and again poked his constituents in the eye. He has opposed commonsense reforms aimed at curtailing vote fraud. He has endeavored to maintain the corrupt system that lets money be automatically deducted from the paychecks of public employees to pay for politicking. This politicking often involves supporting things that the employee opposes.
The final straw for Mrs. Scheerer, though, came Dec. 12 when Alex voted against limiting abortions to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy rather than the existing 24. He was one of six Republicans to do so. Civilized people understand that failing to protect weak and helpless life lead to nihilism and despair. Most of Western Europe bans abortion — with some strict exceptions — at 12 weeks. Note, this would be 12 weeks gestational age which would be about nine weeks after conception.
Even hip, progressive Sweden and Norway ban them at 18 weeks gestational age.
Alex, however, who ran as a pro-lifer, thinks that’s too oppressive.
The 165th District has 63, 769 residents as of 2011 and consists of Morton Borough; Springfield Township except for the 2nd precinct of the 3rd Ward; Marple Township except for the 5th Ward; and the 4th and 6th wards of Radnor Township along with 1st Precinct of the 1st Ward, the 1st Precinct of the 3rd Ward and the 2nd Precinct of the 5th Ward.
For the record, Mrs. Scheerer says she will not take the legislative pension.
Charlton Gets Primary Opponent –Regina Scheerer has announced that she will be taking on incumbent State Rep. Alex Charlton of the 165th District in the Republican Primary.
Mrs. Scheerer is a retired middle school math teacher. She has lived in Springfield for 40 years and has 12 grandchildren.
Here is her statement explaining why she is running:
Dear Neighbors and Friends in Springfield—I will be challenging our State Representative Alex Charlton in the upcoming May Primary on May 15.
First I must get my name on the ballot.
In order to do that, I need 300 valid signatures of registered Republican voters in Springfield, Marple and Radnor Townships, and Morton Boro, on petitions to be circulated starting next Tuesday, February 13 and ending on Wednesday, February 28.
Since signatures on petitions may be challenged, and therefore voided, we need 600 signatures altogether.
I need volunteers to go to registered Republican voters in their neighborhoods to collect these signatures.
I will give you a list of the Republican voters in your neighborhoods along with instructions.
An alternative to going door-to-door would be to host 20 – 30 registered Republican voters at your house for an hour, I would come to speak to them and then they would sign the petition.
A combination of both may work for you also.
Why am I doing this?
The main reason is that Alex Charlton ran and was elected as a pro-life Republican. (Pro-life is a platform of the Republican Party.)
He recently voted against a bill that would have limited abortions in PA to 20 weeks (5 months) gestation, which is more than half the time of a woman’s full term pregnancy.
It would not have taken away a woman’s right to an abortion, but it would have lowered the allowable time in PA from 24 weeks to 20 weeks.
16 other states have already adopted the 20 week limit.
The bill also would have banned the barbaric practice of dismemberment abortions.
A Delaware County Republican representative has never voted against a pro-life bill.
Alex Charlton’s pro-abortion vote is incompatible with the Republican Party and incompatible with those who respect Life.
Rest assured, I will not be a one-issue candidate. There are other issues directly affecting PA taxpayers; one, that is especially impacting Springfield School District taxpayers with the building of the new high school, is the required “prevailing wage”.
SEPTA Eagles Parade Schedule — SEPTA has announced significant adjustments for service on Thursday (Feb. 8) for the Eagles Super Bowl Parade, according to State Rep. Alex Charlton (R-165). Free rides will be offered on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines, but service will be limited to select stops.
Regional Rail will board only at select stations and will service only select stations in Center City. Customers MUST have either a Weekly or Monthly TrailPass, an Independence Pass, or a pre-purchased senior/reduced fare ticket. Discounted Independence Passes will go on sale today (Feb. 6) for $10.
Springfield Mall Evacuated — We have just been informed (3:42 p.m.) that the Springfield Mall in Delaware County, Pa. has been evacuated. The parking lot is filled with police and firefighters and a fire ladder has been placed to the roof.
Traffic is snarled on Baltimore Pike and Sproul Road we are told.
The cause of the evacuation is reported to have been a grease fire in the kitchen of Sbarro’s restaurant.
Chief Joe Daly Honored By Pa. House — Springfield Police Chief Joe Daly has been honored by the Pennsylvania House in conjunction with receiving the Hometown Hero Award from the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce.
“Chief Daly has done an incredible job of keeping Springfield safe and cementing its status as one of the best townships in Delaware County,” said State Rep. Alex Charlton (R-165).
Springfield Residents Warned Of Strong-Arm Robberies — Springfield, Pa. residents received a recorded warning, yesterday, April 18, from Police Chief Joe Daly regarding teenagers interfering with traffic, throwing rocks at trolleys, using drugs and drinking, and, most disconcertingly, committing strong-armed robbery.
He noted that when caught they will be prosecuted according to law. If the teens are township residents, as is likely, their parents will have received the message along with their neighbors and the odds are the behavior will be curtailed either voluntarily or via arrests and prosecutions.
This is very good proactive policing and township governance.
Springfield, by the way, has a curfew for teens running from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and starting 11:59 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and national holidays.
Springfield Residents Warned Of Strong-Arm Robberies
By Rocco Polidoro
The political career of retiring State Representative William F. Adolph,165th District is a clear case of why Pennsylvania needs a State Constitutional amendment to install term limits and to lower the number of legislators.
Rep. Bill Adolph
The 165th state house district covers parts of Morton, Springfield, Marple and Radnor. I hear Bill Adolph is a good guy in Delaware County but many people don’t know about the Bill Adolph in Harrisburg.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly has 203 members and the PA Senate has 50 members. Government watchdog groups have labeled PA as the fifth most corrupt state in the Country.
House members start off making $85,339 a year with excellent benefits. When Adolph started in 1989, he was earning about $35,000. Employee benefit specialists estimate that a great benefit package, like what state legislators make, is equal to about an extra 35 percent of their salary. Bill Adolph ended his 28 years with a salary of $120,000.
Employee benefit specialist would also say that the schedule of a state legislator is considered part time. The average full time worker works about 250 days a year whereas state lawmakers work about 125 days a year. In addition many lawmakers have other jobs or businesses which confirms the fact that their state jobs are part time. Plus they get over $600 a month car allowance, $159 a day for expenses and a full medical package which includes Nursing Home protection. So when one adds up Bill Adolph’s salary, his benefits, car allowance, per diem expenses, office rent, staff salaries and their benefits, the State of Pennsylvania has spent over $4 million in the last 28 years.
And there is no way to add up all of the gifts, conference trips and sporting events that had come his way in those 28 years.
Now that Adolph retires in January, he will earn about $120,000 a year in a pension with full medical insurance. The complete retirement package alone can total another $3 million over the next 20 years. So the grand total for Bill Adolph could top around $7 million.
Why do we tax-payers allow all this for career politicians ? There wouldn’t be any pensions with full medical benefits if there were term limits in place. Wouldn’t a 10-year limit be enough?
Our Founding Fathers never planned for us to have public servants spend a life time as a legislator and pay them a pension and medical care for life.To make matters worse, there are 252 other state law-makers that have the potential to draw millions. Now what did we get for the $7 million that we will eventually spend for Bill Adolph?
If you were waiting for property tax relief, Adolph never brought that to PA. If you support public education, Adolph voted many times to cut funding to our public schools but did vote to give millions to Charter Schools. If you supported cutting waste in government, Adolph was a major distributor of WAM (Walking Around Money) money for years. WAM money was unappropriated and unaccounted state money for special projects in the districts of the powerful lawmakers.
Adolph has had a history of not being a good steward of our tax money. While he was on the Board of Directors and then the chairman of PHEAA, the State Auditor General did a report in 2007 which showed that PHEAA wasted $25 million over a 5 year period. PHEAA is the state agency that awards college grants and school loans to college students.
Another example of Adolph’s poor stewardship of our taxes was when he voted in 2001 to increase the pension formula of state lawmakers, judges and teachers by 50 percent. As a result the 501 school districts in PA owe over a billion dollars to the state pension system. And because of this pension-funding crisis, many school districts will be forced to eventually raise property taxes even more.
In 2005, Adolph voted to raise his salary by 34 percent on July 7th at 2 a.m. with no input from the press or the public. Adolph took the first month increase but when the word got out and the pressure mounted on all of the Legislators, Adolph returned the increase in the second month. To prevent another fiasco like the 2 a.m. vote, Adolph and the rest of his friends, voted to permanently build in a cost of living increase so their salaries can go up a little every year. This way most of the public won’t know of their annual increases.
Adolph’s salary has gone up from $35,000 to $120,000. Can you vote yourself a 350-percent increase in your pay over a 28 year period ? You see my friends, we don’t need to be spending hundreds of millions on these politicians. And that is why we need to get behind groups that want to create term limits and lower the number of law makers. I
n PA there are 50 state senate districts. We are paying salaries and benefits for those 50 senators and their staff. Then within each of those 50 senate districts, there are four state house members like Bill Adolph. Why do we need four State House members in an area where we already have a state senator? It’s excessive representation and we over-pay dearly for it. If you think Adolph’s $7 million package is mind-blowing, try to calculate what we are spending through out the State for the hundreds of retired and active law-makers and their staff.
We have to impose term limits and decrease the number of law makers. It’s no wonder our state is now $1.7 Billion in the red. If we don’t change the State Constitution, you won’t be able to afford living in PA. Bill Adolph may be a nice guy but no politician is worth $7 Million.The hard working people of Pennsylvania need to wake up.
Mr. Polidoro is an outspoken Democrat from Springfield and has been long represented by Rep. Adolph.
Pew says that a middle class Delco resident paid 14 percent of his or her income — $8,557 on average — in sales, property and income taxes in 2015.
And that’s assuming one did not work in the city. For commuters, the bite was 19 percent or 11,661.
The 2015 tax burden for middle class Philly residents was 12 percent or an average of $7,704.
This is a huge change from Y2K, when the cost for a middle class Delco non-commuter was about 12 percent of income which averaged about $1,184 less than a Philadelphian.
We suspect the main reason for the change is increasing educational expenses in the burbs.
Gary Byrne Suing Clinton Operatives — The former Secret Service officer whose book exposed Clinton corruption is suing the flying monkeys sent by the corrupt couple to defame him.
Gary Byrne, of Springfield, Pa., worked as a uniform Secret Service office in the Clinton White House. His book Crisis of Character describes his experience with the Clinton machine.
When the book became a best seller, David Brock and his Democrat-establishment smear group Media Matters of America attacked. They said, among other things, he was “not in close proximity to President William Jefferson Clinton.”
Bryne’s lawyers have notified Brock and Media Matters of America to keep all records associated with Bryne including “any communication(s) between David Brock and The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
They have also demanded that Brock immediately and publicly retract “any statement or inference” that Bryne had not been fully truthful.
The lawyers note they may call George Stephanopoulos, John Podesta, Leon Panetta, Bruce Lindsey, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton as witnesses.
Byrne has threatened similar legal action against Jan Gilhooly, president of the Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service.
