I hope a lot of Bellevue residents are planning to attend the budget hearing on Monday. Bellevue Council needs to hear your voices when it comes to their plan to increase property taxes by a quarter-mill and raise the sewer surcharge.

The fiscal situation in Bellevue was summed up quite brilliantly by council president Kathy Coder at the last meeting: "It's like having cable t.v. when you have no food on the table."

She was referring to Bellevue financing a swimming pool while not having money for the necessities.

She gets it.

Some others clearly do not.

I checked to see if there was a full moon on Wednesday. Given the jaw-dropping displays that occurred in government settings across the North Boroughs, I was sure the moon was exerting some major influence.

Nope. No full moon. Not even a new moon, or even a quarter moon. The moon could not be responsible.

There must be something in the water.

Let me just say up front that I have no problem with events at which alcoholic beverages are served and/or imbibed.

I also do not have a problem with adults using alcohol as a means of fund-raising for youth-related activities. I have been to any number of nights at the races, octoberfests, oldies dances, etc. to support a variety of community organizations, including such youth programs as football, cheerleading, bands, etc.

There were, however, no youth present at any of these fund-raisers.

The fourth annual Summer Solstice Spectacular will be held June 23 - 26.

The “Pampered Pooch Promenade” will lead the way at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, from the YMCA patio at 629 Lincoln Ave. Registration for pooches to participate is $5. Proceeds will benefit The Bellevue Dog Woods.

Friday, June 24 is the “meet and greet” in Bayne Park. Residents can pack a picnic basket and meet their neighbors at street signs in the park.

I have never laid claim to being a math whiz, but sometimes it just comes down to common sense. Sometimes -- no matter how fast you talk -- things just don't add up.

The proposed Bellevue vacation policy is one of those things -- just doesn't add up.

Right now, if you get hired full-time by Bellevue Borough, you get two weeks of paid vacation after you have worked for a year. So if you are hired on June 1, 2011, on June 1, 2012 you can take off for two weeks.

I wish I could be kinder about the idea to increase parking meter rates in Bellevue, but it's such a horrendously bad idea that I really can't. It's a dumb idea just about any way you look at it.

When I was in college, I took a class on Native American culture that introduced me to the writings of Carlos Casteneda.

Now, Casteneda -- in spite of, or perhaps because of, the ingestion of various natural mushroom-type substances popular at one time in our not too distant history -- imparted several fascinating personal philosophies. The one that has stuck with me over the decades is that reality is a relative concept.

A letter to the editor in this week's paper asks whether property tax millage increases being considered by both local school boards are justified.

Good question.

Most societies -- like most religions -- find that things work a whole lot better when they have rules. Given the boundless creativity of human beings, it's just a whole lot easier when people are told very clearly what they can and cannot do.

There are some, of course, who will argue that it is possible to create a utopian society in which boundaries are determined by the individual. That's why there are a bunch of 40-year-olds walking around with names like Moonbeam and Lettuce. Hippie communes died out real fast once those kids hit junior high.

A laptop computer was reported stolen during the burglary of a North Avenue home on Jan. 21.

A Bellevue man reported Jan. 26 that gift cards had been stolen from his wallet.

On Jan. 18, a woman reported that fraudulent charges had been made on her bank card.

Shoplifting incidents were reported at Rite Aid, Pit Stop Express and Family Dollar, with an employee of the latter nearly struck by vehicle as the suspect fled the scene on Jan. 23.

Bellevue Council voted unanimously to override Mayor George Doscher’s veto of the salary ordinance adopted by council in December.

Doscher said that he disagreed with a provision of the ordinance that required non-contract employees to contribute 10 percent of the cost of their health insurance. A recent contract reached with the firefighters union set their contribution rate at only 5 percent. Members of the police and public works unions currently contribute nothing.