Brian Tierney's Expenses: Should they paid with your tax dollars?

Wow is bankruptcy ever a pain for Philadelphia Media Holdings CEO, Brian Tierney, so much so that he may be seeking a federal bailout from U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, but while many of his expenses are being publicly disclosed.

Here's what we know:

1. Last Year it was disclosed that Tierney had been in talks with Governor Rendell about a bailout from the Commonwealth. This bailout would have come in one of several forms, according to spokesmen for Rendell and Tierney. It was suggested that the Governor's office might rent space from the Inquirer to prop up revenue. It was suggested that the Governor might be a loan guarantee. There were even credible rumors of a payment, such as a grant, to the Inquirer. Political pressre was ultimately too great and both parties had to back away from the deal.

2. PMH CFO Richard Thayer testified in a bankruptcy hearing and disclosed that he was paid upwards of $475,000/ year in salary. When asked if he thought this compensation to be fair, Thayer said he believed he was underpaid. He also disclosed that he received a $5,000/month stipend so that he can live in the City. Tierney apparently got a raise of $232,000 last December and a recent bonus of $350,000. Meanwhile, PMH owes some $450,000 in real estate taxes to the City of Philadelphia. The company also reported $95 million in outstanding debt when it filed for bankruptcy.

Here's what we need to know:

1. Is the City of Philadelphia going to allow those property taxes to remain uncollected? Will this be a small bailout from the city?

2. Will Tierney and Thayer keep their raises, or will they take $1 salaries like GM's former President Rick Wagoner and CitiGroup's Vikram Pandit?

3. Will Thayer give up his housing stipend and move out the suburbs, or maybe to a more modest home, like the hundred of PMH employees who received neither bonuses nor raises?

4. Will Bruce Toll and the Board of Directors of PMH finally ask Brian Tuerney to step down and appoint an unconflicted caretaker CEO to run the company as it works through bankruptcy?

If you know the answers to these questions, please post them.