"We'll be able to pay for these increases," Cicchinelli said. "I'm not concerned about it. We will be there. I feel confident the dollars will be there to make it through this year and we'll have the dollars to make it through next year."
- Frank Cicchinelli explaining how the city was going to pay for the 4% pay raises, equating to about $500,000 dollars, that he doled out to the city's union workers. (The Independent, July 6, 2010).
"The tax question (raising the city's income tax .2%) comes as (Jayne) Ferrero scrambles to fill a gaping hole - an estimated $2 million - in the city's budget. She projects that the city will have to tap into other expenses, such as bills, to pay employee salaries by the middle of August. Asked if this year was worse than last, Ferrero quipped, "You ain't seen nothin' yet" (The Independent, July 27, 2011).
You ain't seen nothin' yet.
What happened to "The dollars will be there?"
Where did they go?
Let's see...
The crack Massillon Review Finance team has been tirelessly working their calculators to uncover where the dollars went this year.
$500,000 to employee pay raises.
$524,045 to golf course debt.
$50,000 for the final payment on Club Legends, the restaurant at the golf course.
$127,000 for the mortgage on the Hampton Inn.
$120,000 for the mortgage on the Duncan Place Senior Housing complex.
$29,000 "late fee" on Duncan Place mortgage.
$1,350,045.00
One Million, Three Hundred Fifty Thousand and forty five dollars.
One Million, Three Hundred Fifty Thousand and forty five dollars squandered on pay raises, golf course debt, and sweetheart deals where the project developers have stuck the taxpayers with the bill.
Now we know where the dollars went.
And this is just what we know of.
We concur with Auditor Jayne Ferrero.
You ain't seen nothin' yet.
