Au Revoir Kenn

Massillon's Park Czar Kenn Kaminski is leaving town for greener pastures. Rumor on the street is that he can barely keep his family fed on the paltry $90,000 dollars a year he pulls in as Massillon's highest paid municipal employee.

"Kaminski was the highest paid city employee with a salary of $90,169 annually" (The Independent, March 22, 2012).

Kaminski was a loyal flak to our prior mayor, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli.

Kaminski always had Frank's back, and knew he was the one who had to take the bullets as a result of Cicchinelli's choices to spend dollars meant for our parks on a golf course that was financed in such a way that it could never turn a profit.

Kaminski was faithful to the bitter end, blaming the neglect that had consumed our parks on 'park vandals,' and not a lack of money for basic maintenance.

And if you complained about the deplorable state of our parks....

"There is no doubt the parks and recreation department is getting more criticism this year (than in the past)," he said. "I think the reason is two things. One there will also be anti- (Mayor Frank) Cicchinelli people. If he says the sky is blue they will think it is green and, two, there are people who are continually looking for something to pick on" (Kenn Kaminski, The Independent, May 10, 2010).

Yes, "anti-Cicchinelli."

We wish our former Parks Czar all the best as he assumes his new job, and draws a salary commiserate with his worth.

As a final good bye, we take a one last look at the havoc wrecked by Kenn Kaminski's 'park vandals.'

Ah yes!

Vandals

Good luck, Kenn.

For Life

Since 1995, members of Massillon City Council, the mayor, council president, law director, auditor, and treasurer get a pay raise every year.

An automatic, unvoted pay raise, every year, for life.

The city is broke, they get a pay raise.

They do a bad job, they get a pay raise.

They don't come to meetings, they get a pay raise.

An ordinance was passed in late 1995 granting these elected officials a yearly, unvoted pay raise.

This legislation was conceived by, and approved by none other than our former mayor for life, the extraordinary one, Frank Cicchinelli.

So year in, and year out, these elected officials get a pay raise.

Several times, a member of city council sees through this farce, and tries to stop it.

But 'the powers that be' put a stop to their efforts.

When now mayor, and then council member Kathy Catazaro-Perry, tried to overturn the pay raise for life ordinance, Council President Glenn Gamber wouldn't even permit a vote on the matter.

He asked for an informal, off the record show of hands so that those members of city council who wanted to keep their unvoted pay raises for life could do so, without a record of their vote being kept.

Earlier this year, back in January, 5th Ward Republican, Donnie Peters, was ready to end the practice of unvoted pay raises for life for city council.

“I’m going to try to repeal it (the pay raise ordinance),” said Peters, the ranking Republican and Council president pro tem. “Everyone says it doesn’t make it (pay-raise issue) political. Well, make it political” (The Independent, January 27, 2012).
That was 45 days ago.

Last Monday, Massillon City Council unanimously cut the benefits for the city's non-unionized employees. They then froze the salary schedule. For the workers.

While the worker bees are receiving cuts and pay freezes, city council members took a 3.5% pay raise.

As they discuss cuts and layoffs for the workers, they took a raise.

We realize it isn't a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, in the vat of red ink that our former mayor left for city government to drown in.

But it is symbolic.

Leadership means setting an example, and leading the way.

Leadership doesn't mean taking raises while cutting the wages and benefits of others.

Sacrifice should be shared.

It isn't.

And probably won't be.

Peters proposal hasn't seen the light of day.

And we doubt it will.

Perhaps the council president threatened to park next to Peters in the city hall parking lot if Peters kept pushing the issue.

We do imagine that some behind the scenes pressure was applied.

It has been 45 days since the proposal to repeal the annual, unvoted pay raises for life ordinance was brought forward by Donnie Peters.

And what has city council done?

Nothing.

Not a peep.

Not a word.

Not a sound.

Nothing.

While cutting the benefits for the employees, the bosses want to make sure they continue to get their raises.

Every year.

For Life.

Sleeps Like a Baby

Just last year, John Kurtzman, Chief Counsel to Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero, was stumping for an increase in the county sales tax. The sales tax would be used to pay things like... the Stark County Prosecutor's office, where Kurtzman draws a taxpayer funded paycheck.

The sales tax, according to Kurtzman, was a good thing;

"John L. Kurtzman, chief counsel for the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office, told (Tuscarawas Township) trustees that Sheriff Timothy Swanson will hire back deputies if the tax passes and that some would be assigned to road patrol."

"Kurtzman, like many other county officials, encouraged trustees to pass a resolution of support. He highlighted several points regarding the tax, including that 30 percent of it will be paid by visitors to the county. The tax issue will appear as Issue 29 on the ballot" (The Independent, October 12, 2011).

Unfortunately, last year's John Kurtzman must not have talked to this year's John Kurtzman about the importance of government being properly funded.

Because when Massillon City Council started debating possibly reducing the city's tax credit to 50 percent, meaning that people like John Kurtzman, who lives in Massillon, but pays zero (that's zero with a 'z') taxes to Massillon, would have to pay half the city's income tax, John Kurtzman led the opposition.

“You are now pitting families against families,” he said. “When these people file their tax returns in April, they have to pay more taxes...They are taking food away from their children" (John Kurtzman, The Independent, February 8, 2012).

Kurtzman had no qualms against "taking food away from their children" when he worked to raise the county sales tax.

Kurtzman and his boss, Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero, were once again back at Massillon City Council last night to express their opposition to people like John Ferrero and John Kurtzman, both Massillon residents, having to pay any city taxes.

John Kurtzman once more took to the microphone to read letters from taxpayers who couldn't afford the reduction in the tax credit.

We want to know why last year's John Kurtzman didn't read letters from those people who couldn't afford the sales tax he and John Ferrero were pushing.

It's absolute hypocrisy.

John Ferrero and John Kurtzman don't want to pay any taxes to fund Massillon City government.

And they don't.

But they sure were just fine with raising taxes to fund their own office, and their own salaries.

“We’ve got to protect our clients,” he (Ferrero) said. “I can’t sleep at night thinking about that scenario (cuts). How did a proud county come to this? It’s a situation that’s going to be a nightmare” (John Ferrero, The Independent, October 29, 2011).

Four months ago.

Four months ago, John Ferrero couldn't sleep at night thinking about cuts... for himself.

Four months later, it appears John Ferrero couldn't sleep at night thinking about taxes... that he himself would have to pay.

The tax credit reduction failed last night, and failed substantially.

And people have a right to their vote, and to express their opinion on the issue.

And that's OK.

What isn't OK is the gut wrenchingly disgusting, unvarnished, blatant hypocrisy on display by Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero, and his Chief Counsel John Kurtzman.

Four months ago, they were pushing a tax to benefit themselves.

Four months later, they were vigorously opposing paying any tax, not one red cent, to benefit the city where they live. (and pay no taxes).

But at least John Ferrero will finally be able to sleep at night.

Because he won't have to pay Massillon City income taxes on his $115,000 dollar plus tax payer funded salary.

And we won't have to worry, in the words of his employee, John Kurtzman, about food being taken away from the children.

But the kids were probably hungry already.

From the money taken from their families by the Ferrero/Kurtzman sales tax passed just four months earlier.