Here Comes Santa Frank

Here comes Santa Frank,

Here comes Santa Frank,

Right down Santa Frank lane
(which has been resurfaced as it is one of the
five worst roads at the North Pole)

Manson and Slagle and all his minions

Pullin' on the reins

Bills are Piling, Overtime is Rising

All is merry and bright
(unless you need police and fire dispatching)

So grab your golf clubs, and pay our debt

'Cuz Santa Frank comes tonight!

Don't forget. Santa Frank will be visiting the Massillon Review tomorrow, Christmas Eve, before he makes his last ride to bring presents (or coal) to the children of Massillon.

Leaving with Dignity

Councilman David Hersher wrote a letter to the Independent which was published today;

http://www.indeonline.com/opinion/x1157706742/An-honor-to-serve-community

Hersher stated that "It has been an honor to serve our friends and neighbors during my appointment to the Planning Commission and subsequent two terms on City Council" (The Independent, December 22, 2011).

Tonight, David Hersher departed his last city council meeting with some dignity and respect.

We haven't often agreed with Hersher.

He chose to make his brief political career an exercise in rubber stamping Mayor Frank Cicchinelli's policies, and fronting our Mayor for 8 Days' tax increases.

It was his choice.

And the voters replaced him.

Tonight, against what we imagine to be enormous pressure from the Cicchinelli camp, Hersher voted to create the Budget Director position Mayor Elect Kathy Catazaro-Perry believes is needed to help clean up the financial mess Frank Cicchinelli has left for her.

Team Cicchinelli opposed this for a whole host of reasons.

They are bitter about losing and absolutely do no want Catazaro-Perry to be successful.

They probably do not want a financial expert combing through the finances of the city, as what is discovered will not add gloss to the Cicchinelli legacy.

And they probably do not want a financial professional hired because to do so would be admitting there is a problem, and that Frank Cicchinelli was at the epicenter of its creation.

We are sure David Hersher is well aware of the reasons he was expected to vote no.

But we guess, deep within his heart, he does realize our city's finances are an unmitigated disaster.

And he probably even wishes Frank Cicchinelli put forth a modicum of effort in fixing them.

And he did the right thing last night, because, as he was ending his council career, he knew it was the right thing to do.

And when he got home after the meeting, or more likely on the drive home, he received an extraordinary tongue lashing for his treacherous vote.

It's a shame.

It's a shame he didn't start thinking for himself until the bitter end.

Had he exercised some independence and from time to time broke from the Cicchinelli party line, he may have still been a member of council come January 1st.

But at least now, he can look at himself in the mirror and know he did what was right.

And he left with dignity.

Which is an example our current mayor could learn from.

Don't Change Anything

Mayor Elect Kathy Catazaro-Perry wants to hire a budget director, a financial professional, to assist Massillon in digging itself out of the financial black hole created by our current, and soon departing, city administration.

Team Cicchinelli is desperate to stop it.

The minions are "joy"fully penning opinions to the Independent comment section explaining why hiring a financial expert is such a horrendous idea.

Why would Catazaro-Perry possibly want to hire a Budget Director?

City finances are being handled so well, in such an open, transparent process.

What could we possibly improve?

“City Council just learned of this,” said Councilwoman Kathy Catazaro-Perry, chairman of the rules and courts committee. (The Independent, July 19, 2011)

Massillon's auditor had been making the payments for the delinquent 59 Duncan Place Senior high rise with our tax dollars since 2009, and nobody bothered to tell city council until after the May mayoral primary election, less someone use the fact that the mayor got us into one more deal where someone else owns the building, and we pay the mortgage (Think Hampton Inn).

18 months of mortgage payments.

No one told council.

We pay the mortgage. Someone else collects the rents.

A familiar refrain in Massillon government.

Councilman Larry Slagle said council learned about the problems with the senior high-rise too late.

“We should have known about the problem with the debt service many, many months ago, just like the administration did,” he said (The Independent, October 18, 2011).

It would appear to the casual observer that the goal of the administration was to keep yet another city financial debacle hidden from the public until our Extraordinary Mayor for Life's May victory over Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

And they did.

Unfortunately, things don't always work out as planned, which is why the Extraordinary One is now only Mayor for 9 days, and no longer Mayor for Life.

At our Auditor's behest, City Council was told that since we are now on the hook for the mortgage at 59 Duncan Place, we ought to refinance it, and save some money. And since we already have a Columbus Law Firm working on this, and racking up a huge bill, council needs to vote to refinance now.

And they did.

“That would be an advantage,” (Auditor Jayne) Ferrero said Wednesday. “It would help us tremendously. Then we could use the money for other things. It would get us in a better position to make the payments. (The Independent, September 17, 2011).

And just two weeks later, only two weeks later, after approving the Auditor's refinancing plan, we were told we can't refinance it anyways.

"Plans to refinance debt on the Massillon Recreation Center and the senior high-rise known as 59 Duncan Place are on hold until interest rates drop, Auditor Jayne Ferrero told City Council Monday" (The Independent, November 1, 2011).

Two weeks.

Our finances are so horrific, that our dispatching company was about to drop us as a customer.

Fortunately, Auditor Ferrero concocted a brilliant plan to pay our delinquent police and fire dispatching bill.

Don't pay it, and push it into next year.

We can't even pay for dispatching.

The people who summon the ambulance to our house if a family member is having a heart attack, or the police when someone is trying to break into our home.

We couldn't pay them.

And the organization who provides our dispatching service, the Regional Emergency Dispatch (R.E.D.) Center was going to cut us off.

Because we are financial dead beats who don't pay our bills.

So if your house caught on fire you would have no one to call to summon the fire department.

We couldn't pay dispatching.

If we can't even pay for dispatching, city taxpayers should be fearful of the other financial shenanigans that lay buried in city hall.

If we can't even pay for dispatching, we should dread the state of our city finances.

So let's keep everything the same!

Nope, there is so clearly no need for a financial expert here in Massillon.

Finances are great.

We now see why a Budget Director is such a bad idea.

Yes, Virginia...

"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Frank."

"Papa says "if you see it in the Massillon Review it's so."

"Please tell me the truth; Is there a Santa Frank?"

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Frank.

He exists as certainly as debt, bad decisions, unpaid bills, and insider deals.

And he will ride one last time.

Bringing gifts to the good boys and girls of Tigertown.

But before he makes his final Christmas journey, he will be dropping by the offices of the Massillon Review for one final visit.

Join us Christmas Eve as Massillon's Surly Old Saint Nick, Santa Frank, hitches up the reindeer and makes his last ever Christmas appearance.

The Last Ride of the Four Horsemen

"The Mayor explained that the merging of these two areas will maximize resources of the current departments and provide an organizational structure which will promote efficient operations giving top notch service to the public. The Mayor believes this decision now, in the long term, will be beneficial to everyone, and he stated that they promised the citizens that the city would not subsidize this golf course" (Parks and Recreation Board minutes, November 14, 2002).

Cicchinelli claimed that his proposal "was not a big scheme to have the parks department cover the golf course's expenses" (The Repository, December 17, 2002).

Of course, it turned out to be nothing more than an extraordinarily "big scheme to have the parks department cover the golf course's expenses."

But, bad as it was, certain members of our city council have made it worse...

Let us paraphrase the late sportswriter, Grantland Rice;

Outlined against a blue-gray December sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Gamber, Slagle, Hersher and McCune.

These four members of council, joined by Paul Manson, voted to accept bids to sell Hetrick Park last night at the final regularly scheduled council meeting of the year.

Our council, at our Extraordinary Mayor for 11 Days, King Francis the Schemer's behest, with the backing of his Park Board Lackeys (his appointees to the Park and Recreation Board) have begun the process of selling off our parks.

Why?

Because we don't have the money to properly maintain them.

Why?

Can you hear the giant sucking sound from the Southern edge of our city?

It is coming from the Legends of Massillon Golf Course.

Dollars the voters intended to be used for parks and recreation have been hijacked to subsidize the debt ridden golf course, a white elephant which will serve as a monument to the reckless financial wheeler dealer era of our soon to be departed mayor.

We will paying the debt on this developmental debacle until 2032.

Of course, the four horsemen have made this worse...

"You're right. We did go into this without a business plan"

- Julie Jenkins, Office Manager, Parks and Recreation/ Legends Golf Course, in a letter to the Massillon Review confirming that the City of Massillon spent almost $200,000 dollars to buy the restaurant at the golf course without having a business plan.

Despite the absence of a business plan, these four, the same four who voted to sell one of our city parks to raise cash for the parks department last night, felt it was a prudent fiscal decision to spend almost $200,000 dollars last year to buy the restaurant at the golf course, Club Legends.

We remember Cicchinelli surrogate, Lee Brunckhart, at the Fall mayoral debate, waxing on about the egg sandwich he had at Club Legends. He knew when the butter hit the pan that he was in for the epicurean experience of a lifetime.

Perhaps if Brunckhart went to McDonalds for an egg sandwich and we held on to our $199,000 dollars, we would not be putting our parks up for bid.

Sadly though, the rubber stamp era of city council will be coming to an end. The Four Horsemen, joined by reliable rubber stamp Paul Manson, who would have voted for the restaurant purchase had he been in attendance for the vote, will be down two members.

The voters have chosen replacements for David Hersher and David McCune.

As a result, hopefully, the fire sale of our parks will come to an end.

And money the citizens voted to tax themselves to improve our parks will actually be used to improve our parks.

Hey, Where's Blondie?

Local Express Lube owner Louie Brio has been a faithful supporter of Massillon's Extraordinary Mayor for 12 more days, King Francis the Bitter. During the Fall election campaign, Brio reportedly had a sign in his yard that stated "Vote Massillon, not Perry," referring to the Cicchinelli camp mantra that Catazaro-Perry just wasn't 'Massillon enough' to be mayor. Unfortunately for Team Cicchinelli, 65% of the people decided she indeed was 'Massillon Enough,' and voted her in as mayor.

Brio is known for the print ads he runs for his Express Lube, and his use of the Extraordinary One's image in those ads. This latest ad was in last week's 'Massillon Town Money Saver,' and was sent to us by one of our faithful readers. It shows Mayor Cicchinelli as a leather jacket wearing, motorcycle riding reindeer. The quotes are from the ad are, "Hey, Where's Blondie," "I Think She Lost her GPS," and finally from the Cicchinelli character (far right), "Does She Know Where Massillon's At?"

Word on the street is that Brio, as well as the rest of the Cicchinelli camp, have yet to get over the election results. The ad is instructive as it is endemic of the contempt Team Cicchinelli have for the mayor-elect. Brio, in his ad, reiterates his belief that Catazaro-Perry just isn't 'Massillon Enough' for him. We certainly appreciate Brio's right to run the ad, and would defend his ability to exercise his free speech. We merely question whether or not it was a prudent business decision.

So, just who is 'Massillon Enough' to come to Brio's Express Lube, as it is clear he doesn't appreciate "outsiders?"

As his business is on the West Side of our Fair City, might Tuscarawas Township residents frequent the Express Lube? We certainly would think not, as they live outside the corporate limits of the city of Massillon. We must assume they do not pass muster with Brio's idea of 'Massillon folk.' Tuscarawas Township people will need to get their oil changed somewhere else.

Well, how about people who moved into the city? Nope. Catazaro-Perry was elected to Massillon City Council on four occasions and she isn't Massillon enough for the local Express Lube. So, if you moved into Massillon, you will have to get your oil changed in your native land.

What about supporters of our mayor-elect, Kathy Catazaro-Perry? Nope. He derogatorily refers to her as "Blondie," describing her physical appearance, and refers to her needing a GPS system to find Massillon. Even we don't use the nickname many of our faithful readers use when describing the physical appearance of our current mayor. (Hint- think flightless Antarctic bird). It's just not called for. But it is informative as it implies that Catazaro-Perry supporters (two-thirds of the voters in November's election) are not welcome at the Express Lube.

So, Louie Brio's customer base is down to people born in Massillon, who support Frank Cicchinelli.

We can't imagine those demographics generate much business.

The Right Thing to Do

Massillon's Extraordinary Mayor for 19 Days, Spiritual Advisor to the Massillon Republican Party, King Francis the Petty, has been disinterested in the day to day operations of his soon to be former Kingdom for some time.

The City is broke. We haven't even been paying our bills for dispatching.

Dispatching.

The people who summon the ambulance to our house if a family member is having a heart attack, or the police when someone is trying to break into our home.

Dispatching.

Word on the street is that overtime is running rampant throughout a city unable to pay its bills.

Because no one is watching the store.

Nero is cheerfully fiddling as Rome burns.

And the Extraordinary One, by all accounts, is rarely coming to work.

Finances are so bankrupt that his Loyal Defender, Auditor Jayne Ferrero's plan to pay the city's delinquent dispatching bill is to dump it square on the head of Mayor Elect Kathy Catazaro Perry after she takes office..

"The arrangement is to pay $36,000 each month for the first three months of the year — that’s slightly below the city’s monthly bill for dispatching services — and then pay the outstanding balance when tax collections are received" (The Independent, December 7, 2011).

"and then pay the outstanding balance when tax collections are received"

What this means in plain English is that the new administration must pay both the old 2011 dispatching bill as well as the new 2012 dispatching bill in 2012.

Two dispatching bills in one year for a city that is already flat broke.

All Jayne Ferrero did was relieve the Extraordinary One of the responsibility to deal with yet another shortfall before he leaves office.

But he doesn't care.

By his inaction on every critical issue facing the city, it has been apparant he has no interest in dealing with the problems he has created.

It appears his only interest is to leave as big a mess possible for his successor.

And on that front, he is doing yeoman's work.

It seems our beloved Mayor for 19 days is interested in but two things;

1.) Spending $205,764 for two new Dump Trucks for the city, and preventing the Mayor Elect from buying used vehicles for $181,764 dollars less.

2.) Killing the Mayor Elect's plan to hire a Finance Director to help her clean up the mess he created.

But he needs help.

In Frank Cicchinelli's recent role as the Massillon Republican Party Spiritual Advisor, he has taken a renewed interest in the Republican Party.

Unfortunately for him, the Republican candidates he supported in November got crushed, as the voters preferred electing Republicans who were, quite frankly, actual Republicans.

But our Mayor has work to do.

And only 19 days in which to do it.

Massillon's First Ward Council Seat has been vacant since about April, when the late Ron Mang first took ill, and was no longer able to attend meetings.

Ron Mang passed away in late October, days before the election.

Ron Mang had earlier chosen not to run again, and was not a candidate for the seat.

The Democrats could have appointed a replacement to serve in Mang's seat until the newly elected Councilperson, Republican Sarita Cunningham, took office on January 1st.

They chose not to.

“They’ve voted someone in,” (Stark County Democratic Chairman Randy) Gonzalez said of the electors. “We respect that. We’re just going to let that go until the new person takes office. It’s only like three weeks” (The Independent, December 8, 2011).

"It's only like three weeks."

And then, out of the blue, there was a clamor to appoint Sarita Cunningham to the vacant seat before her term started on January 1.

Once the Democrats gave up their right to make an appointment, city council is then permitted to appoint if they so choose.

But there is only one council meeting left.

Why, all of a sudden, the critical need to appoint Sarita Cunningham to the Ward 1 council seat with just one meeting left in the year.

One meeting.

The seat had been essentially vacant since April when the late Ron Mang stopped attending meetings.

Only now was it a problem.

With just one meeting left.

The Dalai Lama was prepared to call a special council meeting to appoint Cunningham to the seat.

With one meeting left.

“I really think it’s important that the citizens of the 1st Ward have representation,” Cicchinelli, a Democrat, said Friday before canceling the meeting. “It’s the right thing to do” (The Independent, December 10, 2011).

"The right thing to do"

Ward 1 has been without council representation essentially since April, and now Cicchinelli wants Sarita Cunningham in place for the last meeting because it is, we laughingly quote, "the right thing to do."

The real question goes to the heart of the matter.

What are Cicchinelli's true motives.

Because, they are not, "It's the right thing to do."

What does he want?

It is believed he wanted to appoint Cunningham because he was trolling for another council vote to add to his cadre of rubber stamps to kill Mayor Elect Catazaro-Perry's plan to hire a city Finance Director, or to kill Catazaro-Perry's plan to buy used trucks instead of new trucks for the city.

He doesn't care about council representation for Ward 1.

He needed a vote at the year's last council meeting so he could once more step on the neck of his successor.

Newsflash - Frank, you lost. Get over it.

Fortunately, Sarita Cunningham had the good sense to not be a pawn in Frank Cicchinelli's final political moves.

She was smart enough to realize that Cicchinelli didn't want to appoint her to because "it was the right thing to do."

She rejected his offer.

He wanted to use her to stop the agenda of his duly elected successor.

Which is why the prospects of a new majority on city council bring us hope.

And Sarita Cunningham, in rejecting our Extraordinary Mayor for 19 Days' offer to appoint her to council a meeting early, has shown us that the rubber stamp era is finally, thankfully, coming to an end.

Thank you, Sarita Cunningham, for seeing through this ruse and thinking for yourself.

It is a trait that our city council desperately requires.

Time Flies When You're Havin' Fun

From the "Today in history" segment in the Independent;

25 years ago – Francis Cicchinelli Jr. announced he would run for mayor. He was a 14-year veteran of City Council.

Wow.

Where did the time go?

Just think, in only another 20 years, the debt on the Legends of Massillon golf course will finally be paid off.

The Joy of Writing

At the final fundraiser our Extraordinary Mayor for 25 Days had before his Democratic Primary defeat to Kathy Catazaro-Perry, the First Lady of Massillon, Joy Cicchinelli, decided it would be a good idea for her to address the audience. In a sane, reasonable, and controlled fashion, she explained to the assembled faithful how the Independent newspaper was out to get her husband, our mayor (By the way, The Independent endorsed Cicchinelli for a 7th four year term). Joy then encouraged the faithful to write letters of support for our Extraordinary mayor to the local paper.

And the faithful submitted these letters to our local newspaper.

Signed and submitted them.

Whether or not they were responsible for the actual thoughts on paper is an entirely different matter.

These letters had a similar theme. To paraphrase;

"I look around our beloved city and see restaurants, theaters, and businesses, and I realize who is responsible for our city's glory. I fall to my knees and humbly thank our extraordinary mayor, and demand you give him four more years."

Now, in 25 days, we will have a new mayor.

And our new mayor believes the city's finances are not up to snuff.

And our new mayor would like to hire a finance director to help her disarm the fiscal landmines that have been left for her by her extraordinary predecessor.

And the criticism started.

And the writing style and language rang eerily, extraordinarily familiar, as the missives were joyfully launched at the new administration.

Before she has even taken the oath of office.

Because it isn't that Mayor Elect Catazaro-Perry wants a Finance Director.

It's that Mayor Elect Catazaro-Perry wants to do anything at all.

If Kathy Catazaro-Perry proposed to city council an ordinance making December 6th Paul Brown Appreciation Day, the Cicchinelli minions would;

A. Oppose it
B. Criticize it

They want Catazaro-Perry to fail, and word on the street is that they are working tirelessly behind the scenes to make it so.

What they fail to remember is that;

A. Catazaro-Perry defeated the sitting mayor
B. She crushed his Republican surrogate
C. In 25 days, she will run the show.

Our advice for Team Cicchinelli is simple.

If you care about the city at all, you will want the new mayor to succeed.

Because if the mayor succeeds, the city will succeed.

And you would give her a chance.

Whether you personally like her, or not.

We realize this advice will fall on deaf ears.

Being mayor defined Frank Cicchinelli.

And he will work tirelessly to damage the person who took his identity from him.

And he will continue to do what most expect him to do.

Make life as miserable as possible for his successor.

End of the Year Close Out

"Mayor Cicchinelli told 4th Ward residents there are no plans to sell Shriver park, or many others, and he pledged to Councilman Tony Townsend that he would help him rename Shriver by urging his Parks and Recreation Board appointees to vote in favor of it."

- Massillon's Mayor for Life, after being pressured at a Ward 4 Town Hall meeting, pledging his support to rename Shriver Park after former Ward 4 Councilman, the late T. Roy Roberson (The Independent, August 31, 2010).
 
As we all know, Mayor Cicchinelli's famous pledge was a ruse, a smokescreen, and a scam.
 
He wanted to publicly curry favor with the residents of Massillon's Southeast side, while still killing the proposal to rename Shriver Park after trailblazing former council member, the late T. Roy Roberson.
 
When the issue of the name change finally came before the Parks and Recreation Board, Park Board lackeys Tim Muzi and Michelle Del Rio-Keller, both appointed by our Extraordinary Mayor for 30 days, voted against the name change.
 
But how could they have? Cicchinelli "pledged" he would urge his appointees to support the name change.
 
He "pledged!"
 
Many believed the name was not changed because there was a plan to sell off Shriver Park.
 
"(Park Board Chairman Tim) Muzi, personally, also wouldn’t rule out the sale of a portion of Shriver Park, which in 2010 was the subject of a name-change fight when Councilman Tony Townsend proposed renaming it in honor of late Councilman T. Roy Roberson. At the time, some speculated that attempts were being made to block the name change because the city wanted to sell Shriver Park" (The Independent, December 1, 2011).
 
But what about, "there are no plans to sell Shriver Park?"
 
When, apparently, there are plans to sell Shriver Park.
 
And many other parks as well.
 
Looks like the "speculation" was on target.
 
It's an end of the year Massillon parks sale extravaganza!
 
Low, low prices!
 
Everything must go!
 
The Parks Board is in the process of selling Hetrick and Lawdale parks and is determining which parks to sell after that.
 
And why do we have to sell of our parks? Didn't the residents of Massillon pass a .3% income tax hike to maintain our park system?
 
Well, technically yes, but we siphon off the money that should be used to maintain our parks to pay the debt on the Legends of Massillon Golf Course.
 
So now we can't maintain our parks.
 
And have to sell them.
 
So we may finally end the argument over where the parks money should be spent.
 
If we sell off the parks, no one can complain about the money not being spent on parks.
 
Problem solved.
 
Parks Board Chairman Tim Muzi appears to be leading the charge to sell off our parks, and has been working on this scheme for some time;
 
"Parks board member Timothy Muzi has asked Law Director Perry Stergios to research which parks have deed restrictions that would prohibit their sale or future use, Stergios said. Kaminski said that he, Muzi, and Mayor Frank Cicchinelli met three months ago to discuss potential park property that could be sold" (The Independent, August 19, 2010).

They have been working on selling off our parks for almost a year and a half.

But they really have to speed up the process.

The Extraordinary One is out of office in 30 days. Tim Muzi's term as a member of the Parks Board ends at the same time.

Better hurry up.

A Vat of Red Ink

"When Kathy Catazaro-Perry takes over as the city’s mayor early next month, she will not have much time for on-the-job training before having to jump head-first into the vat of budgetary red ink inherited from the current administration" (Editorial, The Independent, November 30, 2011).

The Independent, in it's editorial today, supported Mayor Elect Kathy Catazaro-Perry's plan to buy low mileage used vehicles from Jackson Township at a fraction of the cost of new vehicles.

http://www.indeonline.com/local_news/x1141555516/Majority-of-council-backs-plan-to-buy-used-to-ready-snow-fleet

This seems like a sensible idea to almost everyone.

With what appears to be one extraordinary exception.

Catazaro-Perry is pitching a plan to spend $24,000 dollars to purchase two used dump trucks and two Jeep Cherokees. She realizes the city is dead broke, but still needs vehicles.

The current administration is pitching a plan to purchase, on a three year lease to own agreement, two dump trucks for $205,764 dollars.

Our crack Massillon Review finance team has calculated that the Cicchinelli plan would be $181,764 dollars more than the Catazaro-Perry plan.

Enough money for our dead beat city to pay it's delinquent dispatching bill.

Dispatching.

The people who summon the ambulance to our house if a family member is having a heart attack, or the police when someone is trying to break into our home.

Dispatching.

The Catazaro-Perry plan seems like a no brainer.

It makes financial sense.

The local newspaper thinks it to be a fine idea.

The majority of council seems to be on board.

So how to kill it?

"(Safety-Service Director Mike) Loudiana said he would ask the city’s mechanic to look at the township’s two dump trucks, but cautioned council about buying used" (The Independent, November 29, 2011).

The more cynical among us might be ready to declare 'Shenanigans.'

The more cynical among us may suspect that the truck inspection process is a little like the process which was used to determine the five worst streets in Massillon in need of repair this year.

Flawed.

According to City Engineer Keith Dylewski, these "select streets" "scored high on a ratings system used by his department" (Keith Dylewski justifying repairs to the mayor's street, The Independent, August 16, 2011).

and then;

"Correcting an earlier report, Dylewski said the paving project was not scored on a ratings system, but its condition still warrants the proposed repairs" (The Independent, August 29, 2011).

The more cynical amongst us might believe that the city mechanic sent out to inspect these vehicles will determine that they are unfit for even demolition derby, and that the city's only viable solution is to buy the new vehicles.

As our mayor originally proposed.

So that the vat of budgetary red ink becomes just a little deeper.

We Have Much To Be Thankful For

The City of Massillon has much to thankful for this day.

The divisive leadership of our Extraordinary Mayor for 37 Days is finally coming to a conclusion.

His rubber stamp city council has been replaced by a Republican majority city council, which will hopefully impose some financial sanity upon our city's governance.

Massillon voters have chosen a new path for their city, electing Republicans and Democrats to lead our city, and rejecting both Republicans and Democrats aligned with the old regime.

And we are thankful.

We expect to see the end of the old ways.

We expect to see the end of the bullying and intimidation that was the hallmark of the Cicchinelli administration.

We expect to see the end of the sweetheart development deals, where the city takes all the risk, and our tax dollars are used to cover the failures.

We expect to see the end of our parks tax money, passed in good faith by the city's voters, being hijacked to pay for golf courses and restaurants.

We expect to see councilmen thinking for themselves, ending the 'shenanigans,' and putting the public good in front of their personal loyalties;

"If I signed it, and apparently I did, it was in error," Hersher said. "It was a mistake. There's no shenanigans on my part" (The Independent, November 22, 2011).


We expect to see the end of administration officials lying to us, the public, to justify a mayor's personal agenda;

According to City Engineer Keith Dylewski, these "select streets" "scored high on a ratings system used by his department" (Keith Dylewski justifying repairs to the mayor's street, The Independent, August 16, 2011).

and then;

"Correcting an earlier report, Dylewski said the paving project was not scored on a ratings system, but its condition still warrants the proposed repairs" (The Independent, August 29, 2011).

or;

"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, The Independent, July 6, 2010).

or;


From the November 14, 2002, Parks and Recreation Board Minutes;

"The Mayor explained that the merging of these two areas will maximize resources of the current departments and provide an organizational structure which will promote efficient operations giving top notch service to the public. The Mayor believes this decision now, in the long term, will be beneficial to everyone, and he stated that they promised the citizens that the City would not subsidize this golf course."

or;

"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."

- Parks Czar Kenn Kaminski explaining that the parks aren't in horrible condition despite visual evidence to the contrary. It is only that critics of the parks system are "Anti-Cicchinelli" (The Independent, May 10, 2010).

We expect to see well intentioned people, working together, doing their best to improve our city.

We don't expect them to always agree, but we do expect them to put the best interests of the citizens first.

And if this does occur, and it should occur, we would all be thankful.

From the hardworking staff of the Massillon Review, we wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

A Massillon Thanksgiving

Join the Massillon Review Thanksgiving Day and celebrate all that our community has to be thankful for!

Shenanigans

If your house catches on fire, if you are having a heart attack and need an ambulance, or if someone is breaking into your home, you need to hope this happens before December 20th.

Because on December 20th, it appears we are on our own.

Among the numerous bills our Extraordinary Mayor for 38 Days, King Francis the Irresponsible, and his Loyal Defender, City Auditor Jayne Ferrero, aren't paying includes a past due bill for dispatching.

Dispatching.

The people who answer the phone when you call 911 expect to be paid.

Now, we have plenty of money to repair the mayor's street, but we don't seem to have money to pay for dispatching.

And we haven't paid the dispatching bill for a long time.

A faithful Massillon Review reader was kind enough to share with us a copy of the letter that was sent to our deadbeat city from the Local Organized Governments in Cooperation (L.O.G.I.C.) for our city's Regional Emergency Dispatch (R.E.D.) Center bill;

Auditor Ferrero,

Please note that on your Police & Fire dispatch account, there are currently several invoices past the 30-day due date from the date of service. These invoices are itemized below for your convenience. Billing for December 2011 has been sent and is included in the list below. We have made several attempts to remedy this issue without success. Please remit the past due balance of $179,382.95 in full by December 20th, 2011.
 
We pay the mortgage for a private hotel, a senior housing project, and a golf course.
We pay out of town lawyers for a refinancing that never happens.
We buy a restaurant.
 
But we don't pay our bill for dispatching.
 
Dispatching.
 
The people who summon the police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances to our homes.
 
Dispatching.
 
This is no longer funny.
 
These shenanigans are not acceptable.
 
This is negligent and dangerous.
 
This is a disgrace.
 
And if our Mayor and Auditor can't pay the bill for dispatching, they should resign before someone gets hurt.
 
Seriously hurt.
 
And let competent people take their place.
 
People who realize that you pay the dispatching bill before you pay to fix the mayor's street.

Faithful to the Bitter End

The Mayor's Loyal Defender, City Auditor Jayne Ferrero, while faithfully defending her political master, Massillon's Extraordinary Mayor for 39 Days, King Francis the Petty, may be just a little concerned that the city can't pay it's bills.

Literally, can't pay it's bills.

One of the outstanding bills unpaid, according to the Independent, is a $180,000 dollar bill for police and fire dispatching owed to the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center.

Word on the street is that the City is so far behind in paying for dispatching services that the Dispatch Center is about to pull the plug on Massillon's dispatching.

Dispatching.

The people who are supposed to answer the phone when we call 911.

In case a family member is having a heart attack, or your house is on fire.

Dispatching.

We can't pay for dispatching.

We challenge our faithful readers to find another city in Ohio so broke, and so mismanaged they can't pay for dispatching.

And our Mayor for 39 Days' solution?

To do nothing.

Emperor Nero is busy fiddling while Rome burns. Of course as Rome Burns, no one will be able to call the fire department.

Cicchinelli's plan, his only remaining goal, is to leave as big a mess as humanly possible for his successor.

Ever the petulant child who doesn't get his way, Cicchinelli appears more interested in punishing the voters for electing someone else.

And as we all suspected, his minions are faithful to the bitter end.

Auditor Ferrero's plan was to reduce the city's tax credit to 50%.

Massillon has a 1.8% income tax. If you live in Massillon, and work in Canton, which has a 2% income tax, you pay 2% to Canton and nothing to Massillon, where you live.

Under Ferrero's plan, you would pay half the 1.8% to Massillon instead of paying nothing to the city where you live.

Ferrero estimated this would generate about $1.5 million dollars.

Much less than the amount of unpaid bills we owe, but a start.

Lap Dog of the Treasury Paul Manson, and Taxman David Hersher, both members of the finance committee, signed the ordinance to put Ferrero's plan on Council's agenda.

Until they had an Extraordinary change of mind.

Especially in Hersher's case.

"If I signed it, and apparently I did, it was in error," Hersher said. "It was a mistake. There's no shenanigans on my part" (The Independent, November 22, 2011).

Nope, "no shenanigans" on Hersher's part.

In the immortal words of John Kerry, Hersher was "For it before he was against it."

Of course it was a mistake.

And we believe him.

It happens all the time when someone accidentally puts their name to a city ordinance reducing the city's tax credit.

An accident.

An error.

The more cynical among us might believe the Taxman changed his mind because someone told him to change his mind.

Hersher, also in his last 39 days in office, seems to believe it is more critical to support our Extraordinary Mayor than to pay the bills.

Bills like dispatching.

He and Paul Manson are more interested in helping Mayor Frank Cicchinelli achieve his final goal as Mayor of Massillon.

Leave the biggest mess possible for his successor.

And they are doing a fine job!

Lovely Parting Gifts

Massillon's Extraordinary Mayor for 44 days, King Francis the Debt Ridden, is leaving his successor a present on his way out the door.

$1.5 Million dollars in unpaid bills, and no money with which to pay them.

It has become clear that the current mayor's financial plan for his final months in charge is to hang on financially until January 1st, and dump his mountain of unpaid bills on his successor, Mayor Elect Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

This works on several levels for our Extraordinary Leader.

Firstly, as our Faithful Readers have come to realize, the buck never, and we mean never, stops at our mayor's desk. As long as the electric company doesn't turn off the lights by the end of the year, he can dump his binge spending and unpaid bills on his successor, without ever having to deal with the consequences.

Secondly, Kathy Catazaro-Perry defeated our beloved leader in the Democratic primary this past May and ended his 24 year run as Massillon's Leader Supreme. It is no secret that Catazaro-Perry is Cicchinelli's most despised of enemies, which is an accomplishment for someone who has an enemies list as long as our current mayor has.

She must be punished for her treachery.

And punished she will be.

"There also will be a projected $1.5 million year-end deficit, which includes unpaid installments to the fire pension account and for dispatching expenses incurred at the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center" (The Independent, November 16, 2011).

"... and for dispatching expenses incurred at the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center"

We aren't paying for "dispatching expenses?"

You know, the people you call to summon the fire department in case your house is burning, or your spouse is having a heart attack?

Dispatching.

Seems like that should be higher up on the priority list.

Even before paving the mayor's street.

Or paying the mortgage for a housing complex, or a hotel.

Dispatching.

Well, when the fire trucks don't come because of non-payment for dispatching services, our Extraordinary Leader will probably be out of office, and he can blame the "next guy" (or gal).

We envision Catazaro-Perry's plight when she assumes office in January akin to the hapless Wile E. Coyote of cartoon fame.

Waiting at the bottom of the cliff for the anvil to fall on her head.

Mayor Cicchinelli has done nothing to deal with this shortfall.

His shortfall.

Nothing.

Except dump it on the next person.

Which, in examining his recent tenure as the city's chief executive, is an appropriate, and expected, way for him to exit the scene.

Leaving a mess that others will have to clean up.

Enough

Yesterday, Massillon voters sent our Extraordinary Mayor for 52 Days a powerful message.

Enough.

The two Republican candidates Cicchinelli and his team were backing, mayoral candidate Lee Brunckhart and Clerk of Courts candidate Meagan Todaro-Kirchener, were crushed by Kathy Catazaro-Perry and Johnnie Maier respectively.

Crushed.

Were they crushed because they were Republicans in a Democratic city?

Nope.

The other Republicans fared quite well.

As a matter of fact, the Republicans took a majority of the seats on Massillon City Council.

Loyal Cicchinelli rubber stamps David McCune and David Hersher were separated from their council seats by Ed Lewis and Milan Chovan, Jr.

The rubber stamps are down to two members, Councilman at Large Paul Manson, and Council President Glenn Gamber.

The voters of Massillon split their tickets.

They supported Democrats Catazaro-Perry and Maier, and elected Republicans Sarita Cunningham (Ward 1), Nancy Halter (Ward 2), Donnie Peters (Ward 5), Ed Lewis (Ward 6) and Milan Chovan, Jr. (at Large).

What the voters did do was eliminate the Cicchinelli supported candidates.

Both Democrats and Republicans.

Brunckhart
Todaro-Kirchener
Hersher
McCune

It was a complete, total, and utter repudiation of the Cicchinelli administration.

Because the people of Massillon have had enough.

Enough of the staggering debt.
Enough of our park tax dollars being hijacked to subsidize a failing gold course.
Enough of sweetheart deals for favored developers.
Enough of paying the mortgage for a private hotel.
Enough of paying the mortgage for a senior housing complex, while the owner collects the rents.
Enough of a city that doesn't pay it's bills.
Enough of a City Engineer ginning up reasons to justify paving the mayor's streets while the rest of our roads crumble.

Enough.

In this predominantly Democratic city, the voters chose Republicans to run their city council.

But overwhelmingly supported Democrats who stood up to the mayor.

Because they have had enough.

And to inerpret last night's results as anything but a complete and total rejection of the mayor's policies is to shut one's eyes to the reality of what the people said.

They have said enough. No more. Stop.

Congratulations to Democratic Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry and Republican council members Nancy Halter, Sarita Cunningham, Donnie Peters, Ed Lewis, and Milan Chovan, Jr.

You have a city to fix.

And the people expect you to do it.

Together.

Election Day

Today is Election Day in our fair city.

Massillon's Extraordinary Mayor for 53 days will be replaced with his successor by day's end, most likely by his most despised of rivals, Third Ward Council Representative Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

Catazaro-Perry will inherit a city deeply mired in debt.

She will inherit a city that is so broke it has stopped paying most of its bills.

She will inherit a city which is the victim of bad development deal after bad development deal, where the taxpayers are left holding the bag.

She will inherit a city whose leader has decided to fiddle while Rome burns.

Leading our city will be a daunting task.

But does it really matter who is chosen as mayor today?

The Mayor's Loyal Enforcer, Council President Glenn Gamber, is running unopposed today.

The Mayor's Loyal Defender, and self proclaimed "Financial Officer" of the city (The Independent, November 1, 2011), Jayne Ferrero, is running unopposed today.

The Mayor's Legal Beagle, Law Director Perry Stergios, is running unopposed today.

Finance Chairman Paul Manson, the loyalist of loyalists, will be, in all likelihood, re-elected today.

Taxman Dave Hersher and The Absent One, Councilman David McCune, may be in a fight today for political survival, but they may well survive.

The only person who may be gone from the Cicchinelli regime could be Frank Cicchinelli himself.

Will the aforementioned survivors carry on the battle while their leader hunkers down in opposition?

Will they move on from the Cicchinelli era and stake out their own positions?

It is this question that will determine our city's future more than who will be chosen as the next mayor.

Will Team Cicchinelli still be a team with its Quarterback on the sidelines?

Team Cicchinelli has worked vigorously behind the scenes to assist The Common Man, Lee Brunckhart, in the race for mayor. Once this effort fails, will they give up the ghost?

Or will they carry on.

The smart money is with the latter.

Cicchinelli V2.0

After last night's mayoral debate between Kathy Catazaro-Perry and Lee Brunckhart, people had to be wondering if Our Extraordinary Mayor for 58 Days' lips moved when Lee Brunckhart spoke.

After tearing into Catazaro-Perry when she tried to criticize the Legends of Massillon golf course, or the Hampton Inn (We HAVE to pay for it), Lee mentioned the fine, and inexpensive meal he had at Club Legends, the restaurant at the Golf Course. Worth every bit of the almost $200,000 tax dollars it cost the city to acquire.

He referred to Safety Service Director Mike "The Committee" Loudiana a number of times, as if they spent many hours together discussing city business.

He criticized the proposed performance audit of city government. Can't have those pesky auditors digging into how our city has been run.

And, according to Lee Brunckhart, the city is a "bare bones operation." with no room to cut expenses.

While he claims he doesn't want to raise taxes, he proposes "service levies" to fund particular departments.

Uh, Lee, a "levy" is a tax.

Perhaps someone should explain that to you.

It appeared as if Lee was channeling his inner Frank Cicchinelli.

It was almost as if Frank was there.

The language. The comments. Even the barbs.

He certainly has been practicing with someone.

It was an 'extraordinary' performance.

Please, don't take our word for it. Watch for yourself.

This Sunday night at 6PM on Massillon Cable Channel 22.

Decide for yourself if Lee is eerily patterning himself after someone else we know.

We believe it was apparent after last night that Lee Brunckhart is "all in" with Cicchinelli.

The Cicchinelli approach to city government has bankrupted our community.

Massillon can't afford Frank Cicchinelli, The Next Generation.

Massillon's Main Event

Tonight at the Lion's Lincoln Theater.

The Main Event of the campaign.

The Great Debate between Republican Lee Brunckhart and Democrat Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

At stake is leadership of our fair city for the next four years.

Doors open at 6:00 PM and the debate is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM.

This event is FREE and open to the public

Unlike the debate in the primary, we hope the fireworks will be limited to the verbal exchanges between the candidates, and not fisticuffs from the spectators outside the front door.

Will the Cicchinelli supporters be out in full force supporting Brunckhart?

Will Catazaro-Perry be 'Massillon Enough' for the diehards?

Will Brunckhart wear his trademark suspenders?

These, and many other questions will be answered tonight.