Weekly meeting of the rubber stamps

According to The Independent, Massillon's rubber stamp council will be meeting tomorrow to approve some more of Mayor Cicchinelli's fiscally responsible agenda. Council will approve, on a 6-3 vote, to spend $200,000 dollars from our parks to buy out the concessions contract at the Legends of Massillon golf course. I think the Indians negotiated a better deal when they sold Manhattan for $24, than when Frank Cicchinelli drew up the concessions contract at the Legends. Then council is going to enter into a contract with the URS Corporation to "perform a sewer rate study" for the wastewater treatment plant. Let me get this straight. City council is going to pay a company money so that this company can tell Massillon to raise its sewer rates. They certainly aren't going to tell them to lower their rates, right?

Councilman David Hersher, a champion of raising your sewer rates, will be spearheading this issue. As soon as Hersher was sworn in as a new councilman, his first legislative initiative was to raise the sewer rates. When he was running for office, I'm sure the residents of Massillon told him over and over that they wanted their sewer rates increased. "Dave, when you get to city hall, you make sure those sewer rates are raised!"

Here is why the sewer rates get raised all the time. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone. Because the administration uses the money for more than than just the waste water treatment plant. An income tax increase has to be voted on by the people. The sewer rate increase only has to be passed by council.