According to a recent story in the Repository, the Plain Township Board of Trustees is seriously considering buying the Edgewood Golf Course.
Seriously.
Apparently, Plain Township is so jealous that their neighbors to the west have a golf course, they want one, too.
"Township Trustees Louis Giavasis and Scott Haws said they would seriously review the request." (The Repository, October 9, 2013).
Seriously.
Maybe they are listening to overzealous golfers.
And we all know how overzealous golfers get.
Next thing we know, Plain Township will feel the need to expand their new golf course.
It would now seem a warning is in order from someone with golf course experience of his own.
Extraordinary experience.
"He said it was a mistake to build the additional nine holes urged by possibly overzealous golfers."
-Massillon Mayor Frank Cicchinelli discussing the debt at the Legends of Massillon Golf Course at a city council meeting, The Repository, 8/21/07.
A mistake.
Something our Once & Future Mayor for Life does not often admit making, so Plain Township should heed his sage words and wise advice.
Hasn't Plain Township been watching what has happened only a few miles to their west?
We are swimming in a vat of red ink.
Park vandals were running amok because our Parks money is sucked into the giant black hole that is our municipal golf course.
Have you not learned from our mistakes?
The old saying goes, "those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it."
Don't end up like us.
The Repository then offers Plain Township something to ponder at the end of a very thoughtful editorial concerning the issue;
"Last but far from least, should township government be in the golf course business? Massillon’s ownership of the Legends of Massillon course has spawned years of controversy about the debt created by purchase of the course and the subsequent use of tax dollars to expand and maintain it." (The Repository, October 10, 2013).
Learn from us.
Don't make our mistakes.
Seriously.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
You Haven't Seen it?
According to Friday's Independent newspaper;
Results from a recent Massillon Police Department audit are scheduled to be reviewed Monday by officials during a city council work session.
Our only question is, why bother?
The results have been floating around town for some time.
Word on the street is that one of the members of City Council leaked the audit before it was supposed to be released. Apparently, this person, whom we'll now refer to as the City of Champions' own Edward Snowden, wasn't supposed to do that.
The end result is pretty much everyone has seen the audit.
Except maybe the Independent.
So there should not be any real surprises.
The audit examines our police department and compares it with other police departments in other cities.
Is the audit good?
Is it bad?
If you really want to know, start calling city council members.
Based on past behavior, there appears to be a good chance one of them may just give you a copy before the official release.
Results from a recent Massillon Police Department audit are scheduled to be reviewed Monday by officials during a city council work session.
Our only question is, why bother?
The results have been floating around town for some time.
Word on the street is that one of the members of City Council leaked the audit before it was supposed to be released. Apparently, this person, whom we'll now refer to as the City of Champions' own Edward Snowden, wasn't supposed to do that.
The end result is pretty much everyone has seen the audit.
Except maybe the Independent.
So there should not be any real surprises.
The audit examines our police department and compares it with other police departments in other cities.
Is the audit good?
Is it bad?
If you really want to know, start calling city council members.
Based on past behavior, there appears to be a good chance one of them may just give you a copy before the official release.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Holy Cow, Batman!
Councilman Larry Slagle is not happy.
He believes he is being picked on.
From yesterday's Independent newspaper;
FOR YOUR INFO During a public comment period, Councilman at-large Larry Slagle, a Democrat, offered to donate $250 to a charity of choice to anyone who ousts an anonymous “blogger” or website producer who he claims is unprofessionally “attacking” him periodically.
Slagle called the website author a “coward” for not putting a name and face to the content. In addition, he noted he doesn’t like being called a “boy” or “boy wonder” on the site.
Slagle cited professional courtesy as a reason for the individual to go public.
"Attacking him."
And referring to him as "boy" or "boy wonder."
Well, he certainly can't be referring to the crack staff at the Massillon Review, as we do not refer to him with the pejorative "boy."
Now, as far as the "Boy Wonder," that is another issue entirely.
For those unfamiliar with the exploits of the Caped Crusader, the protector of Gotham City, Batman, be advised that Batman has a sidekick, a junior partner, a "Watson" to Batman's "Sherlock Holmes."
And this sidekick's nom de plume is Robin, also referred to as "The Boy Wonder."
A sidekick.
Now, we understand that the Honorable Member of Council might be upset because we have done the unthinkable.
We repeated his previously printed quotes, shared with our readers his proposed park plans, and delved into his prior interest in the parks system.
Yes, certainly a horrific attack from which he shall never recover.
It is certainly not our fault he left in "City of Brunswick" when cutting and pasting together his ordinance.
He can only blame himself.
While our crack staff discusses the topics of the day in our fair city, gleaned from the pages of our local newspaper, or shared with us by our faithful readers, we do so with a tongue in cheek approach, with personal animus towards none.
Perhaps we would be better served by the Honorable Member of Council's own example of professional courtesy.
Or, perhaps we would not.
Our faithful readers like to share with us, and we like that they like keeping us informed.
And we were so pleased to learn of the decorum and respect shown at a Massillon City Council meeting several weeks ago when the Honorable Member of Council Larry Slagle and his colleague, the Honorable Member of Council Paul Manson queried our City's Chief Executive as to the reasoning behind former Park Director Kenn Kaminski's resignation.
Now, be mindful that Mr. Kaminski departed from the employ of the City of Champions a year and a half ago.
He resigned.
But his resignation seemed to be the topic of the day with the Honorable Larry Slagle and the Honorable Paul Manson.
The fact our beloved hometown was slipping deeper and deeper into a fiscal morass did not draw comparable attention.
The Honorable Mr. Slagle and the Honorable Mr. Manson began to grill our mayor, the Honorable Kathy Catazaro-Perry as to her role in Mr. Kaminski's departure.
They claimed she drove him out.
And when she claimed this was not the case, they claimed she lied and called her a liar.
Liar.
Harsh words and a strong allegation.
So what's the truth?
Let's ask Kenn Kaminski.
We now present an excerpt of a letter shared at a subsequent meeting of our esteemed City Council, a correspondence rapidly making it's way through cyberspace;
Good afternoon Mayor,
We are also confident that the Honorable Members of Council in question subsequently apologized in a profuse and sincere manner for incorrectly sullying the integrity of our mayor.
For to do otherwise would indicate a complete lack of professional courtesy.
We only ask that the Honorable Member of Council, Larry Slagle join with us in cherishing the uniquely American right of free speech.
And we encourage him to donate his $250 "bounty" to a local civic or charitable organization of his choice. Perhaps even one that would have been eligible for community development dollars had they not been expended on a hotel mortgage.
He believes he is being picked on.
From yesterday's Independent newspaper;
FOR YOUR INFO During a public comment period, Councilman at-large Larry Slagle, a Democrat, offered to donate $250 to a charity of choice to anyone who ousts an anonymous “blogger” or website producer who he claims is unprofessionally “attacking” him periodically.
Slagle called the website author a “coward” for not putting a name and face to the content. In addition, he noted he doesn’t like being called a “boy” or “boy wonder” on the site.
Slagle cited professional courtesy as a reason for the individual to go public.
"Attacking him."
And referring to him as "boy" or "boy wonder."
Well, he certainly can't be referring to the crack staff at the Massillon Review, as we do not refer to him with the pejorative "boy."
Now, as far as the "Boy Wonder," that is another issue entirely.
For those unfamiliar with the exploits of the Caped Crusader, the protector of Gotham City, Batman, be advised that Batman has a sidekick, a junior partner, a "Watson" to Batman's "Sherlock Holmes."
And this sidekick's nom de plume is Robin, also referred to as "The Boy Wonder."
A sidekick.
Now, we understand that the Honorable Member of Council might be upset because we have done the unthinkable.
We repeated his previously printed quotes, shared with our readers his proposed park plans, and delved into his prior interest in the parks system.
Yes, certainly a horrific attack from which he shall never recover.
It is certainly not our fault he left in "City of Brunswick" when cutting and pasting together his ordinance.
He can only blame himself.
While our crack staff discusses the topics of the day in our fair city, gleaned from the pages of our local newspaper, or shared with us by our faithful readers, we do so with a tongue in cheek approach, with personal animus towards none.
Perhaps we would be better served by the Honorable Member of Council's own example of professional courtesy.
Or, perhaps we would not.
Our faithful readers like to share with us, and we like that they like keeping us informed.
And we were so pleased to learn of the decorum and respect shown at a Massillon City Council meeting several weeks ago when the Honorable Member of Council Larry Slagle and his colleague, the Honorable Member of Council Paul Manson queried our City's Chief Executive as to the reasoning behind former Park Director Kenn Kaminski's resignation.
Now, be mindful that Mr. Kaminski departed from the employ of the City of Champions a year and a half ago.
He resigned.
But his resignation seemed to be the topic of the day with the Honorable Larry Slagle and the Honorable Paul Manson.
The fact our beloved hometown was slipping deeper and deeper into a fiscal morass did not draw comparable attention.
The Honorable Mr. Slagle and the Honorable Mr. Manson began to grill our mayor, the Honorable Kathy Catazaro-Perry as to her role in Mr. Kaminski's departure.
They claimed she drove him out.
And when she claimed this was not the case, they claimed she lied and called her a liar.
Liar.
Harsh words and a strong allegation.
So what's the truth?
Let's ask Kenn Kaminski.
We now present an excerpt of a letter shared at a subsequent meeting of our esteemed City Council, a correspondence rapidly making it's way through cyberspace;
Good afternoon Mayor,
I hope all is well and you are enjoying the nice weather. As you know I have been gone from my position for you for a year now. I have been watching Massillon from a distance and I see that you are doing an admirable job even under the very bad financial situation that you were dealt. Keep up the good work.
The reason that I am writing you is because I wanted to make you aware of why I withdrew from the interview process for the Director of Recreation. I am going to have to digress a little to give you a little background. After you were elected, I felt that we had a very good relationship and I truly respected all that you and Mr. Maier were trying to accomplish. I felt that we would have a great working relationship and I felt that both of you realized that I put my whole heart and soul into being the best employee for the recreation department. I made the decision to leave 100% due to the Recreation Board’s two members, Mr. Rickett and Mr. Hickey. At the time I thought that you and Mr. Maier could trust me and most importantly count on me to lead the department in a positive direction. I understand that the trust factor is very important on both ends and I felt that we believed in each other even as I was carrying around the tag “a Cicchinelli guy”, I think both you and Mr. Maier realized that I was loyal to who was in the office of the Mayor and Safety Service Director and not the previous administration...
Yes, we can clearly see by the above correspondence that the Honorable Members of Council were quite right to question the Honorable Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry's integrity and call her a liar.We are also confident that the Honorable Members of Council in question subsequently apologized in a profuse and sincere manner for incorrectly sullying the integrity of our mayor.
For to do otherwise would indicate a complete lack of professional courtesy.
We only ask that the Honorable Member of Council, Larry Slagle join with us in cherishing the uniquely American right of free speech.
And we encourage him to donate his $250 "bounty" to a local civic or charitable organization of his choice. Perhaps even one that would have been eligible for community development dollars had they not been expended on a hotel mortgage.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
The Winner Takes It All
It is readily apparent that the Cicchinelli comeback plan includes perpetually repeating the mantra that he, the Extraordinary One, our Once & Future Mayor for Life, was not responsible for any of the fiscal distress being felt by our city.
That he has no part in placing our fair city in fiscal emergency.
That his 24 year reign as Sovereign of the City was Massillon's glorious time of renaissance.
That his time in charge was truly Massillon's days of wine and roses.
And that his successor, the Usurper, "That Woman," Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry absolutely and completely screwed up all his good work in her mere year and a half as Tigertown's chief executive.
He left it perfect.
She destroyed it.
Now, such an explanation would require the voters of the City of Champions to take leave of their common sense and require a complete white wash of the past.
Let us reflect.
Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry didn't build a golf course.
She didn't add a questionable nine hole expansion which required the entire course to be rebuilt.
and, she didn't unload the resultant debt on the Parks Department.
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).
Well, actually, it was.
It wasn't Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry who got us in to the hotel business, propped up with our community development block grant money, and leaving us with a $1 million dollar balloon payment that our broke and bankrupt city has no conceivable way of paying back.
"It (The Hampton Inn) was a good expenditure of tax dollars and the city is better off for it" (Frank Cicchinelli, The Independent, May 8, 2009).
No, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry didn't try and build a 6,500 seat hockey arena, and she wasn't scammed by a financier who subsequently went to prison, who represented he could get a loan from the Banco de Brasil, but couldn't properly spell the name of the bank.
"Cicchinelli still wasn't concerned because construction trailers and equipment have been removed from the site. He remains optimistic The Arena will be built" (The Repository, May 14, 2003).
No, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry did not allow her department heads to rack up massive quantities of overtime while the city couldn't pay it's bills.
These decisions all rest squarely on the shoulders of the Extraordinary One.
But that isn't the story he needs to tell.
The story he and his team need to tell is how he only did extraordinary good work, and "That Woman" ruined everything.
And this is the tale they shall spread throughout the land.
And this is the tale they need the citizenry to believe.
Let's check in and see how they are doing.
Are the people buying it?
Nope.
The Independent is running a poll;
Who is to blame for Massillon's fiscal emergency?
The winner so far?
You guessed it.
The Extraordinary One.
His vote total is over two and a half times the vote total of Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry.
It's a landslide.
Team Cicchinelli clearly has some work to do to get folks to believe none of this blame rests with him.
We wish them good luck.
They are going to need it.
That he has no part in placing our fair city in fiscal emergency.
That his 24 year reign as Sovereign of the City was Massillon's glorious time of renaissance.
That his time in charge was truly Massillon's days of wine and roses.
And that his successor, the Usurper, "That Woman," Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry absolutely and completely screwed up all his good work in her mere year and a half as Tigertown's chief executive.
He left it perfect.
She destroyed it.
Now, such an explanation would require the voters of the City of Champions to take leave of their common sense and require a complete white wash of the past.
Let us reflect.
Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry didn't build a golf course.
She didn't add a questionable nine hole expansion which required the entire course to be rebuilt.
and, she didn't unload the resultant debt on the Parks Department.
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).
Well, actually, it was.
It wasn't Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry who got us in to the hotel business, propped up with our community development block grant money, and leaving us with a $1 million dollar balloon payment that our broke and bankrupt city has no conceivable way of paying back.
"It (The Hampton Inn) was a good expenditure of tax dollars and the city is better off for it" (Frank Cicchinelli, The Independent, May 8, 2009).
No, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry didn't try and build a 6,500 seat hockey arena, and she wasn't scammed by a financier who subsequently went to prison, who represented he could get a loan from the Banco de Brasil, but couldn't properly spell the name of the bank.
"Cicchinelli still wasn't concerned because construction trailers and equipment have been removed from the site. He remains optimistic The Arena will be built" (The Repository, May 14, 2003).
No, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry did not allow her department heads to rack up massive quantities of overtime while the city couldn't pay it's bills.
These decisions all rest squarely on the shoulders of the Extraordinary One.
But that isn't the story he needs to tell.
The story he and his team need to tell is how he only did extraordinary good work, and "That Woman" ruined everything.
And this is the tale they shall spread throughout the land.
And this is the tale they need the citizenry to believe.
Let's check in and see how they are doing.
Are the people buying it?
Nope.
The Independent is running a poll;
Who is to blame for Massillon's fiscal emergency?
The winner so far?
You guessed it.
The Extraordinary One.
His vote total is over two and a half times the vote total of Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry.
It's a landslide.
Team Cicchinelli clearly has some work to do to get folks to believe none of this blame rests with him.
We wish them good luck.
They are going to need it.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Let's Get Fiscal
To what should come to the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Auditor of the State of Ohio, Dave Yost, put our beloved fair city, what our former mayor called the "Industrial Crossroads of Ohio," what our current mayor calls the "City of Champions," into the category of "fiscal emergency."
In lay terms, it means we are broke.
Extraordinarily broke.
So broke, the State of Ohio has to step in.
Apparently, a $2.6 million dollar budget deficit is haunting Tigertown.
It looks like the chickens have finally come home to roost.
This monstrous budget deficit is the result of the vat of red ink that our Once & Future Mayor for Life, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli left for his successor, the Usurper, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry.
"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).
That can't be right.
The Extraordinary One left our fair city in extraordinary shape when he departed.
Didn't he?
The dollars were supposed to be there, remember?
"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" (The Independent, July 6, 2010).
See? The dollars are supposed to be there.
This has to be Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry's fault.
Otherwise it would be the Extraordinary One's fault.
And we know that can't possibly be the case.
Otherwise his Massillon miracle, his development schemes and dreams were merely sand castles swept out with the tides, propped up by vast quantities of our tax dollars.
Massillon has a $2.6 million dollar budget deficit.
How, and when did this happen?
Let's check in with the City's Chief Financial Officer, Auditor Jayne Ferrero;
“Until we change something on the revenue side, that ($2.6 million) number will not change,” Ferrero said. “That’s where we were at last year and the year before..." (The Independent, September 14, 2013).
Let us examine Auditor Ferrero's comments.
Massillon will be $2.6 million dollars in the red at the end of this year, 2013.
"That's where we were at last year..."
OK, at the end of 2012 (last year), we were $2.6 million dollars in the hole.
"... and the year before"
The year before was 2011, the last year of the reign of our Extraordinary Mayor for Life, Frank Cicchinelli.
Let's focus on the "... and the year before" part.
So, according to Auditor Ferrero, we were $2.6 million dollars short at the end of 2011, as the Extraordinary One departed, however temporarily, from the scene.
And at the end of 2012, the first year of the Usurper, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry, we were still $2.6 million dollars short.
And at the end of 2013, the second year of the Usurper, we will still be $2.6 million dollars short.
So, according to Auditor Ferrero's comments, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry essentially balanced her budgets (2012 & 2013). Her only problem was that she inherited a $2.6 million dollar shortfall from her predecessor.
The deficit didn't disappear in the last two years, but it didn't get worse.
It is clear Massillon's current chief executive has made the difficult choices to stop the City's bleeding. Layoffs and cuts are never popular with the worker bees.
It's a shame her predecessor did not deal with the problems he so clearly created in the same fashion.
Because if he had, the State of Ohio probably wouldn't be putting us in fiscal emergency today.
And we wouldn't be broke.
Extraordinarily broke.
In lay terms, it means we are broke.
Extraordinarily broke.
So broke, the State of Ohio has to step in.
Apparently, a $2.6 million dollar budget deficit is haunting Tigertown.
It looks like the chickens have finally come home to roost.
This monstrous budget deficit is the result of the vat of red ink that our Once & Future Mayor for Life, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli left for his successor, the Usurper, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry.
"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).
That can't be right.
The Extraordinary One left our fair city in extraordinary shape when he departed.
Didn't he?
The dollars were supposed to be there, remember?
"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" (The Independent, July 6, 2010).
See? The dollars are supposed to be there.
This has to be Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry's fault.
Otherwise it would be the Extraordinary One's fault.
And we know that can't possibly be the case.
Otherwise his Massillon miracle, his development schemes and dreams were merely sand castles swept out with the tides, propped up by vast quantities of our tax dollars.
Massillon has a $2.6 million dollar budget deficit.
How, and when did this happen?
Let's check in with the City's Chief Financial Officer, Auditor Jayne Ferrero;
“Until we change something on the revenue side, that ($2.6 million) number will not change,” Ferrero said. “That’s where we were at last year and the year before..." (The Independent, September 14, 2013).
Let us examine Auditor Ferrero's comments.
Massillon will be $2.6 million dollars in the red at the end of this year, 2013.
"That's where we were at last year..."
OK, at the end of 2012 (last year), we were $2.6 million dollars in the hole.
"... and the year before"
The year before was 2011, the last year of the reign of our Extraordinary Mayor for Life, Frank Cicchinelli.
Let's focus on the "... and the year before" part.
So, according to Auditor Ferrero, we were $2.6 million dollars short at the end of 2011, as the Extraordinary One departed, however temporarily, from the scene.
And at the end of 2012, the first year of the Usurper, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry, we were still $2.6 million dollars short.
And at the end of 2013, the second year of the Usurper, we will still be $2.6 million dollars short.
So, according to Auditor Ferrero's comments, Kathy Catazaro-from-Perry essentially balanced her budgets (2012 & 2013). Her only problem was that she inherited a $2.6 million dollar shortfall from her predecessor.
The deficit didn't disappear in the last two years, but it didn't get worse.
It is clear Massillon's current chief executive has made the difficult choices to stop the City's bleeding. Layoffs and cuts are never popular with the worker bees.
It's a shame her predecessor did not deal with the problems he so clearly created in the same fashion.
Because if he had, the State of Ohio probably wouldn't be putting us in fiscal emergency today.
And we wouldn't be broke.
Extraordinarily broke.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
So Tonight Were Gonna Party Like It's 1999
1999 was an extraordinary year for Massillon's Once & Future Mayor for Life, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli.
1999 appeared to be the zenith of his extraordinary reign as Lord Sovereign of the City.
He did what he wanted.
And whatever he wanted, City Council approved.
Some would say they rubber stamped.
In 1999, Massillon got itself into the hotel business, and committed $2.7 million dollars to the Hampton Inn.
In 1999, Massillon bought the land for the ill-fated nine hole expansion of the Legends of Massillon Golf Course.
A decision that was so disastrous, even the man who doesn't admit making mistakes admitted this was a mistake;
"He said it was a mistake to build the additional nine holes urged by possibly overzealous golfers."
-Massillon Mayor Frank Cicchinelli discussing the debt at the Legends of Massillon Golf Course at a city council meeting, The Repository, 8/21/07.
Overzealous golfers.
And one would think the overzealous council members who approved this boondoggle were responsible as well.
And in 1999, Massillon spent money for a feasibility study for an event center, the 6,500 seat hockey arena that was never built.
While the Extraordinary One ran the table on his ambitious, ill-fated agenda, he did not do it alone.
Massillon City Council voted for all this stuff.
But, all those people must be gone by now.
Mustn't they?
Well, they are almost all gone.
With one exception.
Current Councilwoman Nancy Halter was on Massillon City Council in 1999.
She was there.
And voted for it.
All of it.
She voted for the Hampton Inn Hotel agreement.
And she voted to buy the land for the golf course expansion.
And she voted for The Arena study.
Her votes contributed mightily to the vat of red ink that is now drowning Massillon City government.
So, when the Extraordinary One returns and reclaims his rightful place as Caesar of the City, he and Nancy Halter can once more party like it's 1999.
Together.
1999 appeared to be the zenith of his extraordinary reign as Lord Sovereign of the City.
He did what he wanted.
And whatever he wanted, City Council approved.
Some would say they rubber stamped.
In 1999, Massillon got itself into the hotel business, and committed $2.7 million dollars to the Hampton Inn.
In 1999, Massillon bought the land for the ill-fated nine hole expansion of the Legends of Massillon Golf Course.
A decision that was so disastrous, even the man who doesn't admit making mistakes admitted this was a mistake;
"He said it was a mistake to build the additional nine holes urged by possibly overzealous golfers."
-Massillon Mayor Frank Cicchinelli discussing the debt at the Legends of Massillon Golf Course at a city council meeting, The Repository, 8/21/07.
Overzealous golfers.
And one would think the overzealous council members who approved this boondoggle were responsible as well.
And in 1999, Massillon spent money for a feasibility study for an event center, the 6,500 seat hockey arena that was never built.
While the Extraordinary One ran the table on his ambitious, ill-fated agenda, he did not do it alone.
Massillon City Council voted for all this stuff.
But, all those people must be gone by now.
Mustn't they?
Well, they are almost all gone.
With one exception.
Current Councilwoman Nancy Halter was on Massillon City Council in 1999.
She was there.
And voted for it.
All of it.
She voted for the Hampton Inn Hotel agreement.
And she voted to buy the land for the golf course expansion.
And she voted for The Arena study.
Her votes contributed mightily to the vat of red ink that is now drowning Massillon City government.
So, when the Extraordinary One returns and reclaims his rightful place as Caesar of the City, he and Nancy Halter can once more party like it's 1999.
Together.
Monday, October 7, 2013
I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends
As our Once & Future Mayor for Life plots his comeback, and moves the chess pieces around the City of Champions as he lays the ground for his undoubtedly triumphant return, he realizes he needs friends.
Friends are important in the daily hustle and bustle of the modern world.
You see, even a Mayor for Life can't impose his extraordinary will on our fair city without help from City Council.
Back in the day, these folks on Council would cheerfully rubber stamp proposals such as golf course expansions, hotel purchases, and arena boondoggles with nary a word of discussion.
And as a result, Tiger Town is still reeling from the financial ramifications of these extraordinarily questionable expenditures of our tax dollars.
Drowning in the vat of red ink left by Massillon's former CEO.
For example, as a result of the ill-fated nine hole expansion of our beloved municipal golf course, we will still be paying off the debt on the Legends of Massillon until 2032.
Only 19 more years and it's all ours!
For those keeping score at home, it will be paid off in what we assume will be the first year of Frank Cicchinelli's 11th term in office, as no doubt his prudent and responsible fiscal management during his first reign as sovereign will, no doubt, convince the voters of Massillon to return him to power in 2015, and having survived the "Usurper," "That Woman from Perry," we will prudently return him to office every four year hence.
Ah, but those deals for golf course expansions, hotel purchases, and plans for a 6,500 seat hockey arena happened in the past.
In the long ago, and the far away.
Those deals were rubber stamped by people who have long since departed Massillon City Council.
Disappeared into the mists of history.
All of those people must be long gone by now, mustn't they?
Friends are important in the daily hustle and bustle of the modern world.
You see, even a Mayor for Life can't impose his extraordinary will on our fair city without help from City Council.
Back in the day, these folks on Council would cheerfully rubber stamp proposals such as golf course expansions, hotel purchases, and arena boondoggles with nary a word of discussion.
And as a result, Tiger Town is still reeling from the financial ramifications of these extraordinarily questionable expenditures of our tax dollars.
Drowning in the vat of red ink left by Massillon's former CEO.
For example, as a result of the ill-fated nine hole expansion of our beloved municipal golf course, we will still be paying off the debt on the Legends of Massillon until 2032.
Only 19 more years and it's all ours!
For those keeping score at home, it will be paid off in what we assume will be the first year of Frank Cicchinelli's 11th term in office, as no doubt his prudent and responsible fiscal management during his first reign as sovereign will, no doubt, convince the voters of Massillon to return him to power in 2015, and having survived the "Usurper," "That Woman from Perry," we will prudently return him to office every four year hence.
Ah, but those deals for golf course expansions, hotel purchases, and plans for a 6,500 seat hockey arena happened in the past.
In the long ago, and the far away.
Those deals were rubber stamped by people who have long since departed Massillon City Council.
Disappeared into the mists of history.
All of those people must be long gone by now, mustn't they?
Friday, October 4, 2013
A Rubric for Shenanigans
After Massillon's former Parks Czar, Kenn Kaminski, left for greener pastures, he realized just how much he missed the City of Champions, and wanted to come home.
No, the Extraordinary One, our Once & Future Mayor for Life was gone, but the Cicchinelli acolytes believe these four years in the wilderness will be but a brief respite from his reign as Lord Sovereign of the City.
And there was a vacancy.
Kaminski's replacement, Bob Straughn, was sacked by the Parks Board.
Apparently, the Usurper, "That Woman" from Perry did not object to the sacking, and did not fight to keep Straughn in charge.
So Doug Nist was made Interim Parks Czar.
By all accounts, Nist, a God fearing, native born Massillonian, graduate of Washington High School, and college graduate with a degree in recreation management from West Virginia University did a fine job running our parks as interim director.
It appears our park system is improving.
Even the infamous "Park Vandals," who so tormented Director Kaminski, have been largely held in check.
And all seemed well in our fair city.
Except we had a problem.
Former Czar Kaminski wanted to return.
When applications were being accepted for the permanent position, Kaminski applied.
And here is where it gets murky.
Would the Parks Board get to make the permanent appointment, or would the Usurper get to make the permanent appointment?
And, allegedly, one of the Parks Board members called Kaminski and told him to not even come to the interview, he had no shot.
And that's when Team Cicchinelli got their dander up.
And that's when the Boy Wonder had a plan, a rubric for better parks management.
To end the debate over who had final say over appointing the parks director, Larry Slagle proposed that City Council decide who was in charge.
And guess what?
City Council would be in charge.
City Council would make the appointment.
Forget the boring text book arguments about legislative versus executive authority in the administration of the day to day affairs of the municipality.... ZZZZZZZ... ZZZZZZ....
Oh, sorry, we dozed off.
Forget that other stuff.
This appeared to be a nothing more than a pure power play by those who wanted Kaminski's return.
And they thought they had the votes on City Council to do it.
So if City Council could make the appointment, the Kaminski supporters had a shot. They could bypass the Parks Board, and the Usurper.
The Boy Wonder then summoned his superhuman powers, and "wrote" legislation fixing the park problems, which would forever settle the debate over who hires the parks director, and would make things perfect in our parks in perpetuity, "ending the politics," as he would remark.
We often joke about something being a cut and paste effort.
This definitely was.
While we were on hiatus, one of our faithful readers sent us Larry Slagle's proposal.
And we shall share excerpts with our faithful readers.
Like this one;
"The Director of Parks and Recreation shall have the control and management of parks, park entrances, parkways, children's playgrounds, public recreation facilities, gymnasiums, swimming pools, playfields, or indoor recreational centers, and any lands or buildings set aside for park or recreational use by the public, and the acquisition, construction, repair, and maintenance thereof. The Director shall create and supervise all Recreational Programs for the City of Brunswick."
Brunswick?
A small piece of advice. If you are going to poach someone else's work, make sure you change the author's name to your own.
Now, once one gets past the fact that Massillon isn't Brunswick, one must examine the rationale for reworking the parks system.
"Councilman at-large Larry Slagle, who proposed the measure Monday, seemed to disagree. “It’s a lot harder for politics to be involved with nine individuals than one individual,” he said." (The Repository, July 9, 2013).
Nope. No politics with City Council in charge.
"Slagle later challenged the mayor by asking why Nist remains interim director after serving more than seven months in the position." (The Repository, July 9, 2013).
It almost seemed that Slagle wanted Nist to get the job.
Almost.
No, the Extraordinary One, our Once & Future Mayor for Life was gone, but the Cicchinelli acolytes believe these four years in the wilderness will be but a brief respite from his reign as Lord Sovereign of the City.
And there was a vacancy.
Kaminski's replacement, Bob Straughn, was sacked by the Parks Board.
Apparently, the Usurper, "That Woman" from Perry did not object to the sacking, and did not fight to keep Straughn in charge.
So Doug Nist was made Interim Parks Czar.
By all accounts, Nist, a God fearing, native born Massillonian, graduate of Washington High School, and college graduate with a degree in recreation management from West Virginia University did a fine job running our parks as interim director.
It appears our park system is improving.
Even the infamous "Park Vandals," who so tormented Director Kaminski, have been largely held in check.
And all seemed well in our fair city.
Except we had a problem.
Former Czar Kaminski wanted to return.
When applications were being accepted for the permanent position, Kaminski applied.
And here is where it gets murky.
Would the Parks Board get to make the permanent appointment, or would the Usurper get to make the permanent appointment?
And, allegedly, one of the Parks Board members called Kaminski and told him to not even come to the interview, he had no shot.
And that's when Team Cicchinelli got their dander up.
And that's when the Boy Wonder had a plan, a rubric for better parks management.
To end the debate over who had final say over appointing the parks director, Larry Slagle proposed that City Council decide who was in charge.
And guess what?
City Council would be in charge.
City Council would make the appointment.
Forget the boring text book arguments about legislative versus executive authority in the administration of the day to day affairs of the municipality.... ZZZZZZZ... ZZZZZZ....
Oh, sorry, we dozed off.
Forget that other stuff.
This appeared to be a nothing more than a pure power play by those who wanted Kaminski's return.
And they thought they had the votes on City Council to do it.
So if City Council could make the appointment, the Kaminski supporters had a shot. They could bypass the Parks Board, and the Usurper.
The Boy Wonder then summoned his superhuman powers, and "wrote" legislation fixing the park problems, which would forever settle the debate over who hires the parks director, and would make things perfect in our parks in perpetuity, "ending the politics," as he would remark.
We often joke about something being a cut and paste effort.
This definitely was.
While we were on hiatus, one of our faithful readers sent us Larry Slagle's proposal.
And we shall share excerpts with our faithful readers.
Like this one;
"The Director of Parks and Recreation shall have the control and management of parks, park entrances, parkways, children's playgrounds, public recreation facilities, gymnasiums, swimming pools, playfields, or indoor recreational centers, and any lands or buildings set aside for park or recreational use by the public, and the acquisition, construction, repair, and maintenance thereof. The Director shall create and supervise all Recreational Programs for the City of Brunswick."
Brunswick?
A small piece of advice. If you are going to poach someone else's work, make sure you change the author's name to your own.
Now, once one gets past the fact that Massillon isn't Brunswick, one must examine the rationale for reworking the parks system.
"Councilman at-large Larry Slagle, who proposed the measure Monday, seemed to disagree. “It’s a lot harder for politics to be involved with nine individuals than one individual,” he said." (The Repository, July 9, 2013).
Nope. No politics with City Council in charge.
"Slagle later challenged the mayor by asking why Nist remains interim director after serving more than seven months in the position." (The Repository, July 9, 2013).
It almost seemed that Slagle wanted Nist to get the job.
Almost.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Brunswick Pride is Community Wide!
City Councilman Larry Slagle has always had a keen interest in our fair city's park system.
As a matter of fact, he focuses in like a laser on the big park issues of the day.
Some would say he is fiddling as Rome burns, neglecting the serious issues of municipal governance to pursue his plans for parks and recreation.
While the City of Champions has been crushed by the vat of red ink left behind by our former chief Executive, our Once & Future Mayor for Life, the Lord Sovereign of the City, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli, Larry Slagle is most concerned about "taking the politics out of our parks."
Or, some would argue, injecting politics into our parks.
Just a few years ago, then Ward 4 Councilman, now Council President (and does that fact unhinge the Cicchinelli acolytes), Tony Townsend offered a proposal to rename Shriver Park after trailblazing former Ward 4 Councilman, the late T. Roy Roberson.
It seemed a simple request. Council could vote to rename the park, or not.
But it turned into a four month political odyssey, thanks in no small part to the assistance of Councilman Slagle.
It is believed that the Extraordinary One opposed the renaming of Shriver Park because he wanted to flex his political muscle and show Tony Townsend who the boss was.
But this was problematic, as it was right before the next mayoral election, and the Extraordinary One probably didn't want to offend supporters of the late T. Roy Roberson.
Political expediency would have called for him to kill the name change proposal while not looking responsible for doing it.
Fortunately, others worked to kill it, specifically, the former Council President, the former mayor's loyal enforcer, Glenn Gamber, and the boy wonder, Larry Slagle.
They worked Townsend over pretty hard at a council meeting in August 2010, and tried to force the park naming proposal back to the Parks and Recreation Board, the five member board dominated by Cicchinelli loyalsts.
And then Cicchinelli made "The Pledge."
"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" (The Independent, August 31, 2010).
Now, most people realized that "The Pledge" was a hollow promise, as the Once & Future Mayor for Life's allies on Council eventually killed the proposal in December of that year.
City Council debated this issue for months. It dominated discussions.
They were transfixed over whether or not to rename a park.
And the Boy Wonder was so transfixed by how we name city parks, he wanted to create park naming policies.
Seriously.
Policies for naming a park.
Slagle wanted to use "current policy as a rubric for establishing guidelines for council" (The Independent, October 12, 2010) to deal with this titanic issue.
Seriously.
It's a park.
And deciding to change it's name should not have been a four month process.
But it was.
And now it appears Councilman Slagle has more outstanding, well conceived plans for park management.
He wants to settle the dispute about who is truly in charge of Massillon's system of parks and recreation.
Is it the Mayor?
Is it the five member Park Board?
Is it City Council.
Indeed, he has a rubric for better park management.
A plan so well researched, so meticulously planned, with so much attention to detail that when he was literally cutting and pasting it together, he forgot one thing.
This is Massillon, not Brunswick.
As a matter of fact, he focuses in like a laser on the big park issues of the day.
Some would say he is fiddling as Rome burns, neglecting the serious issues of municipal governance to pursue his plans for parks and recreation.
While the City of Champions has been crushed by the vat of red ink left behind by our former chief Executive, our Once & Future Mayor for Life, the Lord Sovereign of the City, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli, Larry Slagle is most concerned about "taking the politics out of our parks."
Or, some would argue, injecting politics into our parks.
Just a few years ago, then Ward 4 Councilman, now Council President (and does that fact unhinge the Cicchinelli acolytes), Tony Townsend offered a proposal to rename Shriver Park after trailblazing former Ward 4 Councilman, the late T. Roy Roberson.
It seemed a simple request. Council could vote to rename the park, or not.
But it turned into a four month political odyssey, thanks in no small part to the assistance of Councilman Slagle.
It is believed that the Extraordinary One opposed the renaming of Shriver Park because he wanted to flex his political muscle and show Tony Townsend who the boss was.
But this was problematic, as it was right before the next mayoral election, and the Extraordinary One probably didn't want to offend supporters of the late T. Roy Roberson.
Political expediency would have called for him to kill the name change proposal while not looking responsible for doing it.
Fortunately, others worked to kill it, specifically, the former Council President, the former mayor's loyal enforcer, Glenn Gamber, and the boy wonder, Larry Slagle.
They worked Townsend over pretty hard at a council meeting in August 2010, and tried to force the park naming proposal back to the Parks and Recreation Board, the five member board dominated by Cicchinelli loyalsts.
And then Cicchinelli made "The Pledge."
"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" (The Independent, August 31, 2010).
Now, most people realized that "The Pledge" was a hollow promise, as the Once & Future Mayor for Life's allies on Council eventually killed the proposal in December of that year.
City Council debated this issue for months. It dominated discussions.
They were transfixed over whether or not to rename a park.
And the Boy Wonder was so transfixed by how we name city parks, he wanted to create park naming policies.
Seriously.
Policies for naming a park.
Slagle wanted to use "current policy as a rubric for establishing guidelines for council" (The Independent, October 12, 2010) to deal with this titanic issue.
Seriously.
It's a park.
And deciding to change it's name should not have been a four month process.
But it was.
And now it appears Councilman Slagle has more outstanding, well conceived plans for park management.
He wants to settle the dispute about who is truly in charge of Massillon's system of parks and recreation.
Is it the Mayor?
Is it the five member Park Board?
Is it City Council.
Indeed, he has a rubric for better park management.
A plan so well researched, so meticulously planned, with so much attention to detail that when he was literally cutting and pasting it together, he forgot one thing.
This is Massillon, not Brunswick.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
We are... Brunswick?
Back in March of 2012, Former Parks Czar Kenn Kaminski left our Fair City for greener pastures.
While the Once and Future Mayor for Life, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli made sure Kaminski received a steady diet of overtime in his employ, the new mayor, the Usurper, cut out overtime for city department directors.
Perhaps Kaminski couldn't keep his family fed as Massillon's highest paid employee on the paltry $90,000 or so he made annually.
"Kaminski was the highest paid city employee with a salary of $90,169 annually" (The Independent, March 22, 2012).
Perhaps life without the Extraordinary One was just not a life worth living.
It is well known around town that as the Vietcong prepared to storm City Hall, Our Departing Dear Leader encouraged his employees to abandon ship before "that woman" took over.
Some drank the Kool Aid.
Some didn't.
Community Development Director Aane Aaby chose to stick around and help the new administration with the transition.
Aaby apparently didn't get the memo.
Make things as miserable as possible for the Usurper.
Rumor has it when Cicchinelli found out about Aaby's treachery, his extraordinary reaction had the walls in City Hall shaking.
But others were more faithful and obedient to their sovereign.
Kenn Kaminski was the ultimate loyal flak to our Once and Future Mayor for Life.
When the parks were deteriorating from a lack of maintenance, he blamed it on the now infamous "park vandals."
And of course, Kaminski knew what the real problem was in our beloved home town;
"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).
The anti-Cicchinelli people.
Forget the vat of red ink generated by the Extraordinary One's wheeling and dealing.
Kaminski hit the nail on the head and the truth was told.
But verily, a prophet is never accepted in his own land.
So Kaminski struck out for greener pastures, a land where the overtime could flow like milk and honey, where the vandals would be banished forever.
And this glorious land was called Fairview Park.
But all was not joyous in Fairview Park.
And how could it be? Fairview Park did not even have a municipal golf course.
With an extra nine holes.
The story is oft repeated that Kenn yearns to return to the City of Champions.
And it is believed he let his yearning be known to his supporters.
But for Kenn to come home again, someone would have to step up and put the wheels in motion to make that happen.
They would need to outsmart the Usurper.
And have a plan.
A rubric, so to speak, for the proper management of our parks.
And the boyish wonder to carry it out.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
A Happy belated Mothers Day!
On the Saturday before Mothers Day this year, The Independent newspaper printed what was meant to be a feel good story about Massillon's first woman mayor, Kathy Catazaro-Perry, the family she shares with local doctor, Anthony Perry, and how she juggles being mayor and mom to her and Dr. Perry's six children, including a daughter who has Downs Syndrome.
There wasn't anything overtly political in the story, just a busy woman handling career and family responsibilities. This is a common experience shared by many women in Tiger Town, though most don't live their lives under the same spotlight as a mayor does.
However, what this harmless, non-political, non controversial pre-Mothers Day story wrought on the comment section of our local hometown paper did not appear to keep with the spirit of the occasion.
The comments posted lacked joy.
They were misogynistic and personal.
And many folks around town believe these extraordinary comments sprung from the friends and family of Massillon's Once and Future Mayor for Life, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli.
And these comments would appear to be representative of the feelings of Team Cicchinelli, who, like the Japanese soldiers at the end of World War II, hiding in the caves, refusing to believe the war was over, continued to fight for their Emperor.
For them, the election defeat of their Lord Sovereign of the City could never have happened.
What the Extraordinary One and his gang never quite figured out was that the root cause of his defeat, the crux of his problem, the error of his way was his insular behavior.
Surrounded by lackeys and sycophants, he compiled a Nixonian enemies list that would have made Richard Nixon himself blush.
He would take punitive action against someone for a perceived slight that happened years prior. With the Extraordinary One, the wounds never heal.
He would crack skulls over something as harmless as an attempt to name a park.
He was perceived as being mean, aloof and punitive.
Which brings us back to Mothers Day 2013 and the comments posted.
Which appear to be representative of the joyful attitude he brought to Massillon City Hall.
On May 20, 2013, The Independent had this to say in that week's "Cheers and Jeers" editorial;
"JEERS to those commenting on Indeonline.com who used an inspiring Mothers Day article about the mayor and her family as an opportunity to take personal and political shots at Massillon's "first lady." The vindictiveness and general belligerence reflected in those inappropriate remarks may be the biggest reason we saw a changing of the guard at City Hall in 2012."
To whom could they possibly be referring?
Frank Cicchinelli will be back.
Mark it in red on your calendar.
Like a General Douglas MacArthur before him, he shall return.
He and his crew saw the last mayoral election as a blip, an aberration, a correctable event.
The comeback is on.
And we are confident his quest to reclaim what is rightfully his will be carried on with the same dignity, good will and spirit of fair play that was his hallmark.
It, of course, will be extraordinary!
There wasn't anything overtly political in the story, just a busy woman handling career and family responsibilities. This is a common experience shared by many women in Tiger Town, though most don't live their lives under the same spotlight as a mayor does.
However, what this harmless, non-political, non controversial pre-Mothers Day story wrought on the comment section of our local hometown paper did not appear to keep with the spirit of the occasion.
The comments posted lacked joy.
They were misogynistic and personal.
And many folks around town believe these extraordinary comments sprung from the friends and family of Massillon's Once and Future Mayor for Life, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli.
And these comments would appear to be representative of the feelings of Team Cicchinelli, who, like the Japanese soldiers at the end of World War II, hiding in the caves, refusing to believe the war was over, continued to fight for their Emperor.
For them, the election defeat of their Lord Sovereign of the City could never have happened.
What the Extraordinary One and his gang never quite figured out was that the root cause of his defeat, the crux of his problem, the error of his way was his insular behavior.
Surrounded by lackeys and sycophants, he compiled a Nixonian enemies list that would have made Richard Nixon himself blush.
He would take punitive action against someone for a perceived slight that happened years prior. With the Extraordinary One, the wounds never heal.
He would crack skulls over something as harmless as an attempt to name a park.
He was perceived as being mean, aloof and punitive.
Which brings us back to Mothers Day 2013 and the comments posted.
Which appear to be representative of the joyful attitude he brought to Massillon City Hall.
On May 20, 2013, The Independent had this to say in that week's "Cheers and Jeers" editorial;
"JEERS to those commenting on Indeonline.com who used an inspiring Mothers Day article about the mayor and her family as an opportunity to take personal and political shots at Massillon's "first lady." The vindictiveness and general belligerence reflected in those inappropriate remarks may be the biggest reason we saw a changing of the guard at City Hall in 2012."
To whom could they possibly be referring?
Frank Cicchinelli will be back.
Mark it in red on your calendar.
Like a General Douglas MacArthur before him, he shall return.
He and his crew saw the last mayoral election as a blip, an aberration, a correctable event.
The comeback is on.
And we are confident his quest to reclaim what is rightfully his will be carried on with the same dignity, good will and spirit of fair play that was his hallmark.
It, of course, will be extraordinary!
Monday, September 30, 2013
And we missed you, too!
The warm letters of encouragement, the pleas of "please come back," the shared stories, pictures and insight about what is occurring in Our Beloved Home Town have inspired us in ways you will never know.
And we apologize.
For missing our time together.
The holidays, birthdays, weddings, and graduations.
And the little things.
We should have been there.
But the crack staff is back in place, and we shall endeavor to return to sharing quality time with our faithful readers.
We missed you, too!
And we apologize.
For missing our time together.
The holidays, birthdays, weddings, and graduations.
And the little things.
We should have been there.
But the crack staff is back in place, and we shall endeavor to return to sharing quality time with our faithful readers.
We missed you, too!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Shocked
Shocked. Indeed, we are just shocked at the latest rumor eminating from Massillon's City Hall.
We have heard from a faithful reader that some members of our municipal government show up to council meetings in a state of...
Well, let's just say not in a state of optimal sobriety.
We certainly don't want to believe such innuendo, and sincerely hope that this rumor is just not true.
Perhaps it is just a mean spirited fabrication to place our hard working public officials in an unfavorable light.
What is clear is the problems facing our cash strapped city, awash in the vat of red ink left by our former mayor, the Extraordinary One, demand sober attention to detail.
And if this is not the case, and if someone observes a less than teetotaling performance from our city officials while conducting our municipal business, the public is not getting the diligent service they deserve.
We have heard from a faithful reader that some members of our municipal government show up to council meetings in a state of...
Well, let's just say not in a state of optimal sobriety.
We certainly don't want to believe such innuendo, and sincerely hope that this rumor is just not true.
Perhaps it is just a mean spirited fabrication to place our hard working public officials in an unfavorable light.
What is clear is the problems facing our cash strapped city, awash in the vat of red ink left by our former mayor, the Extraordinary One, demand sober attention to detail.
And if this is not the case, and if someone observes a less than teetotaling performance from our city officials while conducting our municipal business, the public is not getting the diligent service they deserve.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The New World Order
The latest word on the street is that Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero, and his Chief Counsel, the hungry, shoeless John Kurtzman tried to create a little chaos for Massillon City government.
And this has been shared with us by two separate faithful readers.
The story has it that Ferrero and Kurtzman, well known Aide-de-camps of our extraordinary former mayor, and also two of the Massillon Democrats who were eligible to vote earlier this week on the Central Committee to choose Massillon's new Council President and Treasurer, considered supporting a wild card candidate for Massillon Council President.
Scott Graber.
They thought Graber would "spice up" city government (actually the expletive inferred to rhymed with the word "duck").
Unfortunately, they couldn't rustle up more than a handful of votes for the idea, and subsequently dropped it.
John Kurtzman, who appeared to be working closely with Scott Graber ally Cynthia Ballas Bratton during the meeting itself, certainly should have followed through and nominated Graber.
The people present would have had more than one choice.
And choice is good.
And we assume Tony Townsend, sans the votes of John Ferrero, John Kurtzman, Cynthia Ballas Bratton, and Joy Cicchinelli would have still been easily selected.
And then Massillon residents could finally see first hand the true concern Ferrero and Kurtzman have for their municipal government.
And this has been shared with us by two separate faithful readers.
The story has it that Ferrero and Kurtzman, well known Aide-de-camps of our extraordinary former mayor, and also two of the Massillon Democrats who were eligible to vote earlier this week on the Central Committee to choose Massillon's new Council President and Treasurer, considered supporting a wild card candidate for Massillon Council President.
Scott Graber.
They thought Graber would "spice up" city government (actually the expletive inferred to rhymed with the word "duck").
Unfortunately, they couldn't rustle up more than a handful of votes for the idea, and subsequently dropped it.
John Kurtzman, who appeared to be working closely with Scott Graber ally Cynthia Ballas Bratton during the meeting itself, certainly should have followed through and nominated Graber.
The people present would have had more than one choice.
And choice is good.
And we assume Tony Townsend, sans the votes of John Ferrero, John Kurtzman, Cynthia Ballas Bratton, and Joy Cicchinelli would have still been easily selected.
And then Massillon residents could finally see first hand the true concern Ferrero and Kurtzman have for their municipal government.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Loyal Enforcer No More
Fourth Ward Councilman Tony Townsend and former mayor Frank Cicchinelli were never quite BFFs.
Remember The Pledge?
"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" (The Independent, August 31, 2010).
Tony Townsend wanted to rename Shriver Park after trailblazing former Councilman, the late T. Roy Roberson.
Cicchinelli "helped" him.
Cicchinelli "helped" him so much, that the name change Townsend fought so hard for never occurred.
Then Joy Cicchinelli, our Extraordinary Former First Lady for Life, circulated candidate petitions for Townsend's last opponent.
Joy must have believed the Fourth Ward needed new representation.
And now, much to Joy's relief, the Fourth Ward will indeed get new representation, because Fourth Ward Councilman Tony Townsend is moving on.
Massillon's Democrats chose Tony Townsend to serve as the next President of Council.
Team Cicchinelli can't be happy.
The Loyal Enforcer is gone, and we don't imagine Council President Townsend enforcing Frank Cicchinelli's will to the extent his predecessor did.
Strangely enough, Cynthia Bratton, allied with Scott Graber, once a fierce Cicchinelli critic, teamed up with none other than Joy Cicchinelli, who's husband once received the brunt of Graber's attacks, to nominate and second Cicchinelli Loyalist Paul Manson for Council President.
Manson didn't want the job, although it appears Team Cicchinelli, perhaps through faithful Aide-de-camp John Kurtzman, tried to recruit Manson for the job.
Manson told the Independent he didn't want the job, but that he had been approached to take it.
So now we have President Townsend.
Who probably won't be spending his days working to advance the Cicchinelli agenda, helping to hasten the return of the Extraordinary One.
The City Council Clerk, who we hear has never been a Townsend supporter, now has a new boss.
Joy Cicchinelli will now have a new ward representative, something she clearly wanted.
And perhaps Massillon will finally have a City Council President who is more concerned with running a fair meeting than serving as council enforcer for our former mayor.
Remember The Pledge?
"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" (The Independent, August 31, 2010).
Tony Townsend wanted to rename Shriver Park after trailblazing former Councilman, the late T. Roy Roberson.
Cicchinelli "helped" him.
Cicchinelli "helped" him so much, that the name change Townsend fought so hard for never occurred.
Then Joy Cicchinelli, our Extraordinary Former First Lady for Life, circulated candidate petitions for Townsend's last opponent.
Joy must have believed the Fourth Ward needed new representation.
And now, much to Joy's relief, the Fourth Ward will indeed get new representation, because Fourth Ward Councilman Tony Townsend is moving on.
Massillon's Democrats chose Tony Townsend to serve as the next President of Council.
Team Cicchinelli can't be happy.
The Loyal Enforcer is gone, and we don't imagine Council President Townsend enforcing Frank Cicchinelli's will to the extent his predecessor did.
Strangely enough, Cynthia Bratton, allied with Scott Graber, once a fierce Cicchinelli critic, teamed up with none other than Joy Cicchinelli, who's husband once received the brunt of Graber's attacks, to nominate and second Cicchinelli Loyalist Paul Manson for Council President.
Manson didn't want the job, although it appears Team Cicchinelli, perhaps through faithful Aide-de-camp John Kurtzman, tried to recruit Manson for the job.
Manson told the Independent he didn't want the job, but that he had been approached to take it.
So now we have President Townsend.
Who probably won't be spending his days working to advance the Cicchinelli agenda, helping to hasten the return of the Extraordinary One.
The City Council Clerk, who we hear has never been a Townsend supporter, now has a new boss.
Joy Cicchinelli will now have a new ward representative, something she clearly wanted.
And perhaps Massillon will finally have a City Council President who is more concerned with running a fair meeting than serving as council enforcer for our former mayor.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
He's Back
"...he (Frank Cicchinelli), is an extraordinary mayor."
- Former Safety Service Director Mike Loudiana
Extraordinary.
Indeed.
Now, a number of our faithful readers have told us that the Extraordinary One, our Once and Future King, Massillon's Mayor for Life, Past and Future, would not make a come back.
That he was gone, and would never return.
We never believed such heresy.
We kept the faith.
We didn't stop believing.
No defeat by the usurper, "That Woman," Kathy Catazaro-East of Massillon, would keep the Extraordinary One from plotting his return.
And the truth be known, we did not believe he ever left.
From haranguing the Fire Chief for allowing "those people" to close Fire Station No. 3 on Wales Road.
Remember Fire Station No. 3?
The Fire Station the building department deemed to be in a "deplorable" condition?
“We understand why the city closed it — the health concerns,” said firefighter Perkowski, of the International Association of Firefighters Local 251 (The Independent, April 28, 2012).
Apparently, 'someone' didn't take care of it... for 24 years.
To making records requests from the City Auditor's office to see what "That Woman" was doing to his City.
The Extraordinary One kept his fingers on the pulse of his City.
His City in the literal, possessive sense of the word 'his.'
And tomorrow night, we will show our faithful readers what he has been up to.
But make no mistake.
Especially you non-believers.
He is back.
- Former Safety Service Director Mike Loudiana
Extraordinary.
Indeed.
Now, a number of our faithful readers have told us that the Extraordinary One, our Once and Future King, Massillon's Mayor for Life, Past and Future, would not make a come back.
That he was gone, and would never return.
We never believed such heresy.
We kept the faith.
We didn't stop believing.
No defeat by the usurper, "That Woman," Kathy Catazaro-East of Massillon, would keep the Extraordinary One from plotting his return.
And the truth be known, we did not believe he ever left.
From haranguing the Fire Chief for allowing "those people" to close Fire Station No. 3 on Wales Road.
Remember Fire Station No. 3?
The Fire Station the building department deemed to be in a "deplorable" condition?
“We understand why the city closed it — the health concerns,” said firefighter Perkowski, of the International Association of Firefighters Local 251 (The Independent, April 28, 2012).
Apparently, 'someone' didn't take care of it... for 24 years.
To making records requests from the City Auditor's office to see what "That Woman" was doing to his City.
The Extraordinary One kept his fingers on the pulse of his City.
His City in the literal, possessive sense of the word 'his.'
And tomorrow night, we will show our faithful readers what he has been up to.
But make no mistake.
Especially you non-believers.
He is back.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
The Next Generation
According to a faithful reader of the Massillon Review, Massillon Ward 5 Councilman Donnie Peters is not running for re-election this year. Apparantly Peters, a generous financial contributor to our former Mayor for Life, the Extraordinary One, Frank Cicchinelli, has had enough.
Peters is the Chief Architect of City Council's proposed income tax hike, a tax Peters brought forward knowing it would never pass.
Peters' proposal would raise Massillon's income tax rate from 1.8 percent to 2.1 percent, but eliminating the 100% tax credit on the increase, even though, according to Peters;
"the credit reduction would have angered a third of the city’s voters.“Than you ruin your chances of ever passing an income tax increase,” (Donnie Peters, The Independent, September 5, 2012).
From a purely entertainment standpoint, the colorful Peters will certainly be missed.
Let us reminisce.
"Hey, Slagle, (expletive) you" (Donnie Peters, The Independent, July 29, 2008).
Although a Republican, Peters could usually be counted to vote with the Cicchinelli block on City Council.
Peters will be joined in "retirement" by another Cicchinelli supporter, the former mayor's loyal enforcer, Council President Glenn Gamber.
As Council President, Gamber cracked the whip, and kept council in line, working feverishly to support our former mayor, and oppose our current mayor.
While people who park in the City's parking lot may be safer without Glenn Gamber, our former mayor and his allies will be down two loyalists.
Or will they?
Loyal Cicchinelli Aide-de-Camp, John Kurtzman, Chief Counsel to Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero, appears to be putting together Cicchinelli 2.0 - The Next Generation.
John Kurtzman, who lives in Massillon, but works in Canton, pays no Massillon income tax as Chief Counsel to the Prosecutor.
While John Kurtzman campaigned for a higher county sales tax so his government office would receive more tax dollars;
"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).
John Kurtzman the resident of Massillon didn't believe he himself should pay income tax on his county salary;
“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" (The Independent, February 8, 2012).
Ahh yes, the hungry children...
According to a reliable Massillon Review source, Kurtzman is bringing Massillon a new slate of candidates to replace those departing.
According to our faithful reader, John Kurtzman is helping with the return of Mike Loudiana, Frank Cicchinelli's former Safety Service Director.
Loudiana, now candidate for council in Ward 1, was Frank Cicchinelli's partner in city "management," and coined the term 'Extraordinary' when referring to Cicchinelli;
"...he (Frank Cicchinelli), is an extraordinary mayor."
- Former Safety Service Director Mike Loudiana
Ahh yes.
Extraordinary.
To replace the Ward 5 seat of Donnie Peters, it appears Kurtzman has recruited someone who works in his own office, an assistant prosecutor named Megan Starrett.
We just can't imagine either Loudiana or Starrett ever voting to reduce the city's 100% tax credit, and in the words of John Kurtzman, creating "a penalty on the unfortunate bread winners who are forced to work outside the city."
Like John Kurtzman.
We don't believe Team Cicchinelli is quite finished recruiting candidates either.
And isn't that what Massillon needs?
It is so clear to us that what our city needs is more council people loyal to our former mayor.
We are supremely confident Massillon residents will agree.
It should be an extraordinary campaign season this year.
Peters is the Chief Architect of City Council's proposed income tax hike, a tax Peters brought forward knowing it would never pass.
Peters' proposal would raise Massillon's income tax rate from 1.8 percent to 2.1 percent, but eliminating the 100% tax credit on the increase, even though, according to Peters;
"the credit reduction would have angered a third of the city’s voters.“Than you ruin your chances of ever passing an income tax increase,” (Donnie Peters, The Independent, September 5, 2012).
From a purely entertainment standpoint, the colorful Peters will certainly be missed.
Let us reminisce.
"Hey, Slagle, (expletive) you" (Donnie Peters, The Independent, July 29, 2008).
Although a Republican, Peters could usually be counted to vote with the Cicchinelli block on City Council.
Peters will be joined in "retirement" by another Cicchinelli supporter, the former mayor's loyal enforcer, Council President Glenn Gamber.
As Council President, Gamber cracked the whip, and kept council in line, working feverishly to support our former mayor, and oppose our current mayor.
While people who park in the City's parking lot may be safer without Glenn Gamber, our former mayor and his allies will be down two loyalists.
Or will they?
Loyal Cicchinelli Aide-de-Camp, John Kurtzman, Chief Counsel to Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero, appears to be putting together Cicchinelli 2.0 - The Next Generation.
John Kurtzman, who lives in Massillon, but works in Canton, pays no Massillon income tax as Chief Counsel to the Prosecutor.
While John Kurtzman campaigned for a higher county sales tax so his government office would receive more tax dollars;
"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).
John Kurtzman the resident of Massillon didn't believe he himself should pay income tax on his county salary;
“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" (The Independent, February 8, 2012).
Ahh yes, the hungry children...
According to a reliable Massillon Review source, Kurtzman is bringing Massillon a new slate of candidates to replace those departing.
According to our faithful reader, John Kurtzman is helping with the return of Mike Loudiana, Frank Cicchinelli's former Safety Service Director.
Loudiana, now candidate for council in Ward 1, was Frank Cicchinelli's partner in city "management," and coined the term 'Extraordinary' when referring to Cicchinelli;
"...he (Frank Cicchinelli), is an extraordinary mayor."
- Former Safety Service Director Mike Loudiana
Ahh yes.
Extraordinary.
To replace the Ward 5 seat of Donnie Peters, it appears Kurtzman has recruited someone who works in his own office, an assistant prosecutor named Megan Starrett.
We just can't imagine either Loudiana or Starrett ever voting to reduce the city's 100% tax credit, and in the words of John Kurtzman, creating "a penalty on the unfortunate bread winners who are forced to work outside the city."
Like John Kurtzman.
We don't believe Team Cicchinelli is quite finished recruiting candidates either.
And isn't that what Massillon needs?
It is so clear to us that what our city needs is more council people loyal to our former mayor.
We are supremely confident Massillon residents will agree.
It should be an extraordinary campaign season this year.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
The Massillon Independent is running an online poll gauging support for Massillon City Council's well thought out, impeccably planned and executed proposal to raise the City's income tax from 1.8% to 2.1%.
Taking into account their penchant for doing the City's heavy lifting, it should be one heck of a campaign waged by City Council to pass this proposal.
Let's see what the people have to say.
According to indeonline.com, 416 people have cast their votes and it sure looks like Big Mo' is on City Council's side!
22 percent 'Yes'
69 percent 'No'
7 percent 'Undecided'
Only 47 percent down.
Looks like a winner to us.
Taking into account their penchant for doing the City's heavy lifting, it should be one heck of a campaign waged by City Council to pass this proposal.
Let's see what the people have to say.
According to indeonline.com, 416 people have cast their votes and it sure looks like Big Mo' is on City Council's side!
22 percent 'Yes'
69 percent 'No'
7 percent 'Undecided'
Only 47 percent down.
Looks like a winner to us.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Tax Scam Peters
After explaining that any reduction in Massillon's 100 percent tax credit would kill any chances to raise Massillon's income tax;
"the credit reduction would have angered a third of the city’s voters.“Than you ruin your chances of ever passing an income tax increase,” (Donnie Peters, The Independent, September 5, 2012).
Donnie Peters championed raising the City's income tax from 1.8% to 2.1%, and eliminating any tax credit on the increase.
Thereby "ruin(ing) your chances of ever passing an income tax increase."
This past Monday night, City Council adopted the Peters plan on an 8-1 vote.
Ward 4 Councilman Tony Townsend voted 'No,'
We believe the majority of Council, like Donnie Peters, don't believe this tax hike scheme, which will go in front of the voters in May, will actually pass.
City Council just needs to look like they are actually doing something, anything to address Massillon's financial woes.
After one year in office, this appears to be the first idea Council has brought forward to address Massillon's fiscal woes, the "vat of red ink" left behind by the overspending of the Extraordinary One, our former mayor, Frank Cicchinelli.
We don't believe they actually wanted to do anything about it.
We believe they were pressured to step up and try something, anything.
"If council doesn’t come up with anything and continues to reject the mayor’s proposals, they are going to have to answer to voters who are wondering why safety and services have been decimated and the city is facing fiscal warnings from the state." (Editorial, The Independent, September 5, 2012).
So they rolled out an income tax that can't pass.
The Independent newspaper is running an online poll at indeonline.com gauging public support for the tax increase.
Let's see how the vote is going -
24% vote Yes
67% vote No
7% are undecided
Wow, it's only losing by 43%.
Should be a real nail biter on election night!
Our Mayor for One Year, "That Woman," Kathy Catazaro-Perry, was on WHBC early Tuesday morning, and a couple of Massillon Review staffers heard the interview while sipping their morning coffee.
Her point was that council had no plan to actually pass the tax they put on the November ballot.
That no one on council was actually leading the campaign, and that they had no fundraisers planned, or money to buy campaign paraphernalia and that there was no strategy to convince the voters to pass their tax.
No campaign strategy and no money.
Sounds like a blueprint for success to us.
But we aren't surprised.
This tax proposal isn't supposed to pass.
The Cicchinelli loyalists don't want the new mayor to have additional revenue.
And everyone else just wants to look like they are doing something, when in reality they are doing nothing.
"the credit reduction would have angered a third of the city’s voters.“Than you ruin your chances of ever passing an income tax increase,” (Donnie Peters, The Independent, September 5, 2012).
Donnie Peters championed raising the City's income tax from 1.8% to 2.1%, and eliminating any tax credit on the increase.
Thereby "ruin(ing) your chances of ever passing an income tax increase."
This past Monday night, City Council adopted the Peters plan on an 8-1 vote.
Ward 4 Councilman Tony Townsend voted 'No,'
We believe the majority of Council, like Donnie Peters, don't believe this tax hike scheme, which will go in front of the voters in May, will actually pass.
City Council just needs to look like they are actually doing something, anything to address Massillon's financial woes.
After one year in office, this appears to be the first idea Council has brought forward to address Massillon's fiscal woes, the "vat of red ink" left behind by the overspending of the Extraordinary One, our former mayor, Frank Cicchinelli.
We don't believe they actually wanted to do anything about it.
We believe they were pressured to step up and try something, anything.
"If council doesn’t come up with anything and continues to reject the mayor’s proposals, they are going to have to answer to voters who are wondering why safety and services have been decimated and the city is facing fiscal warnings from the state." (Editorial, The Independent, September 5, 2012).
So they rolled out an income tax that can't pass.
The Independent newspaper is running an online poll at indeonline.com gauging public support for the tax increase.
Let's see how the vote is going -
24% vote Yes
67% vote No
7% are undecided
Wow, it's only losing by 43%.
Should be a real nail biter on election night!
Our Mayor for One Year, "That Woman," Kathy Catazaro-Perry, was on WHBC early Tuesday morning, and a couple of Massillon Review staffers heard the interview while sipping their morning coffee.
Her point was that council had no plan to actually pass the tax they put on the November ballot.
That no one on council was actually leading the campaign, and that they had no fundraisers planned, or money to buy campaign paraphernalia and that there was no strategy to convince the voters to pass their tax.
No campaign strategy and no money.
Sounds like a blueprint for success to us.
But we aren't surprised.
This tax proposal isn't supposed to pass.
The Cicchinelli loyalists don't want the new mayor to have additional revenue.
And everyone else just wants to look like they are doing something, when in reality they are doing nothing.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Shenanigans and Pontification
Ward 5 Councilman Donnie Peters is now championing a .3% Massillon City income tax increase, coupled with elimination of the 100% tax credit on the proposed .3% increase.
A tax increase without the 100% tax credit on the increase.
Even though, according to Peters, by eliminating the 100% tax credit, you "ruin your chances of ever passing an income tax increase,” (Donnie Peters, The Independent, September 5, 2012).
Why is he pushing this?
Doesn't he realize, using his own logic, his tax increase plan won't pass?
Doesn't he realize that his plan, when it fails at the ballot box, won't actually generate any money for our cash strapped city, trying to recover from the fiscal wizardry of our former Mayor for Life?
Yes.
And Yes.
And that's the plan.
It is believed that certain members of City Council, like the Japanese soldiers of yore, who hid out in caves on remote Pacific islands, refusing to believe that their Emperor indeed surrendered, waiting to be called into the next battle, actually don't want the financial problems resolved.
Because to them, worse than actually fixing the problem, would be that our current mayor could take credit for turning things around.
And that would be bad.
Especially for the Once and Future King and his faithful supporters.
The problem City Council started to face was the perception that they were unwilling, or perhaps incapable, of helping to fix the budget mess.
That they had no solutions for the problems plaguing our Fair City.
Or worse, that they were starting to be recognized for what they were.
Do nothings.
This was borne out in a September Editorial in The Independent;
"It is clear new revenue must be generated and city council — for all of its pontificating about fairness on the tax issue — hasn’t come close to proposing a workable alternative to solve the city’s revenue shortfall..."
"If council doesn’t come up with anything and continues to reject the mayor’s proposals, they are going to have to answer to voters who are wondering why safety and services have been decimated and the city is facing fiscal warnings from the state." (The Independent, September 5, 2012).
"pontificating"
Ouch.
Harsh words from the local paper.
Council's solution to dealing with the "vat of red ink," and the extraordinary debt left by our extraordinary former mayor was to shoot down any revenue generating proposal the new mayor had, without offering any proposals of their own.
Council members Manson and Peters, for their part, would always put out the hope that Council would put an income tax on the ballot, some time in the future, and that the people would pass it, and the City's budget problems would be fixed, and that would be their plan.
Some day.
Except they never did it.
When Donnie Peters, a generous contributor to our former mayor, and Auditor Jayne Ferrero, the past mayor's 'Loyal Defender,' hatched a plan to raise the City's income tax at a special election in February, they forgot something.
The deadline for placing the issue on the ballot.
They missed it.
So now they are shooting for May.
With a proposal that Donnie Peters states "won't pass."
And he, and others, know "won't pass."
Because it is questionable that they actually want it to pass.
But they have to look like they are trying.
They have to look like they are doing more than just "pontificating."
A tax increase without the 100% tax credit on the increase.
Even though, according to Peters, by eliminating the 100% tax credit, you "ruin your chances of ever passing an income tax increase,” (Donnie Peters, The Independent, September 5, 2012).
Why is he pushing this?
Doesn't he realize, using his own logic, his tax increase plan won't pass?
Doesn't he realize that his plan, when it fails at the ballot box, won't actually generate any money for our cash strapped city, trying to recover from the fiscal wizardry of our former Mayor for Life?
Yes.
And Yes.
And that's the plan.
It is believed that certain members of City Council, like the Japanese soldiers of yore, who hid out in caves on remote Pacific islands, refusing to believe that their Emperor indeed surrendered, waiting to be called into the next battle, actually don't want the financial problems resolved.
Because to them, worse than actually fixing the problem, would be that our current mayor could take credit for turning things around.
And that would be bad.
Especially for the Once and Future King and his faithful supporters.
The problem City Council started to face was the perception that they were unwilling, or perhaps incapable, of helping to fix the budget mess.
That they had no solutions for the problems plaguing our Fair City.
Or worse, that they were starting to be recognized for what they were.
Do nothings.
This was borne out in a September Editorial in The Independent;
"It is clear new revenue must be generated and city council — for all of its pontificating about fairness on the tax issue — hasn’t come close to proposing a workable alternative to solve the city’s revenue shortfall..."
"If council doesn’t come up with anything and continues to reject the mayor’s proposals, they are going to have to answer to voters who are wondering why safety and services have been decimated and the city is facing fiscal warnings from the state." (The Independent, September 5, 2012).
"pontificating"
Ouch.
Harsh words from the local paper.
Council's solution to dealing with the "vat of red ink," and the extraordinary debt left by our extraordinary former mayor was to shoot down any revenue generating proposal the new mayor had, without offering any proposals of their own.
Council members Manson and Peters, for their part, would always put out the hope that Council would put an income tax on the ballot, some time in the future, and that the people would pass it, and the City's budget problems would be fixed, and that would be their plan.
Some day.
Except they never did it.
When Donnie Peters, a generous contributor to our former mayor, and Auditor Jayne Ferrero, the past mayor's 'Loyal Defender,' hatched a plan to raise the City's income tax at a special election in February, they forgot something.
The deadline for placing the issue on the ballot.
They missed it.
So now they are shooting for May.
With a proposal that Donnie Peters states "won't pass."
And he, and others, know "won't pass."
Because it is questionable that they actually want it to pass.
But they have to look like they are trying.
They have to look like they are doing more than just "pontificating."
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