Rasor for Stow

The Finance Committee met tonight to discuss the budget.

Beforehand, John Earle presented several ways to avoid spending a total of $300,000 from the unencumbered fund. Although these ideas are helpful, they mostly amount to moving money from one account to another or allocating revenue previously expected for 2011 into 2010’s budget.

First, the amended budget pays for Rob Kurtz’s salary (with benefits, totaling $110,000) out of the Lodging Tax money, which is simply using a different fund to relieve pressure on the operating budget. It’s a zero sum gain. Second, the city is due a reimbursement from the federal government on a road project. If we do things in a timely manner, we can get that $114,000 at the very end of 2010, rather than 2011. Of course, that’s money that cannot be allocated to 2011, so it’s another zero sum gain. The remaining money is speculative ($50,000 from potential fire union concessions) and in small amounts ($5,000 from canceling events that won’t make money; $10,000 from council’s contingency fund).

My solutions

I proposed several more ideas to fully eliminate the deficit, and to supply $163,000 to buying new snow plows and/or paving the roads. My cuts add up to about $378,525 in overall savings.

1) Taking another $100,000 from the Lodging Tax fund. Admittedly, this is another zero-sum gain, like moving Kurtz’s salary. However, it makes sense to use the money, rather than let it sit in a fund not being used. The fund will still have about $250,000 at the end of the year. Savings: $100,000

2) A 10 percent cut of the Parks and Rec Department. I am not afraid of making difficult decisions. When choosing between keeping roads safe and having 10 percent more money for the parks, it’s not even close for me. Savings: $158,553

3) A 3 percent cut in golf course expenditures. The course used to be profitable, this is a step toward making it profitable again. (As you know I support selling or leasing the course, but that won’t affect the 2010 budget). Savings: $38,994

4) Managerial salary cuts. Council only has authority to affect those salaries of employees who are 1) not in a union, 2) not under contract, 3) not civil service hires (i.e. police/fire management), 4) not protected by the Charter (i.e. elected officials). For employees making more than $80,000, a 5 percent cut. For employees making more than $70,000, a 4 percent cut. For employees making more than $60,000, a 3 percent cut. For council, I propose a voluntary 10 percent cut (amounting to $1,600 per member). Savings: $80,978

Total savings: $378,525.59

This extra money will allow us to: 1) Eliminate use of the unencumbered funds. 2) Put $163,000 back into the capital improvements fund (allowing us to resurface the roads that are in worst condition).

Jim Costello said that he won’t support my managerial salary cuts. He said that managers have given up enough by not getting their cost-of-living raises. I respectfully disagree. You aren’t giving up anything by not getting a raise. In the private sector, people are taking pay cuts. Raises are nearly unheard of. If you need evidence, look at how our income tax totals have tumbled. If we want to take our duties to the people seriously, we must take every measure necessary to operate more like a private business.

John Pribonic talked about not wanting to make cuts, but rather focus on economic development. I respect John’s opinion, but practically, we have not been ignoring economic development. What new things can we do that will turn everything around? We can sing about economic development all day long (see Sara Drew), but the problem won’t go away until we pursue it from both angles. Like Joe Hickin said, this government has outgrown its population. It needs to shrink–no question about it.

But since we are talking about economic development, consider that Stow is robbing the capital improvement fund by $1.1 million. The capital budget is what drives commerce. And that’s not good enough, so we’re robbing the unencumbered funds by $515,000 (or $215,000) after pilfering $585,000 last year and $128,000 in 2008. When will city council finally admit that the problems are in the mirror? We outspend our means. And we have made a habit of it. Plain and simple.

The Court issue

Here is another HUGE problem that we uncovered. The budget presumes a $750,000 transfer to help pay for court expenditures. What was hidden from council, however, is that the money is not expected to fully come from the judges’ special projects fund at Stow Municipal Court. Rather, the budget assumes that we will have a long-range solution from Columbus–that our lobbyist will fix the problem before 2010 closes, and the Ohio General Assembly will bail us out.

It is one thing to assume we are getting money (between $375,000 and $500,000) from the judges, whom we know to be helpful. It is entirely another to expect the 99 state reps and 33 state senators in Columbus to somehow craft legislation that takes between $250,000 and $375,000 from surrounding communities (or wherever they get it) and puts it in Stow’s lap. And it all must happen within nine months. How unrealistic!

For this reason, we have to be even more conservative with our projected spending. What happens when the $250,000 never comes? Or even worse, if the judges tighten up and we lose out on the full $750,000? We don’t have a commitment from them, so anything is possible. I can tell you what will happen. Council will have to dig into the unencumbered funds again. If council doesn’t consider this likelihood, we are dreaming.

Three members of council (Drew, Pribonic and D’Antonio) committed tonight to voting for this budget, which presumes a court-related bailout, runs a $215,000 deficit and robs the capital fund of $1.1 million. Costello did not commit publicly, so I hope he is open to putting more flexibility into the budget. This will determine whether I was correct in saying he’d make a good mayor.

On Thursday, I will present my amendments to the Finance Committee, which will meet at 6:15 before the council meeting. Whether the budget passes out of committee and gets a vote on the floor of council, I have no idea. But I promise I won’t vote for any budget that takes so many liberties in assuming revenue that may never come and does not address our serious needs.

This city’s problems are much bigger than I ever thought during the campaign.

Golf course

By the way, it has been 11 days since I challenged the Good Ole Boys Network to come up with a reason why it helps the average Stow resident for Fox Den to be government-owned, rather than in private hands. Until today, I only received support for selling/leasing the course. Today, I heard from two people who did not want to sell the course, but neither person answered my challenge (i.e. Why does it help Stow to own Fox Den?).

On the other hand, I received a call from a potential suitor for the course. That makes two interested parties. If you want to contact me, use the button above. I’d love to hear any proposals that I can present to council.

But as to my challenge, that is 11 days and counting. You know where to find me.

For those of you who want to hear about the budget, the Finance Committee will meet sometime after 6:15 tomorrow.

I can’t give you an exact time, because the meeting will start immediately after the Planning Committee, which starts at 6. Before getting to the budget, the Finance Committee will discuss eight other items. Realistically, you’re probably OK if you arrive at 7, but you also might not get a seat, because I have heard that the mayor is trying to jam the council chambers with her people.

Other notes…

– In today’s Stow Sentry, Mike Lesko did a nice job breaking down the numbers of Fox Den in his article.

It has been 10 days since I challenged the Good Ole Boy Network to give me a single benefit that Stow residents get from having the course owned by the government, rather than a private owner. I know of some illegitimate benefits, such as their friends maintaining cushy jobs with public pensions, but I have not heard anything that helps the average Stow resident.

I will continue to count the days until we pass an ordinance seeking bids from a private party wishing to lease or buy the course.

– It is looking good for Ron Marhofer to keep his Chevrolet dealership at the corner of 59 and 91. This is great news. The dealership has been in the family since 1919. Congressman Steve LaTourette worked hard to overcome Barack Obama’s “car czar,” who pressed to close Marhofer Chevrolet. Here is a Beacon Journal story about it.

– This week was the second-highest total of Web traffic since I started this site in July. Election week was the only seven-day span that surpassed this one. It encourages me even more to read everyone’s positive e-mails. As a result, I will try to remember to post one per week on the site. Here is the first.

Thank you for standing up to city council regarding selling Fox Den Golf Course. The city never should have purchased it to begin with. Not one person I have talked to in this city feels the city should have purchased it and totally agree with you that if it is between selling it or raising taxes what is there to think about? This city has made very poor choices the past several years and now you want the taxpayer to bail you out. Well, we don’t have the extra money anymore. The mayor of this city has to start being held accountable for all her boneheaded decisions.

Thank you for standing up for us – FOX DEN SHOULD BE SOLD.

Two weeks ago, I used Facebook (as young people do) to invite Shawn Porter to come to our meeting so we could honor his accomplishments in boxing. He will be there this Thursday, and the city will soon erect signs around town with his name on them.

Porter won the junior middleweight title last month in Cleveland. The 2006 Stow High grad is undefeated (13-0) with 10 knockouts.

By the way, it has been eight days since I challenged the Good Ole Boy Network to present a reason why the city should own Fox Den, rather than a private party. Still waiting.

The city of Stow owes a big “thank you” to Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh, who pledged to donate $5,000 from her Law Enforcement Trust Fund to the fundraiser to buy a new police dog.

After taking $5,000 from the city and $5,000 from Walsh, the FOPA only needs to raise an additional $3,000. I have spoken with councilman Matt Riehl, who is out front on this, and he said he has been offered help (financial and otherwise) from many people, including some from outside of Stow.

I am becoming a little more optimistic about the way we’re handling the budget process. Jim Costello and John Pribonic both indicated that they are willing to provide solutions to this unacceptable budget.

The three of us agreed it would be good to bring our department heads together with their counterparts from other cities to share ideas to save money and provide better services. It could be as simple as a Saturday breakfast once or twice a year per position. Every city has a few “winner ideas” per year that are win-win situations for the taxpayers. We want to steal those from other cities, and it would be great to share what we have come up with, too.

I presented my tentative plans for budget cuts. One cut is $100,000 in managerial salaries. The top 30 salary earners (not including union employees, contract employees, or those whose salaries the charter protects) will each give up between 3 percent and 5 percent of their 2010 salaries to help cut the deficit. Elected officials will pay up too, but the charter puts constraints on that.

I have identified a total of more than $600,000 in budget cuts. I will meet with John Earle and John Baranek on Monday to determine how feasible they are. After that, I will post them on this site. The goal is to find cuts that are fair and that only minimally affect the services we provide to citizens.

Monday is a pretty big meeting. The finance committee will convene at 6 to discuss the budget. From what I hear, attendance will be high.

The Efficiency Committee will meet tonight at 5:15 in council chambers. It’s open to the public, so you’re welcome to come.

Congratulations to Officer Ted Bell and his police dog Nero. They won an American Red Cross award last night for courageous actions following the shooting at BP and the home invasion this summer. Click here to see the Fox 8 news clip.

It has been six days since I challenged the Good Ole Boy Network to provide me a reason why the golf course should owned by the government, rather than in private hands. Still crickets.

The Akron Beacon Journal is not on board with selling the golf course, or so an editorial in today’s paper suggests.

The story says the course had $1.4 million in revenue last year. And it leaves it at that.

See? This is the kind of deception that the Good Ole Boy Network has perpetuated for years. Rather than accurately stating that the golf course was NOT PROFITABLE, or at least stating the expenditures, Sara Drew only provided its revenue.

As a consequence, the Beacon Journal reported the number, and people assumed the golf course is profitable.

This deception was present during the entire election. It was even present during the mayor’s State of the City address, when she explicitly said the course was profitable. That is a bold-faced lie. No other way to describe it.

So use that background when you consider this editorial. I intend to reach out to the Editorial Board and provide the entire picture, rather than just the number that Sara Drew and the mayor want them to know.

By the way, it has been five days since I reached out to anyone who could answer my question: What benefit does the community of Stow receive by Fox Den being owned by the government, rather than a private individual/corporation.

I received my first response.

Message: You are an ***HOLE

Unfortunately, this is an anonymous personal attack and not a serious answer to my question. So my quest for an answer presses on. Five days and counting.

On Thursday, we passed a resolution supporting a fundraising effort to buy a new police dog. Five-thousand of the projected $13,000 came from a fund specifically for money to combat drug use.

Here is a picture of one of our dogs, Knight, who is nearing retirement.

By the way, it has been four days since I challenged the Good Ole Boy Network to give me a reason it’s a good idea to have the golf course owned by the government, rather than by private individuals.

Still nothing.

It has been two days since I challenged the Good Ole Boy Network to present to me a benefit that Stow residents have received from a government-owned golf course, rather than having it privately owned.

No one has responded.

While we wait for this revelation, please read Gina Mace’s article in the Beacon Journal about the golf course debate.

Sara Drew, who claims to be a former high school debater, piled fallacy on top of fallacy on Thursday, and you get a sense of that reading her quotes (i.e. slippery slope, non sequitor). And she mentions the golf course’s revenue conveniently without saying its costs have consistently exceeded revenue (and isn’t that all that matters for a business?).

In my two months in office, I have realized why almost every one of my colleagues has been elected… Almost everyone. I have to keep reminding myself that turning this city around can’t happen in just one election cycle. We need to wash out the people who — although they may be nice folks — demonstrate an utter lack of business sense and care very little about taxpayers’ interests.

In the past few weeks, several people have told me that I have made the council meetings more entertaining for them.

That’s not my goal. My goal is to hold our politicians accountable for lying to us, for spending our money on fluff, and not using any logic.

Tonight was no different. We discussed the budget, which — as it stands — will rob $1 million from our capital improvements fund, $515,000 from our unencumbered fund (i.e. money that is there to protect our bond rating), and puts its faith in a possible $750,000 bailout from Stow Municipal Court.

I don’t dispute that the administration worked hard to compile it. Policy-wise, however, it should be unacceptable to every family in Stow.

We are fudging the numbers by taking money from funds that are supposed to protect our long-term interests, not rescue us for unconscionable overspending. I have no problem telling you how it is: The mayor proposed a budget deficit of upwards of $2.2 million. If we get money from the court, it’s $1.5 million. Either way, with a total budget of under $30 million, that is awful planning.

You’ll hear the mayor say that every city is going through this. First, that’s untrue (see Munroe Falls). Second, our problems are man-made. WE decided to bring the courthouse to Stow that costs us $1 million a year. WE decided to buy a golf course that costs us $400,000 a year. WE decided to buy a tour bus that cost $100,000. WE decided to upgrade the payroll ordinance so that 11 managers earn more than $80,000.

This is a man-made problem. Our politicians created it. Now, somehow, we have to dig ourselves out. And it will require VERY difficult decisions. Jim Costello mentioned some of the unpopular options, such as cutting police or closing a fire station. John Earle talked about the possibility of someday putting a tax levy on the ballot. Thanks to our mayor and the Good Ole Boy Network’s negligence, the situation is dire.

One proposal, however, is easy to swallow. We own Fox Den Golf Course. Why? Council was told that it was going to be sold to a housing developer. They bought it for $5.5 million. We will pay about $375,000 per year on the loan until year 2032. We will also pay any operating losses it sustains, which amounted to $5,000 in 2007, $95,000 in 2008, and $17,000 in 2009.

Conservatively, we can assume it will cost residents $400,000 per year until 2032, when realistically many residents will have moved or died.

Now consider that we aren’t paving our roads, our snow plow program is woefully underfunded, and our police response times are double the national average.

Considering all this, I proposed that we start to take bids on selling the course, with the deed containing a restriction that it must remain as a golf course.

Sara Drew came out vehemently against my idea. She was concerned that we won’t be able to sell it. Janet D’Antonio was worried that the market value is too low to justify a sale.

They both ignored my point. We need to see what is out there — to extend feelers by accepting bids. I’m not proposing a sale to the first bid. I’m proposing that we gather information to check if a sale is feasible.

Look, folks, we have tough decisions to make. There have been whispers of raising taxes. The mayor has already proposed a giant program to tax landlords. We heard about possibly cutting our safety forces.

Selling the golf course, meanwhile, is a win-win proposition. We don’t sacrifice any services or “quality of life” by putting the golf course in private hands, rather than having the government run it. Nothing.

You may be a member of the Good Ole Boy Network. You may think I’m just another rabble-rouser. But I challenge you to tell me ONE benefit that the average Stow resident receives for this golf course being owned by the government, rather than by a private individual. I promise to post your answer on this Web site.

You might be wondering why I’m so vocal at council meetings, despite being in office for only a couple months. It’s simple. I care about my city. I see a very bleak picture, which has been falsely colored by a mayor who wants to paint the most positive picture possible in order to keep dissenters quiet and stay out of the newspapers.

I know that Matt Riehl and Joe Hickin share my concerns. I call on my other colleagues (particularly John Pribonic, Jim Costello and Janet D’Antonio) to join this effort, rather than opposing it. We can turn this city’s finances and services around, but it will require everyone to share a realistic perspective on what must be done.

I truly appreciate those who have sent encouraging e-mails and called to express their support. Web traffic has spiked to the same level as the week before the election, which tells me that more people are paying attention. Holding politicians accountable in Stow begins now.