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Comments on 3/20/12 council mtg |
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Mike_Presta 
MUSA Council 
Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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 Topic: Comments on 3/20/12 council mtgPosted: Mar 20 2012 at 8:35pm |
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A few random musings on tonight’s (3/20/2012) city
council meeting: Just three one-hour dates were announced by City Council
tonight for community input meetings on the upcoming public safety levy: Tomorrow (Wednesday, 3/21) at noon;
Thursday (3/22) in the evening; and Monday (3/26) also at noon. Thanks for the advance notice, Ann. Only one meeting, Thursday, is in the
evening, and that one is scheduled at the same time as the MCSD School Facilities
Committee meeting. One of the comments made regarding the levy and the
community’s input??? “Let council be guided by the will
of the people.” I had to laugh out loud at that!!! The City Manager remains excited about Cincinnati State, and
looks forward to renaming the CG&E Building the “Cincinnati State Building”. She said that three floors of this building
will be ready for classes this fall, and that we citizens will soon be
providing an office for Cinci State at City Hall. She failed to mention what classes will be
held on the three floors, or when a contract will be signed. I guess those things slipped her mind. Kudos to Ms. Scott-Jones for announcing that the council
Finance Committee will be meeting on April 19!!
At least they are giving adequate notice to the public…unlike the Public
Safety committee and others. City Hall
likes talk about how all of the various city board, commission, committee, and
subcommittee meetings are “public meetings”.
However, the fact is that most of these meeting times, dates, and
locations are made known only to a select “inner circle”, and are kept off
public calendars and other easily accessible venues. They may technically be “public”, but if no
one but the intended attendees knows the time and location, are they truly
“public”??? |
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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Pacman
Prominent MUSA Citizen 
Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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Posted: Mar 20 2012 at 9:28pm |
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Mike I have to agree, the little to no notice on the public safety levy meetings shows the disrespect that the council has for the citizens of Middletown.
All I can say is DON'T come knocking on my door for a vote. Cause it WON'T be there. Pacman  |
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VietVet
MUSA Council
Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008 |
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Posted: Mar 21 2012 at 6:52am |
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One of the comments made regarding the levy and the community’s input???
“Let council be guided by the will of the people.” I had to laugh out loud at that!!! YES, DOES HAVE A "TONGUE IN CHEEK" KIND OF HUMOR TO IT DOESN'T IT? The City Manager remains excited about Cincinnati State, and looks forward to renaming the CG&E Building the “Cincinnati State Building”. I TOO, AM AS EXCITED ABOUT THIS AS THE CITY MANAGER IS, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW THAT A SIGNED CONTRACT WITH SOME TYPE OF COMMITMENT WAS COMPLETED AND TO KNOW THEY ARE ACTUALLY COMING. TO BE MORE ACCURATE, RENAMING THE CG&E BUILDING TO "CINCINNATI STATE BUILDING" SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE "RELUCTANTLY OWNED BY THE TAXPAYERS OF MIDDLETOWN OHIO" UNDER CS BUILDING. 
However, the fact is that most of these meeting times, dates, and locations are made known only to a select “inner circle”, and are kept off public calendars and other easily accessible venues. They may technically be “public”, but if no one but the intended attendees knows the time and location, are they truly “public”??? YOU'RE JUST BEING PARANOID MIKE. THAT ISN'T WHAT IS HAPPENING.
Scorn to Mr. Smith for continuing his juvenile and disrespectful practice of wearing of a Blue-tooth earpiece during the council meeting. Give it up, AJ!!! It does NOT make you look cool or important JUST WAITING FOR THAT CALL FOR GUIDANCE FROM OBAMA OR ONE OF HIS PUBLIC UNION BUDDIES DOWN AT THE FIRE HOUSE OR POLICE STATION. GOTTA GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR BEING PREPARED AT ALL TIMES TO "HEED THE CALL" 
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NOLA
MUSA Immigrant 
Joined: Dec 13 2011 Status: Offline Points: 18 |
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Posted: Mar 21 2012 at 10:18am |
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I probably missed it but where is the meeting today being held?
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409
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Joined: Mar 27 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1014 |
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Posted: Mar 21 2012 at 2:30pm |
From the MJ:First of three Public Safety Levy meetings set for todayStaff Report 10:01 AM Wednesday, March 21, 2012 MIDDLETOWN — The city’s public safety sub-committee will hold three community forums seeking input about the upcoming Public Safety Levy renewal. The sub-committee will hold three hour-long sessions, beginning at 11:30 a.m. today at the Middletown Area Senior Citizens Center, 3907 Central Ave. The sub-committee will present the options being considered, including if the levy should be a 0.25 or 0.50 percent levy, a continuing levy or have a sunset clause, and on the ballot in August or November. The other sessions will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Robert “Sonny” Hill Jr. Community Center, 800 Lafayette Ave. and at noon Monday at the Middletown Public Library, 125 S. Broad St. The Public Safety Levy, which supplements the police and fire departments’ budgets, is set to expire at the end of the year. The levy is projected to generate around $3 million at its current 0.25-percent rate. Even with the levy, the police and fire departments had to cut personnel, which resulted in a net loss of 16 positions through attrition and layoffs. Five firefighters ended up losing their jobs. Those who cannot attend the sessions may email opinions and questions to info@cityofmiddletown.org or mail them to City Safety Issue, One Donham Plaza, Middletown, OH 45042. A survey for residents to fill out and return can be downloaded from the city’s website, www.cityofmiddletown.org.
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Mike_Presta
MUSA Council
Joined: Apr 20 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3483 |
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Posted: Mar 21 2012 at 5:25pm |
From the City Manager’s weekly newsletter (released to the public today, 3/21/2012):
Public Safety Sub-Committee Holds Forums for Community Input Council has been apprised of the public forums which are: Session One: Wednesday, March 21, Middletown Area Senior Citizens Center at 3907 Central Avenue, Sycamore Room – 11:30 am to 12:30 pm – Eat lunch at the senior center or just drop by to join the session. Session Two: Thursday, March 22, Sonny Hill Community Center, 800 Lafayette Ave – 6:30-7:30 pm. Session Three: Monday, March 26, Middletown Public Library, 125 S. Broad St – 12 noon – 1 pm. Those who cannot attend may submit their opinion by mail to City Safety Issue, One Donham Plaza, Middletown, OH 45042l, or via email using the ranking system below to info@cityofmiddletown.org, Information is also available to download via the www.cityofmiddletown.org website. |
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“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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VietVet
MUSA Council
Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 6:48am |
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Ok, checked out the questionaire on the city site. ALL of the choices ask for a percentage for the levy. The questionaire does not offer community input for a choice of not supporting this levy. It is skewed and shows they really don't want to hear what the people have to say unless it involves naming a percentage. They would place the levy on the ballot for some percentage, even if 90% of the people said they would not support any amount. (and waste $50,000 doing it) Like so many other events asking for community input, this too, is a joke. It makes it easier for them if people just stay away and they won't listen to you if you go, so why bother?
The School Facilities Committee is asking for community input also. They also are doing exactly what the city people are doing.....ie, asking for your opinion, as long as it is confined to the choices they prescribe. It too, is skewed, and doesn't necessarily represent what the community desires with the schools. File this under the joke category too. It would appear, that attending either one of these meetings to offer an opinion would fall on deaf ears, be it school people or city people. What is the purpose of attending, if ALL opinions will not be taken into account? It is, and always has been, what THEY want, and the people in essence, have no clout. It you agree with them, by all means, go. Should be fun for you folks. The rest of us......why bother if your opinions will be ignored? The city and the schools must have an open mind for any of this to work correctly. Won't happen. |
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TonyB
MUSA Citizen 
Joined: Jan 12 2011 Location: Middletown, OH Status: Offline Points: 631 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 2:25pm |
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They are kidding about asking for 0.5 levy, right? After layoffs, the idea to push for an additional 0.25 sounds like they are trying to replace the laid off public safety workers. The question would be: do you trust that the money will be used to restore those positions? Also interesting that they would want to put it on an August ballot instead of the decidedly larger turnout that the November election will bring. A smaller portion of the electorate might increase the chances of passage? Interesting comment in the Journal about citizen participation; why would you think more people would attend a meeting that was only announced the previous evening? Smallest lead time possible for the first meeting (less than 24 hrs.), then two more meetings in rapid succession gives the impression that input isn't really the desired goal, only the appearance of citizen input. Public safety should be the number one goal for council which is why there should be more of a public outreach in a positive manner. If they go for the 0.5 levy, its only chance of passage will be on an August ballot. If they simply go for a renewal of the 0.25 levy, they can put it on the November ballot.
Vet, It's not that your opinion will be ignored, it seems more likely that they want to gauge how much sentiment there is against the levy. That will determine how much and when the levy will be on the ballot, not whether there will be a levy on the ballot. |
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VietVet
MUSA Council
Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 2:50pm |
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TonyB...
"Vet, It's not that your opinion will be ignored, it seems more likely that they want to gauge how much sentiment there is against the levy. That will determine how much and when the levy will be on the ballot, not whether there will be a levy on the ballot". Tony..... IMO, if they want to gage how much sentiment is against the levy, and find that there is a major part of this city that is dead set against it, they will place it on the ballot anyway. Deciding how much to ask for and to place a levy on the ballot becomes a mute point because it has already been decided. The only thing that matters is what THEY want. Has nothing to do with what the people desire. This whole process of inviting input is to passify the citizens in a pathetic attempt to show they gave us an opportunity to speak. JMO |
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409
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Joined: Mar 27 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1014 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 4:58pm |
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Kinda leaves ya scratchin' yer head.
What's behind Door # 2 ?
I think I see a waste of $80,000 in August trying for 0.5%.
Then begging for 0.25% in November.
City Questionaire:
Middletown Safety Levy
Please rank each option: Options: 1. August - renewal with sunset of 5 years a. $80,000 cost to put on ballot b. Only item on ballot – not lost in Presidential electionc. Do it again in 5 years –cost to put on ballot plus campaign costsd. Would have a second opportunity on the ballot in November 2. August – permanenta. $80,000 cost to put on ballot b. Only item on ballot – not lost in Presidential electionc. Never do it again – no future ballot costs or campaign costsd. Would have a second opportunity on the ballot in November 3. November - renewal with sunset of 5 years a. Much lower cost to put on ballot - $5,000 + b. Might not be considered by voters – many one-time-every-four-years votersc. Much competition for voter attention in November – lost in shuffled. Renew in 5 years – more ballot and campaign costse. If it fails cannot put on ballot again until May 2013. (potential loss of personnel) 4. November - permanent a. Much lower cost to put on ballot - $5,000 + b. Might not be considered by voters – many one-time-every-four-years votersc. Much competition for voter attention in November – lost in shuffled. Never do it again – no future ballot costs or campaign costse. If it fails cannot put on ballot again until May 2013. (potential loss of personnel) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My First Choice is option number ______ My Second Choice is option number ______ My Third Choice is option number ______ My Fourth Choice is option number ______ My choice for tax amount is _____1/4% _______ 1/2% _______ Other ____________________________ Comments ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Contact me ____________________________phone________________________email ____________________________ |
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acclaro
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Joined: Jul 01 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1878 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 5:22pm |
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The Village Idiots aka city council and city leadership, just never cease to amaze with their utter and complete stupidity.
Why would anyone bother showing up for these silly meetings- you know who wants a levy to pass- Picard, Smith, Jones, and the rest of council with the exception of Mr. Josh L. For years, I have posted as a benchmark, the house on da Vinci which was selling at $499,900 by John Sawyer, fell in $100,000 intervals. Its now at $199,000. When attempts to raise taxes so high and so quickly, with providing no amentities, it simply makes it: 1) Harder to sell your home today 2) Lowers your property value already in the tank even lower, as the market demand totally dries up. There are village idiots running Middletown. Its really quite simple. Tell the village idiots NO to the RENEWAL, and a NO NO NO, to a .25% or .5% tax increase. These village idiots used money for public safety elsewhere. They destroyed Middletown and your home value. Get that elevator back working up to the brain, and just say no. AS Smith should be tarred and feathered for his union shilling, and so should Picard. |
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'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
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ground swat
MUSA Citizen
Joined: Mar 31 2011 Status: Offline Points: 367 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 6:08pm |
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Acclaro-Thank You!!
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VietVet
MUSA Council
Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 7:55pm |
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Tony B.......
"After layoffs, the idea to push for an additional 0.25 sounds like they are trying to replace the laid off public safety workers. The question would be: do you trust that the money will be used to restore those positions?" Tony, the original message from the city back when they first proposed the .25% safety levy was that it would RETAIN THE NUMBERS OF POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS. As we all can see, it did not. The city reduced the numbers. Why on earth would any voter believe anything they pitch based on what has transpired with the first levy passage. No one should give this city any positive levy vote. They NEVER use the money for the intended use. Money starve this city and bring it to it's knees. The only power the people have over these worthless leaders. Keep the money out of their lying, greedy little hands so they have nothing to work with. Hardline approach, but necessary to send a message. This goes for the schools always digging into the wallet also. |
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acclaro
Prominent MUSA Citizen
Joined: Jul 01 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1878 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 9:46pm |
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This isn't a HARDLINE approach to say NO, It is the SENSIBLE approach. Do you think West Chester voters would pass the renewal let alone an increase for the pathetic manner the city comports itself, how it abandons its citizens, how it has wasted money and Middletown's property values are 50-65% of what they were in 2008? Rubbage.
Off with their heads and the levy- Vote No. No need to go to a meeting to have Dan Picard and AJ Smith tell you why you should vote for the levy. Hell, Picard can't even sell his house for God's sake. I ask---Where is the BRIGHT FUTURE? MEMO TO COUNCIL AND MIDDLETOWN CITY LEADERSHIP:  |
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'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
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tomahawk35
MUSA Resident 
Joined: Nov 18 2008 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 223 |
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Posted: Mar 22 2012 at 11:40pm |
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Nice photo of the Mulligan brothers
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Vivian Moon
MUSA Council
Joined: May 16 2008 Location: Middletown, Ohi Status: Offline Points: 4187 |
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Posted: Mar 23 2012 at 10:57am |
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If the City Council is so concerned about the Fire and Police levy and the safety of our community then why are they not concerned about all the tax payers money that has been lost in the 
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