May 17,2009 Middletown City Managers Report

I found this in the Budget Discussion and found it funny and thought i would share it with you.

IF there is a pay reduction/furlough for employees it must affect all employees, union-non-union, all funds, not just general fund.    Employee pay is already below area, reductions would place us farther behind in addition to the affect on employee morale.

View  Middletown City Managers Report From  May 17, 2009

I would vote for Pacman and Viet Vet for City Council with no reservations!  Keep the stinky feet of the bureaucrats to the fire!

randy- "reductions would put us further behind in addition to the affect on employee morale". HORSE MANURE!! I've been downsized three times since 1994 and have survived. Private industry does it all the time. I see no difference in downsizing the public sector in the same manner when a situation calls for it. Why do we hear talk of what a tragedy it would be if any public sector employee loses their job but it's just " the way it is in the private sector"??? It's just the way it is at the old place of employment nowadays. Ain't nothin' secure. Deal with it and move on.

This has been obvious to many resident for some time.  I wonder why previous administrations and Council Members ignored this for so long.  Instead previous admins have encouraged an influx lower income residents which has caused the current imbalance.

Per the Current City manager:

"We should recognize demographically what is occurring in the community: decrease of upper income levels and increase of lower income levels.   Make efforts to retain balance of income levels."

Randy...one of the houses at the corner of Superior & Florence is already for sale!

Kinda looks that way. Although it could be just a coincedence.

Section 8 in among those old homes around the old hospital area? There are some influential people who live in those large upscale homes. The character of the area was defined many years ago. These are fine older homes built for executives from Armco and the paper mills. Remind me of the homes in the movie "Uncle Buck". Any Section 8 housing would absolutely destroy the value of these homes and cheapen the richness/class of this area. If this is true, where is Sam Ashworth, the historians of this town and the property owners resistance? George Crout will roll over in his grave if this is true. You can't ruin a time aged area like this with Section 8 junk. It would be like parking a rusted Pinto along side a Ferrari. Too much contrast for it to work. Leave it alone. Leave it as green space to respect the area around it if the only choice is Section 8.

But Pacman, with all the problems Middletown has, at least we have some of the highest taxes to make up for them. We have the second highest property tax rate in Butler county. We were the highest until last year when Lakota district passed us by a few pennies. Of coures Lakota has an excellent school district. We also have the highest income tax rate of the cities we are competing with for job growth. Blue Ash and Mason have 1% income tax rate while Monroe, Lebanon and Franklin have 1.5% income tax rate. The least amenities, some of the lowest performing schools in Ohio, crumbling infrastucture, red light cameras, corrupt government, high number of section eight housing and higher taxes, you would think that bussinesses and people would be fighting to come here! 

I forgot to mention that we painted house numbers that were hard for our inspectors to read and painted a gutter last week. So I expect that the floodgates of businesses and people moving here to start at any moment.

No way the municipal judge will fine these citizens for these minor cosmetic situations.

To Go Buckeyes!,   You are exactly right about the selective enforcement. I have personally seen it many times. After I ran for Mayor in 2007 and started exposing some of Middletown's problems, I was hauled into their kangaroo court on Feb. 1, 2008 because I wasn't outside painting in Jan. When I called a council member and ask why, since that program was suspended from Sept. until May. The answer I got back from the dept. head was "Yes the program is suspended, but there is no ordinance that says that they can't haul me into court anyway!"