It is time for More Action And Less Talk!!

City Council meetings consistantly deal with the low income and section 8, the elderly, the upper income residents.  Many times the middle income citizens are negleted.

The Council only allows 3 minutes for a citizen to make a comment before them and I grant you many times these comments are off base, but during the city managers report groups and charities are given an umlimited amount of time to speak.  The time allotted for these speeches would be better spent on issues dealing with the city as a whole rather than one charity or one group of people. 

Personally I think it is time for the citizens to at least pick one issue in the city and try to move council in a direction that is beneficial to the whole city.  One issue that I think is feasible is funds for road repair and maintenance. 

After watching the City council meetings for awhile one thing is evident.  Sooner or later there is going to be a fee attached to the water bill.  This fee of $3.00 was to be for street light maintenance. 

My suggestion is to make the fee $5.00 per water bill per month which would raise approximately $1.5M.  Then the City should take $.5M from the HUD/CDBG funds and apply that to the $1.5M giving you $2M.  The city should then be require to reinstate the infrastructure fund and they must replace 2008, 2009, or 2010 road expenses into that fund.  This should bring the $2M to about $3M.  I know many of you will complain about the $5.00 a month, but it is the most equitible way to establish a new infrastructure fund with the biggest bang for the dollar.  Also, the roads that would produce the biggest bang for the buck should be repaired first.

The Roads Will Not Repair Themselves.

I also know that Mr. Laubaugh's attempt at this was voted down by a city council that has NO foresight.   This is only one issue that needs to be addressed.  We can no longer continue to deal with each citizens group as individual groups and must look as the city as a whole.  We can not have two or three payroll taxes for each election cycle.  Personally I will not vote for any payroll tax increase until Middletown starts treating the City as a whole.  And just to make it clear, I no longer have to pay payroll takes because I am disabled and retired.  

I also will not vote for public safety levys until the city starts dealing with the unions more forcibly and the unions start relenting on their demands.  The fire department just let 5 positions go when they could have been saved a few had the fire department not biten off their nose to spite their face.  Now I realize there may be more to this than I know, but this is how I see the situation.  The city should walk into these union negotiations with more of a sense of power by bringing in their best offer and telling the unions to take it or leave it and have a list of those public safety officers that will be laid off in order to pay for the increase in pay and benefits.

Question for Public Safety Employess or Union Members...

Does your contract include a clause that if the matter goes to concliation, the concliator does not have to take into account the financial stability or well being of the city? 

This clause is in the postal workers union contract even though the post office is $8 Billion in the hole. 

The citizens of Middletown need come together to tackle some issues.  One being the recall of certain council members. If we continue to moan and groan and take no action nothing will change. And the prime real estate along I75 will be squandered rather than developed into tax paying businesses. 

That's enough for now.

Pacman

 

You need to reread the post above as it states $3M.  How much of the road way is being repaired now? Constantly saying NO is what get's everyone NOWHERE.  The $5 fee on the water bill ($3.50 according City manager), is going to come whether you like it or not.  It is a matter of what it is used that is important.

All of this concerning the roads would be placed in a city ordinance.  This include the $5 fee attached to the water bill, the fact that the infrastructure funds must be reinstituted, and that equivalant funds from a previous year must be placed in the infrastructure fund each year.  The last I heard it would cost about $125M - $150M and this value changes and the price of petroleum goes up and down.

It is easy to say No all the time.  This get's you NOWHERE and results in no measurable improvement in the city.  As far as recalling councilmen, once again, saying "NO It can't be done" is a waste of time.  I never thought SB5 would be recalled but it was.

It is inaction by Citizens, City Council and City Management that continues to bring this City down.  While I agree that $3M a year is a long way from $150M, it is a start. 

Pacman

Jack Black,

 

I was and still remain somewhat a fan of Mr Adkins for his plan handling the section 8 matter.  18 months ago it was stated that within one year section 8 would be well under control within the city and much of it gone from the city.  In the last 18 months the only movement we have seen is moving the section 8 office from downtown to Elliott Dr on the East end. 

Does anyone know how many vouchers h ave actually left the city?

Pacman

 

Thanks to Vivian again for reminding us about the fiasco involving the Inspection Group.  We can recall Mr. Adkins telling us how great that they were and that this was one reason to get rid of CONSOC.  He also waxed eloquently about the great benefits of purchasing expensive software to create a near paperless administration of the 1662 vouchers.

 

Then, we can recall being told how wonderful Nelson & Associates would be instead of CONSOC.  Despite all of the bluster and platitudes, the facts speak otherwise.  I also call attention to the City Manager's role in this scheme.

 

Next we were told how much money could be saved with the departure of CONSOC.  If anyone outside of the 4th floor of City Hall were to scrutinize Section 8 financial records, I hear that they'd find that more of the Administrative funds were being siphoned off for City staff.

 

This is yet another wasteful and ineffective example of not correcting serious problems.  Of course, all of this is from Mr. Adkins who brought us: the HUD 54% citywide lower-income rule, the $20 million 50-year housing revitalization plan, super wasteful expenditures of NSP funds, $200,000+ single-family home projects, the 2,400 house housing code enforcement blitzkrieg, etc., etc.

 

By the way, Middletown still has 1,662 Section 8 vouchers despite promises of reductions, etc., etc.  And, it was Martie Kohler who used to brag about how the Section 8 program was increasing the quality and values of residential properties in Wards 2 and 1.  Is it possible that Mr. Adkins could take some of his wonderful dreams for the future to Mason where he lives?