So lets add up the score once more: We have Jeff Fix and the Mayor spending all last year in negotiations with the Township and Canal Winchester and today we basically have nothing to hang our hat on expect an MOU. No JEDD, no CEDA inclusion. Nothing to add to Fix?’s resume.
Now the latest venture involved a proposed agreement with Violet That was opposed by a number of citizens and little or no open support by even Fix?’s closest friends and supporters. In that proposed agreement Fix proposed to give up the city?’s rights to annex and the city?’s rights to conform its boundaries. In addition if any annexation on the City?’s borders were to occur the city would give up half of its income tax dollars to the township and there was nothing required of the Township.
The opposition to the proposed agreement was so great that the Citizens of Pickerington took to the streets and collected over 900 signatures to place the ordinance on the ballot in November. In addition these same citizens proposed a charter amendment to protect the city from our elected leaders giving away these right of annexation and conforming our boundaries in the future.
Offended that their authority was questioned they put on a full court press on to get the voters to turn the issue down. Using a strict interpretation of the proposed charter amendment from a confidential memo from the Law Director they claimed the City could never participate in a JEDD and that the tax payers would loose MILLIONS.
So the remaining questions are:
How do you lose Millions from something that does not exist?
If this charter amendment was so flawed legally then why did the council including Fix put it on the ballot?
Finally when the Master Development agreement was working it way through the council and its hand picked committees why were giving up the City?’s rights of annexation and conforming our boundaries so important in January and then in May the Mayor and three council members pledged to not give up those rights as a group?
Will the Mayor and these three council members flip flop again in a few months. Isn?’t that why the citizen committee wanted to lock them into NOT giving up these rights and half of our taxes?
Clearly to have an official letter used in an official ballot campaign and only win by 54 votes doesn?’t bid well in my book. All in all the citizens are now seeing Fix rescind the ordinance that authorized this proposed agreement with the township, they are aware that the Mayor and the three supporters of the agreement are now saying they will not give away the city?’s rights. I think the citizens won in the short term. I am sure there will an attempt to revisit the issue by both side before long.
By Score Keeper
Now the latest venture involved a proposed agreement with Violet That was opposed by a number of citizens and little or no open support by even Fix?’s closest friends and supporters. In that proposed agreement Fix proposed to give up the city?’s rights to annex and the city?’s rights to conform its boundaries. In addition if any annexation on the City?’s borders were to occur the city would give up half of its income tax dollars to the township and there was nothing required of the Township.
The opposition to the proposed agreement was so great that the Citizens of Pickerington took to the streets and collected over 900 signatures to place the ordinance on the ballot in November. In addition these same citizens proposed a charter amendment to protect the city from our elected leaders giving away these right of annexation and conforming our boundaries in the future.
Offended that their authority was questioned they put on a full court press on to get the voters to turn the issue down. Using a strict interpretation of the proposed charter amendment from a confidential memo from the Law Director they claimed the City could never participate in a JEDD and that the tax payers would loose MILLIONS.
So the remaining questions are:
How do you lose Millions from something that does not exist?
If this charter amendment was so flawed legally then why did the council including Fix put it on the ballot?
Finally when the Master Development agreement was working it way through the council and its hand picked committees why were giving up the City?’s rights of annexation and conforming our boundaries so important in January and then in May the Mayor and three council members pledged to not give up those rights as a group?
Will the Mayor and these three council members flip flop again in a few months. Isn?’t that why the citizen committee wanted to lock them into NOT giving up these rights and half of our taxes?
Clearly to have an official letter used in an official ballot campaign and only win by 54 votes doesn?’t bid well in my book. All in all the citizens are now seeing Fix rescind the ordinance that authorized this proposed agreement with the township, they are aware that the Mayor and the three supporters of the agreement are now saying they will not give away the city?’s rights. I think the citizens won in the short term. I am sure there will an attempt to revisit the issue by both side before long.
By Score Keeper
