Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Since Opus is no longer being published in the funny papers on Sunday morning a second comic relief is in the Pickerington meeting minutes and it has replaced Opus in my life.

There appears to be a problem for the city and its ability to secure a contract or some kind of agreement for health services normally provided by the county. I am assuming that since Pickerington is in two counties it has the option to contract with either Fairfield or Franklin counties. It appears there is some regret on the part of some on council as to who they should contract with. I believe the original dispute was the cost being charged to Pickerington for these health related services provided by Fairfield county. Now after months of posturing Pickerington seems to have been offered a lower amount by Fairfield county. Hold the phone Kate this offer is subject to some advisory board?’s approval and they have already had their yearly meeting and are very unlikely to be able to get a quorum for a second meeting. So the Pickerington city has given this advisory board until June to get a quorum and approve this lower amount for health services.

Guess who was involved and at the center of these negotiations? ANSWER: Council Prez Fix.


He apparently meet with the Lancaster Mayor and some other people and suggested the $80,000 and they wrote it in the contract. Judging by the comments on council and in the Finance meeting they have a fee of $5 per head. Isn?’t this the same M.O. That Fix has demonstrated for years now? He goes out like a big shot and negotiates these agreements with part of the principles only to find years in the approval process. Wasn?’t he in the middle of the JEDD agreement mess? I read where that it is just now before the Lancaster council and it appears to have little or no support from that council. Now with a pandemic looming over us for the fall flu season the city puts Fix in charge of getting public health services to us for the next flu season. Maybe by th

The comedy continues

Speaking of tax increases. It appears that the city has a proposal from a company to conduct a survey to find out why the Pickerington voters rejected the November income tax increase. I believe it is for $18,000. Maybe one of the questions should be what impression does the ever changing of minds on council have on your willingness to support a tax increase? Does waffling on council confuse you and create an uncertainty in your decision making for additional revenues?

Now this company wants another $6,000 to tell council the results of the survey. I understand they have hired Rod Parsley to facilitate this meeting to make the council members true believers and to get them all on the same page. I doubt even Parsley can do that since water boarding has been outlawed.

Then I see that the federal stimulus has come to Pickerington. They plan to hire two Police Officers for three years. That is all well and good but what strings are attached to this ?“GIFT?”? I remember President Clinton did this back in the 90s and after the time was up the cities had to fund the entire package. So if this holds true in this process does the city hire a couple of rookies only to lay off veteran cops in a couple of years if they are still vacillating on how to raise revenues? I think the only option the council has in raising revenues is with voter approval with one exception. That is to do away with the half percent credit they give residents that work in other cities. I don?‘t think they have the guts to do that. They can?’t even cut fireworks out of the budget let allow double people?’s taxes.

While Rome burns the council is having specials meeting to discuss a charter commission and changes to the charter. Clearly Fix wants to create a new charter and it is to be fashioned by him and the lawyers that live out of town. I understand that the Rules committee has already done the basic job of writing the new charter without any input from the public. I would suspect this process

Insider Information

You seem to have some pretty good insider information. All of what you posted can be found in the minutes and agandas posted on the city website. However the tone you use clearly shows you also talked to someone on council.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is all good information and don't resent your tone.

I am also having some problems digesting Fix's manipulation of this city because why? Oh, that's right, it's an election year. Since he can't hang his reelection hat on any accomplishments he made or were made under his esteemed leadrship, let's create some. Let's not take the time to act on anything but instead let's get issues held on the table for months and months to generate as much press as possible.

Let's not lead council to act, let's lead council to wait and talk and talk and talk.

I think that what I heard the Mayor call a strategic planning session has to be done if the resident survey is completed. Let's face it, we don't have enough brain power on council to light a light bulb it seems sometimes so the $12K that seemes to have enough support to pass will be wasted unless they also pay to have someone tell them what to do with all the data they will accumulate. I mean seriously, would you wasnt $12K of data handed to Fix, Sauer or Sabatino? Fix and Sauer would say that in the spirit of cooperation we should hand over the data to the wonderful township so they could use it to guide us through our troubled waters. Sabatino would take the results and argue them through every council and committee meeting from now till eternity. Heck, he still berates Gilleland publicly. How long would he hammer on residents' responses to a poll?

The health department fiasco will be looked at closer in my next posting.

Health Department

OK, had a real good posting for this but the computer barfed.

Short version - Fix is seeking reelection. Despite the world showing Fairfield County what having a big R hanging over your head brings you, he still thinks the county R's will sweep the election for him and his candidates.

He is selling out the quality of our health protection to an underfunded, underqualified, undermanned incompetent bunch of what??? County R's.

fix needs this to go his way so he can run for Commish when the moods strikes him.