Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Media Coverage II

What an interesting, though provoking, and revealing (in nature of governance) two recent articles are about what the public gets to ?“learn?” from meetings.

One of the local papers mentioned how a guest at a meeting is interrupted by the chair and queried as to address. My response to that question was, ?“What is the relevance of a person?’s address, as to the access of Public information.?” As you read, you and I are both welcome to take time off from work and ?“see?” the records for ourselves. My questions (in part) were about Ordinance 2001-88 an Ordinance amending the 2001 Appropriations Ordinance.

My 1-1/2 minute questions involved the expenditures of City funds relative to the following (3) issues. The full meeting was well under an hour.

1. Over $59,000.00 dollars in additional appropriations to the 2001 appropriations Ordinance budget related to contractual legal services. That is a 63% increase since the beginning of the year.
 My question went unanswered.
- That?’s a fairly substantial increase! Are we practicing ?“litigation over cooperation?”?

2. What is the cost and derived good of the MOMC.
 The costs were paid from the discretionary portion of the City Managers budgeted section of expenditures. The purpose was reported in one of the papers.
- So you know the Pickerington City Manager is the President of this Council.

3. What are the costs involved with the City?’s participation in efforts for a Statewide Referendum effort ?“No on State Control of Property Rights?”.
 The answer again is use of the Manager?’s budget to the amount of $1,500.00.
- So you know the Pickerington City Manager is the Treasurer of this Referendum effort.

Though the budget ordinance was just listed on the recent Council agenda as a regular measure, rules were suspended and three readings (EMERGENCY) were given toward its passage. This Ordinance came out of the Finance Committee late last month. As this is a discussion page listing I?’ll note the link, however you will have to cut and paste it into your web browser to access the Minutes of this Finance meeting. From the minutes you?’ll see NO DISCUSSION OR LISTING as to legal expenditure increases. The duration of the meeting was 16 minutes.

http://www.ci.pickerington.oh.us/sections/meet/finance/07-26-01.asp

So much for the theory that ?“all things are hashed out in committee?”.

Please remember that it was only last December that Pickerington City Officials approved and ?“emergency ordinance?” for up to $125,000.00 to stave off annexation reform at the State House level.

Other noteworthy sections of the appropriation change were:

Building Inspections:
Construction Division
Personal Services: 210 increase by $16,000.00 or 23% (Reason ?– Hiring new Inspector.)

Contractual Services: 230 increase by $30,000.00 or 108% (Reason ?– Increase in inspections for new subdivisions.)


Lets see if our local papers pick up on these community issues, delve deeper into the information and report further.

Reply, Part 1

Mr. Harding,

Yes, I read the newspaper article describing how Prince Hughes cut you off in mid-sentence. Yes, I was again mortified by the public (not to mention again quoted by the media) behavior of the man holding the highest elected office in our fair city and a man entrusted with the education of our children. It makes me proud to know that, with any luck, my children will have the Prince as a teacher and just possibly, he can teach them to be as rude, obnoxious and socially unacceptable as he is. Lord knows how tiresome it is for me to teach them rude behavior at home.

That being said, I have to ask you a question. HOW DARE YOU? How dare you ask questions at a City Council meeting? How dare you present facts? How dare you continually dredge up the past? Just because our High Council said something or voted a certain way in the past, why should they stick to it? I mean, things change, right?

How dare you, as a meaningless little Violet Township resident, even have the temerity to continually show up at every meeting in the area? School Board meetings, Trustee meetings, Committee meetings, but most absurdly, High Council meetings. Why don?’t you stick to your little Trustee meetings, have a chaw of tobacco, get out the checkerboard, put it on the pickle barrel and talk about this year?’s corn crop. Just leave the running of this city to the big boys. After all, don?’t they have the experience and background, not to mention the moral fortitude to always do what is right for us? Shouldn?’t we blindly trust their every decision they make as to how they are spending what remains of the City coffers? Why shouldn?’t Her Regal Most Highest Majesty, Queen Bushman be the President of the High Council? Why shouldn?’t she be the treasurer, too? Why shouldn?’t she have a ?“discretionary portion of the City Manager?’s budgeted section of expenditures?”? After all, getting her nails done every week has to be taking its toll on her $80,000 plus salary.

One more thing, don?’t waste your time going to OUR City Hall and look at any ?“Public Information?” stuff, either. That is for City Resident?’s eyes ONLY. Besides, we have an office holiday that day and we will be closed.

Since you brought up Emergency again, just let me say this: The High Council of our fair City has a lot to accomplish before elections this November. Give those men a break. How can you expect them to get all the annexations completed by then with 3 readings and public input? How can you expect them to rezone all the land they have to by November with anything but Emergency Legislation? That is what Emergency Legislation is there for, right? ?“?…where, because of time constraints, there is an unacceptably high risk of the significant loss of taxpayer dollars?….?” that might have been better served in the pockets of residential developers.


By New Kid on the Block

Reply, Part Deux

OK Mr. ?“Question Everything?”, a couple more questions and I?’ll let you off the hook. First, why are they hiring a new Building Inspector? What happened to the old one? What is the $16,000 for? Is that all this person?’s salary is going to be? Or is this the amount of increase to the salary to hire the person they want in that job who will see things the High Council?’s way?

Second, what does the $30,000 increase for inspection buy us? And why is that better than the $50 and gift certificates to Cracker Barrel that always worked before?

Now?….. I?’ll take my tongue out of my cheek and say this. Keep up the good work. Question everything! The residents of Violet Township have as much at stake by the antics of the Council of Doom as we city folk do. Maybe even more. We in the city are stuck with what we have. Much as we?’d like to, apparently we can?’t secede.

I?’d be willing to bet there would be a carload of people from the Township who would have the courage to stand up and run for the 4 seats on the High Council that will be available this November. Are there 4 morally sound, ethical, fairly experienced people in the City that will stand together and say, ?“We CAN make a difference?”? Probably not. Are there 4 people who can break the death grip that the King and Queen and their Royal Court has us in? Probably not. Come November 7th, can the voters of the City look in the mirror and say that they have done everything they could to change things for the better?

Well, Mr. Harding, I?’ll say it again, keep up the good work. There are a couple of us City folk that appreciate your efforts and will do all we can to help. Also, come the time the polls close on November 6th, I?’d like to buy you a drink. I?’d like to propose a toast and then go find out how the voting went.


By New Kid on the Block