Monday, January 28, 2013

The Founding Fathers on the Public's Right and Need to Know

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has the following on p. iii of the 2012 Ohio Sunshine Laws: An Open Government Resource Manual (2012 Sunshine Law Manual). Elaboration unnecessary. 

Thomas Jefferson:

“Information is the currency of democracy.” 

Patrick Henry:

"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the
transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them . . . To cover with
the veil of secrecy the common routine of business, is an abomination in
the eyes of every intelligent man."

James Madison:

"A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it,
is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever
govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm
themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

John Adams:

"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people,
who have a right and a desire to know; but besides this, they have a right, an
indisputable, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I
mean of the characters and conduct of their rulers."

Friday, January 11, 2013

The Truth About Water Rates

As I told the publisher of the Portsmouth Daily Times yesterday, I can't believe that Frank Lewis would write anything David Malone attributes to me without first checking the facts with me. And so yesterday's (Thursday, January 10)  edition compounds the mistakes made by Malone since the reporter omitted 2011 data and instead attributed it to me in 2010 data.

Yes, there is a correction in today's (Friday, January 11) but had I been contacted, the public would have learned that I very deliberately did not raise water and sewer rates in 2010 (there was a 2 cent reduction in base water rates) for residential users, I raised them on large volume (or bulk) users because they had been given huge discounts. This was unfair to residential and small users because they end up subsidizing the large users.

In one instance, Scioto Water was buying water from the city for $1.67 and reselling it to customers in the county for $8.25. Not a bad gross profit margin, eh? When I asked staff to compute the actual cost of producing the water (collection, filtration, and distribution), that figure ($1.67) was below our actual cost of production.

So, enter the Scioto Water boys (attorneys Blume & Blume) to cry foul and threaten lawsuits to the media in order to raise yet more consternation about me as mayor. Our generous city solicitor told me he could work it out with them ...so they wouldn't sue the city. Sue the city! I told him his job was to fight for what was right and fair for the city, not to go around placating every special interest that might threaten legal action.

But, with the help of hapless radio disc jockeys and lapdog journalists, the Blume boys successfully convinced another big client, Hillview Retirement Center, and some of its residents that I was exponentially raising their water rates...leading to yet more bad reports of my actions. And, you know the rest.

Now comes the question, why is Malone raising the water and sewer rates this year? Is it because the city unlawfully spent those funds again in 2012 after being told NOT to by the State Auditor?

I've requested year end data and beginning year balances and have not yet received them from the city auditor. When I do, I'll post what is going on...and then you will know the truth.


Friday, January 4, 2013

Portsmouth City Government A Travesty

That's what I told the boys last night. The council met to hear from applicants and select a new fifth ward council member to replace Haas whom they gave a job to when he couldn't find enough clients to make a living in Portsmouth - plus, they have to take care of their own.

On behalf of numerous fifth ward residents, who could not attend but asked me to represent them, and myself, I listed some of the serious issues we have faced that have NOT been addressed at all by the previous two fifth ward council members, especially Haas.
  • Uncontrolled development resulting in massive storm water runoff and sewage backups into our houses.
  • No required traffic studies to determine the impact of development in the area on residents. We have virtual free-ways on our streets. In addition to local traffic using our streets as a cut-through, Google Map and GPS devices route vehicles through the neighborhoods between U.S. 23 and 52. Tractor trailers, cement mixers, lost vacationers, etc. wandering down Coles Blvd. to Dorman Drive to Grandview on their way to U.S. 52. And all driving as fast as they can, having no respect at all for residents. The motorists get angry when we try to back our of our driveways. If the boys don't care about the residents, how about the destruction of the streets?
  • Residents on Old Coles, 25th and Shawnee Road who have difficulty parking in front of their houses owing to hospital employees parking there in order to smoke.
  • The list continues.
And of course, there is the problem of the massive deficits these council members, including Haas, drove up during the past 3 years. But, hey, Basham objected to me speaking about that. Said it wasn't germane to the subject for which they were there.

Not germane (he didn't use that word)? I told them the deficits and fiscal problems of this city was one of the most serious issues the new 5th ward council member would face. I ignored him and went on to describe how serious it is and was quoting the State Auditor's letter the city received in early December.

Then Kalb objected, I kept talking but the acting president told me I was going to have to stop since there were two council members that objected.

These two object to everything I say or do, I told them. The main point was and is that the person selected should have some knowledge on all these subjects and in particular the deficits. This is too serious. On-job training was unacceptable. Our every day lives, our property values, the enjoyment of our own homes depends on what these boys do. It is not a game.

Then council member Kevin Johnson made the motion to go into executive session to hear from and interview the applicants. I was dumbstruck.

Yes, they legally can go into executive session (I knew that) but why would they want to? What about the fifth ward residents? We can't hear from and learn about the person this body was going to select to represent us?

Where's the transparency in that, Mr. Johnson? A word you frequently use.

Yes, this government is a travesty and that's what I told them - standing in front of the public and before the seriously-less-than august body.

Why would they continue to act in secrecy? What are they afraid of? Many individuals have told me they are afraid of me. Perhaps that is true. Perhaps they should be.

travesty - charade; caricature; parody; mockery; sham; pretense; farce

Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Cold, Hard Truth as Told by Deputy Auditor of State Robert R. Hinkle

The State Auditor warned them twice in 2012 and then...






If nothing else, I'd be embarrassed.

So what does Fiscal Watch mean? Find out in my next post.






Wednesday, January 2, 2013

AFSCME Union Members, Other Non-Union Employees & Public Take the Hit Again

After chatting with a city employee I ran into, I questioned City Auditor Trent Williams about the data I requested and included in a previous post regarding city employee benefits. In fact, there is one and only one union that has started paying 3% of their pension contribution.
Because of the format in which the data were provided and the limitations of Blogger, it becomes a bit awkward to review. My apologies.

The other thing the employee told me is that the unelected mayor told them there would be no layoffs. Hm? I don't know who negotiated for them, but they should have stuck with what police and fire received. Yes, they are paying $30/single and $75/family less per month, but that amounts only to $360/single and $900/family savings in health insurance. Their 3% contribution is 3% of gross...so, someone making $20,000 pays $600/year for pension contribution AND the annual health insurance.

These employees are also paid significantly less than police and fire yet they are the ones hit with overtime limitations. That is why we are forced to keep up with which day do we put our trash out this week? As my neighbor says...when the moon aligns with the third celestial...

Not funny you say? Well, be in for more of it. Because the unelected mayor and his chief honcho (the retired and rehired again) Juanita Jewitt have told the AFSCME folks to be prepared for layoffs. What about police & fire? Oh, they'll say, we can't do that because the city charter mandates a specific number.

The fact is, that number was totally political when it was added to the Charter and it could have been eliminated in the latest charter amendment increasing our income taxes...but Haas, Basham, Kalb, Malone, et al. didn't include it on purpose - more politics.

And those same politics have gotten the city into the financial quagmire it is today. Thanks, guys!

As the boys are now forced to deal with the financial disaster of their creation, there is one thing the public should make them keep in mind: everyone has a job to do, else the position should be eliminated.

In answer to the fire chief - no, firefighters are not more important than other employees. All one has to do is ask, "How many times a day do I turn the water on?" "How many times a day do I flush the toilet?" "How many times a week do I use the city streets?" "How many times a YEAR do I call the fire department?" "How many times a year do I call the police department?"

They all have jobs to do. Even the administrative people. And all are counting on fairness from the city elected officials...but they are not getting it.


City of Portsmouth Overtime
2011 and 2012 Through December 19, 2012

Department                               2011                   January-December 19, 2012

Service (garbage, streets, parks)   $  59,587                                $ 36,728
*Police                                              $199,075                               $215,893             *Fire                                                  $  32,424                               $133,133             
Water Filtration                                 $  52,829                                $  76,167
Water Distribution                            $  76,709                                 $ 64,278
Sewer                                               $  93,408                                 $ 49,037
                                                         $514,032                                  $575,236

TOTALS (including other)          $528,428                                 $585,829

*Police & Fire = 60% of total


There's nothing fair about the above.

There was nothing fair in 2011 when the boys cut the two positions in the Health Department that were doing all the code enforcement and weeds and junk abatement. Rumor is that the unelected mayor and his sidekick will have the people historically maintaining Greenlawn Cemetery doing other work too.How about going back to the plan of only 2 fire stations, save $100,000+ and keep these people doing important tasks for the public? How about treating the employees AND the public fairly?