New Philadelphia Times-Reporter Editorials Fall Short

From time to time I suffer from what some people call writer's block. I would refer to it as temporary brain death except that some readers of this blog would have the tendency to question the terminology temporary. It is, I suppose, all in the point of view.

I recently heard about the election of 2012 where a Jewish candidate for President of the United States, an obvious dark horse, won election. He wanted his mother to attend his inauguration but she was hesitant. "I have no clothes to wear," she complained.
"Come on, Mom," he said. "I going to be the President of the United States. I'll get you the finest tailor to make you dresses."
She shrugged and said, " I have no way to get there. It's a long way from Miami to Washington. I should walk?"
Mom," he said. "I'm going to be in charge of the Air Force. I'll send Air Force One to pick you up.
"But where will I stay? I don't know anybody in Washington. What will I eat?" she asked.
"Mom, we'll be living in the White House. We'll have servants and special cooks to prepare your food. Whatever you want will be available. All you have to do is ask and it will be prepared. I'll be the president all I have to do ask and the Department of Agriculture can get any food you desire."
Finally she agreed and on the day her son was inaugurated she was on the platform in front of the capitol building dressed in her new finery. One one side of her were the justices of the Supreme Court, On the other the leaders of the House and Senate. The Joint Chiefs of Staff were behind her and in front of here were thousands of people who came to witness the ceremony.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court stepped forward and started to administer the oath of office.
His mother touched the elbow of the man standing next to her pointed to her son and said,"See that fellow over there with his hand in the air? His brother is a doctor."

It's all in the point of view.

Today points of view at the Times-Reporter are constantly changing. Take the issue of pay raises for elected officials in the City of New Philadelphia. It is no secret that I was against them, and I still am. The changing of the point of view on the part of the T-R was a surprise, one which made no sense. It was not too long ago that the T-R was in favor of wage increases for the Police, a much greater strain on the City budget than the "objectionable" wage increase for City officials. The T-R did not present a telling argument for either opinion. It failed to present a factual reason for its position on either issue. The articles presented in both cases lacked the insight which is only found by an investigation of the facts, a journalistic lack which plagues the T-R on most issues. The T-R lacks the ability to take a stand on an issue and then present a compelling reason for that decision.

The Times-Reporter has no editorial position. The change of position from approving increased spending in support of a city union to opposing pay raises for non-union elected and appointed city officials raises the question of a double standard which is not in the best interests of the citizen. The issue in both cases is the ability of the City to meet its expenses and, in a strange way, the T-R failed to make either case.

The T-R would have better served the citizen by addressing the real issues exemplified by the wage increases granted to all city employees and labor unions.

How is the City going to pay for these pay increases now and in the future?

Why are across the board pay raises granted to all union members rather than increases based on performance and competency? Longevity is no reason for promotion or wage increase.

Why are wages for elected officials and appointees so low that competent citizens are not drawn to serve as elected members of city government? Most of the members of this Administration and City Council have failed to display an ability to understand their responsibilities let alone fulfill them.

Why do New Philadelphia citizens refuse to take part in running the City by not running for elective office? Why do so few New Philadelphia citizens vote in the local elections?

Where does the ultimate responsibility for the welfare of the City of New Philadelphia really rest? An active, informed citizenry or an incompetent city government?

It is all in the point of view.

New Philadelphia City Council Hides Behind Executive Session

Here we go again. At the New Philadelphia City Council meeting on Monday, June 13, 2011, the right of the citizenry to know what their local government is doing was hidden behind the curtain of secrecy called the Executive Session.

In this case City Council went into a closed door session to discuss the continuation of free water and installation of storm sewer services being provided to Tuscarawas Catholic Central High School (TCCHS) by the administration of New Philadelphia.

This all started a number of years ago when an agreement between a previous New Philadelphia administration and TCCHS. New Philadelphia High School received permission from TCCHS to use their football field in exchange for free water from the City. This in itself raised questions of propriety. Why did the City become involved in an agreement between the New Philadelphia City Schools (NPCS) and a privately operated Catholic School? Why did the City agree to provide free water to TCCHS as a lease payment for use by New Philadelphia sports teams. The NPCS is a separate governmental agency with no legal nor financial ties to the City. It has its own budgets, its own administration, sets its own agendas totally without the consent of the City.

About three years ago the State Auditor investigated the New Philadelphia Water Department. It found fault that certain individuals and businesses were receiving water at no cost. One of those was TCCHS which prompted the order by the State Auditor to meter not only TCCHS, but all locations where city water was being provided. In May of 2010, Mayor Taylor told TCCHS that the provision of free water to the athletic fields would cease and other arrangements would have to be made.

According to the minutes of the Safety, Health, and Service Committee, Mr. Rob Maurer Chairman, a proposal was made by Mr. Bob Martinelli, of REM Construction, to solve this dilemma by construction of a retaining pond and storm sewer, at the recommendation of Diversified Engineering, to alleviate a recurring flooding problem in Schoenbrunn Village. The retaining pond would be on properties of TCCHS. The storm sewer would run from TCCHS through property owned by Betty Heavlin and empty into Beaver Dam Creek. This project is needed, say city officials, following the lead of Diversified Engineering. But there is a question if the project will ease the drainage at TCCHS or solve the flooding at Schoenbrunn Estates. The problem is in the lay of the land. The natural drainage in the area was destroyed with the building of the football fields at TCCHS.

Martinelli proposed the City furnish all the materials for the project at a cost of $60,000. The City would then pay REM Construction $25,000 to do the work, REM picking up the remaining $125,000 cost of construction. For the $25,000 REM would install the storm sewer pipes, manholes, dig the retention pond, furnish the equipment, and perform whatever labor is required. The reason given in the committee report for a city payment of $25,000 to REM is that council approval is not required for an expenditure less than that amount.

A few years back, the Airport Commission wanted to paint some hangers at the New Philadelphia airport. In an effort to approve bids without consent of the City Council, the Administration split the project into two parts. One was the cost of paint, the second the cost of labor, neither of which alone exceeded the statutory limit of $25,000 set by the Ohio Revised Code. Together the cost of paint and labor for the project would require consent of the city council. When asked, the office of the Attorney General stated that a project cannot be broken into parts to get around the $25,000 cap. Everything connected with a project must, according to the Attorney General’s office, be lumped together to determine the total cost of any project and if that total cost exceeds $25,000 it must have the approval of the City Council.

The stated cost to the city for the project according to Maurer’s committee report is $85,000. The attempt to bypass the $25,000 spending limit is a violation of the Ohio Revised Code and its suggestion by a committee of the New Philadelphia City Council is disgraceful.

According to Mr. Maurer’s meeting minutes, land necessary to carry out this project has tentatively been granted variances by both TCCHS and Heavlin, as well as their approval for the project.

Lastly, in exchange for Martinell’s $125,000 contribution to this project, the City of New Philadelphia and TCCHS will enter into a negotiated fee for water and sewer usage at the football fields. At Monday night’s council meeting, the negotiated fee was reported by Mr. Maurer to be $1.00 a year for thirty years. Wow! What a deal that is for TCCHS. They have been getting free water for a number of years, who knows how much since it was never metered, but now they are going to start paying their fair share at a dollar a year?

To hide this, and other questionable issues concerned with this project, City Council went into Executive Session Monday night. The reason, given by Law Director Johnson, for the Executive Session was the purchase of property necessary for the storm sewer project, property purchases by the city are allowed to be discussed in Executive Session. But what property purchase was to be discussed? Mr. Maurer’s committee report states, “The storm sewer and pond would be on the Tuscarawas Central Catholic and Betty Heavlin Properties. Both Parties agreed to the plan…and both parties have agreed to give the City of New Philadelphia easements for the storm sew(er) construction and future maintenance.”

Why is REM Construction going to take a $125,000 loss on this project should it come to pass? Why is it important that REM get the contract on this project without competitive bidding?

What are the EPA considerations and how will Schoenbrunn Estates be affected considering its current flooding problems.

The citizen of New Philadelphia has the right to have answers to these questions, as well as others connected to this project. It is obvious that the Administration and City Council have no intention in allowing the citizen to become aware of their intentions. Ohio Revised Code 121.22 (http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/121.22) was enacted precisely to prevent such secrecy in government.

When government doesn’t want you to know what it is doing, is afraid to tell you the truth on matters which will effect you, you know there is something going on that is not to your benefit. If ever there was a warning that the New Philadelphia Administration and City Council needed watching this is it. Get informed. Get involved. If you have any questions or comments, call your City Councilman. If you need their telephone numbers check http://nptattler.blogspot.com/2010/01/city-officials-phone-numbers.html

Financial Insanity Strikes Again

Summer has arrived, at least as far as the temperatures are concerned. Spring seems to have slipped by almost unnoticed. Unfortunately, neither of those events has helped the politicians out of their craziness. If anything it has made the insanity of our times even more evident than in the past. Living under the assumption, often questioned by friends and others, that I still retain some of my past sanity, I would like to point out some of the most recent events which could be used to certify that our politicos are eligible to be committed.

On the local scene, New Philadelphia and Dover administrations are hovering near the top of the list of possible suspects. Neither seems to have a clue about money matters or what constitutes fiscal responsibility.

In the case of New Philadelphia, City Council is deliberating Resolution No. 19-2011, and will probably pass it, to raise the salaries of all non-union employees, those either elected or appointed, who did not get pay raises under the recent union contracts. The logic seems to be that if fact finders and arbitrators can give unaffordable pay raises to union members, then those who don't belong to a union should get pay raises as well. First on the list for retroactive 3% pay raises is the Mayor, who, as we know, is responsible for the financial well-being of the city, followed by the rest of elected and appointed city workers. Nobody in the administration and few on city council appears to care that income tax revenues are down this year or that the state has announced that state funding to municipalities is being cut. City officialdom wants more money and they are going to give it to themselves. Hey, Mr. and Mrs. New Philadelphia. Get ready for one of the promises Mayor Taylor made when he was running for mayor. The income tax increase he promised is on the way

The new high school in Dover is moving along. The problem with the current high school is that it is old. There is another problem. The state will give the school board 9.2 million dollars for the construction. Wow. 9.2 million. Of course, the Dover School Board will have to come up with the remaining 26.8 million. The school board? Well, not exactly. The citizens of Dover will have to come up with that amount of money through a bonding issue which they will be paying for. Although the building itself is in good shape, there are some water leaks, and the air conditioning system is inadequate for those warm summer temperatures when school is not in session.

Dennison seems to be joining the list of financial oddities. According to the Times Reporter, their village council wants the voters to pass a five year, 4.8-mill levy ($500,000) to provide the village with its own emergency medical services unit, translated ambulance. According to the T-R article Dennison currently contracts that service out to Smith Ambulance for $45,000 a year. By providing those services through the fire department, we are told there can be a financial savings to the residents. Start-up costs would include a building to house the equipment, cost $150,000, a squad vehicle at $20,000 (the last one New Philadelphia purchased came out close to $200,000), and the needed equipment to go with the squad at about $12,000. Let's see. That comes to a $182,000 initial cost, which is equal to about four years contracts to Smiths. That leaves $318,000 for operating expenses for the five years of the proposed levy. The move would also protect eight to ten jobs according to the T-R article. I guess it is a good deal as the statement in the article, "It would provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-days a week service to the village," indicates that such service is not always available in Dennison currently. But it will save jobs, increase overtime, and guarantee another levy in five years. By the way, New Philadelphia should consult with Dennison to find where EMS units can be bought for $20,000.

One last parting shot. Kelly Ricklic, the former Water Department Supervisor for New Philadelphia found an innovative way to get a pay raise. He left New Philadelphia employment to be Building and Grounds Supervisor for the New Philadelphia Public Schools. The New Philadelphia job paid a mere $55,000 base salary, in excess of $80,000 a year with benefits, to a base salary of $58,000 base salary with the school system, and who knows how much in benefits, a total which could run to $87,000. Hey, Mr. and Mrs. New Philadelphia. Remember that when the School Board cries about needing another levy increase to meet expenses. By the way, will Ricklic be eligible for the 3% pay increase retroactive to the first of the year if New Philadelphia City Council Resolution No. 19-2011 passes?