New Philadelphia Budget Mirrors Federal Depression

It doesn’t matter how you cut it, the bad times we are in are getting worse. It is easy to listen to the propaganda coming from Washington and being parroted by the news media. After all, everybody likes good news. But the truth is too often ignored. The hard facts are we have increased unemployment, lack of business investment, and a collapsing economy. Investors Business Daily (IBD), in an article of August 6, sums it up. To quote, “As the ‘recovery summer’ turns into a nightmare, one thing has become painfully clear: This is the most economically incompetent administration since the Great Depression.”

Obama administration spokeswoman, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, reported that the economy had turned around because of Obama’s "strong and immediate action". The only problem, she said, was Republicans who refuse to support a $26 billion bailout for state and local governments and their pampered unions. Shortly thereafter Solis resigned and went back to teaching. Why? One can only suspect that the truth became too much for her to bear.

According to IBD, America has lost 4.1 million jobs since Obama took office and 7.7 million since the recession began in December 2007. So most of the jobs lost have been under this administration.

Doing more arithmetic, since the start of 2010 we've averaged 93,000 new jobs a month. That's below the 120,000 we need just to soak up new job-market entrants. At this rate, it will take nearly seven years just to get back to 2007's number of jobs.

The country is in a depression. Unemployment is increasing. New jobs are not even coming close to the number of young people seeking employment, with 27,000 more new applicants a month entering the job market than there are new jobs available. Add to that Friday's jobs report indicated that unemployment in July was unchanged at 9.5%, but a net 131,000 jobs were lost on top of 97,000 more than first accounted for in May and June. And because of new tax laws, businesses are not making investments as they normally would.

Don't believe it? Listen to what key U.S. business groups said Friday after July's disastrous jobs data were released.

"The current rate of employment is too slow to replace the more than 8 million jobs lost in the recession — not in the next year or two, perhaps even not in the next five years," said Bart Van Ark, chief economist of the Conference Board.

"Policies that have increased taxes, increased regulation and increased uncertainty have clearly not been a prescription for returning America to work," said Martin Regalia, chief economist for the Chamber of Commerce. That about sums it up.

New Philadelphia is deeply affected by the state of the United States economy. Without jobs, taxes collected by the City are lower. Without business expansion, jobs will not increase. Business expansion, including the New Philadelphia area, is close to nil.

While the City Administration and City Council have no control over the federal economy, they do have control over how City funds are appropriated and spent. It doesn’t matter if you talk of trillions of dollars spent by the Democratic controlled Congress and the Obama administration, the out of work family, of the City of New Philadelphia, the problem is the same. If you don’t have the money to pay the bills, you’re going to be in trouble.

New Philadelphia is close to financial disaster. City revenues are down with no relief in sight. But expenditures are on the increase. In three months employee contracts will be reopened with money as the major issue. But with both the City Council and Administration, money management seems to be at the bottom of the priority list. Planning for the financial future of the city is non-existent. The major concern of the Council President appears to be creating a solution to solve the complaints of Administrative personnel about salaries and benefits. The Mayor, at the same time, is contemplating the hiring of a Human Resources Director, a position which on the average pays $80,000 a year not including benefits.

The City of New Philadelphia should have as its first priority the future of the City. It is time that efforts to cut back on expenses. It will take hard work on the part of the Administration, City Council, and city employees, to produce a viable financial plan which will carry New Philadelphia through the next eight to ten years of financial difficulties. Continuing as we are, without an economic plan, without sacrifice on the part of city employees equal to the sacrifice being made by the New Philadelphia citizen in these poor economic times, New Philadelphia will face the choice of reduced services due to layoffs of city employees, increased taxes, or both, and a devastated economy as people leave the city to seek employment elsewhere.

Mr. Mayor, Council Members, appointed Administrative personnel, face the facts. We are in trouble and it is your responsibility to solve our economic problems. Empty promises, pandering to city employees, decisions based on party and other affiliations, passing legislation without appropriate research into cost, should no longer be acceptable. By accepting the positions you actively pursued you also accepted the responsibility to put the City and its residents above your personal ambitions. Now is the time for you to accept that responsibility.

(Excerpts for this article came from, and with permission, of the Investors Business Daily editorial The Propaganda Of Incompetents.)

Navy Seals Acquitted

Just in case you missed it, the trials of Matthew McCabe, Johnathan Keefe, and Julio Huertas were concluded two months ago and all three were found innocent of the charges involving mistreatment of the Muslim terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed. These three SEALs were falsely accused of punching Abed in the stomach while he was in US custody. If you want further details on the charges these SEALs check the blog for March 24, 2010, "Will Obama Sacrifice SEAL Heroes?" That they were ever brought to trial is still a disgrace, but at last they have been vindicated.

It is interesting to note that the first of the year the news media was filled with the fact that these three men were to be tried for abusing a terrorist prisoner, but their acquittals were hardly mentioned. For details of the trials of Matthew McCabe, Johnathan Keefe, and Julio Huertas, Google their names. You may find the whole incident revealing of current government thinking as concerns our defense and the military men who are on the front line protecting our country.

City Council Approves West High Paving; No Water Billing Changes

Last Monday’s, July 26, New Philadelphia City Council Meeting was, for the most part, pretty quiet. The media doesn’t always get the full story, possibly because they do not have time to verify what they are told by members of the administration or council. A couple of examples.

A resolution was passed for the widening of West High between Five Points and the railroad tracks. Because of the efforts of Councilwoman Cox letting the residents in that area know that the resolution was to be voted on at the Monday meeting, a number of the residents showed up to express their views. Their concern was the possibility of losing property due to widening West High and nobody had brought it to their attention. They were told the previous meetings had been announced in the media and that was all the City was required to do. Thanks to Ms. Cox, they found out about the upcoming vote. They asked questions about what was going to occur and the answers, according to the folks I spoke with, were unsatisfactory.

There are hidden issues in that resolution. Part of what the Council committed to reads that the City “does agree to participate to the proposed widening of State Route 39” and “agrees to pay 20% of the cost.” A concern about this wording was raised by Ms. Cox as to whether this made the widening by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) a done deal. She questioned the Law Director who told her that passage of the resolution was non-binding and the City could back out whenever it wanted, a position held by Mayor Taylor as well. Apparently the wording locks the City into the project and they cannot back out of it without the agreement of ODOT.

That brings up another question. Why did ODOT refuse to take part in a public hearing on the project until after the City approved the project? All meetings with ODOT and the City have been in private or in unpublicized “public” meetings. There is a responsibility of City Council and the Administration to represent the citizens and part of that responsibility is to keep them informed. No announcements, other than Ms. Cox’s, were made to those affected.

Is this a replay of the Public Works Committee meeting concerning the runway expansion at the City airport? As you may recall the word got out about a Public Works Committee meeting, chaired by Mr. Lautenschleger, to discuss extending the runway, which would involve taking of private property, homes included, by eminent domain. So many irate people showed up at that committee meeting that it was rescheduled and held in the pavilion at Tuscora Park. Good thing, too. The pavilion was almost filled with people who were against the issue. Currently, that project is still on hold with no decision made and no date set for another committee meeting.

What’s going on here? What is being left unsaid on issues which affect the public’s interests? Why the secrecy? The Administration and some council members maintain they have done everything thing to let the public know what is going on. The only problem is that the public doesn’t know it. Why didn’t Mr. Maurer, Chairman of the Safety, Health and Service Committee, who sponsored the legislation, take steps to inform the people whose homes and property are in jeopardy? Why did it have to fall to Ms. Cox?

As a follow up to the article published Friday, July 16, 2010, “New Philadelphia Water/Sewer Billing Over Charge Explained?”, Mr. Conner asked if any action had been taken to correct the billing system to prevent billing periods from extending beyond the monthly billing periods mandated by the City Ordinances. Mr. Zucal, the Service Director, replied, “I think our billing system works fine currently. I did not make the comment that I would get back to Mr. Conner, that was not the conversation. I told him thoroughly what we do, that’s how we do business in the city. I think our system works well. Our meter readers can’t be out every single day. We do work diligently to provide a good service and we have very few people who complain.”

I agree with Mr. Zucal that the meter readers can’t be out every single day. His statement last Monday, however, evaded the question, has the computer program which bills New Philadelphia water and sewer users been corrected to prevent improper billing? The statement he made during the council meeting apparently was “No.” It was apparent that no corrections to the billing system are planned to be made. The statement that very few people complain about the water department indicates that the Service Director is out of touch with the New Philadelphia citizen. There is dissatisfaction, Mr. Zucal, whether the Administration chooses to admit it or not.

Times-Reporter Editorial Logic Fails - Again

The Times-Reporter editorial for July 22, 2010 is another no-brainer, except in this case the definition is no brains. If Mr. Jekel writes his own editorials, or if he doesn’t, what gets published is his responsibility. He needs to go back and review Economics 101 and fourth grade arithmetic. The editorial, “Benefits extension delayed too long,” is an example of what is destroying the United States as we know it. It reads well, no question about that, but it does not face the realities of the economic disaster the country is now locked into.

The cost of extending the benefits for unemployed workers, almost thirty-four billion dollars this year, is referred to as “hardly a budget buster.” True, especially when the budget was blown to smithereens months ago. Jeff Foxworthy’s fifth-graders would be able to figure out that if you have a huge debt, 13.2 trillion dollars currently, you don’t throw another 34 billion into the debt pit.

Real life works like this. You’re making $50,000 a year. Your expenses are $49,000. You want a new car. You borrow twenty grand, pay nothing down, and end up with payments of $350 a month for the next five years. You are still making $50,000 but your expenses have risen to $53,200. You’re in debt by $3,200 for the year. If you can’t come up with the extra $3,200 you can’t pay the bills. The car will be repossessed, which takes care of the car payment, but there is now another problem. You lost the $3,200, reducing next year’s operating funds to $46,800 which is $1,200 less than your expenses. No sweat. You can put your expenses on the credit card. The credit card interest charges increase the cost of your purchases further decreasing your operating funds. Eventually you end up bankrupt.

That gets you off the hook, but sticks it to the folks who loaned you the money in the first place. That you became financially unable to pay the loan off is your responsibility, not theirs, and it is morally wrong to force them to pay for your bad decisions. You’re broke, the car dealer, having lost money because of your inability to pay, has less money to spend on inventory so he orders less, the manufacturer has the same problem so he orders less materials, and so it goes because you spent more money than you could afford.

Government spending has the same problem, although the Obama doesn’t seem to know, understand, or care. The federal debt is oppressive. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the total amount of good, products, and services the country produces, currently stands at 14.5 trillion dollars, which is only a trillion dollars more than the national debt. The tax income from all sources to date this year, is 2.2 trillion dollars, only 17% of the national debt. If all spending were to stop right now, it would take six-and-a-half years to pay off the debt, and we all know that’s not going to happen.

Unemployment has increased steadily in the past two years. The editorial states that for every job available there are five unemployed workers. It goes on to state that “the claim that these benefits discourage the jobless from looking for work, that’s pure bunk.” Could be. But then how many unemployed workers would there be, how many jobs being done by illegal aliens would be filled by Americans if welfare and the public dole were stopped and a policy of no work no food were implemented? Public welfare serves no one but the political hacks who want to exploit those who live in poverty. Unemployment welfare is a means of governmental control, not help.

To pay the debt down takes a couple of things. The US federal income has to increase. Federal spending has to decrease. The government’s answer is to increase taxes. Like it or not, it has already happened. The tax burden is going to be oppressive. The statements by Obama that the working folks won’t be hit with higher taxes is untrue (used untrue because a lie is not politically correct). You tax who has the money, and working folks, the so-called middle class, have the money. Tax increases on working people will reach 30 to 35% according to economists, with even higher increases for businesses and the nasty rich people who provide the jobs to the rest of us. Oppressive tax legislation has already been passed by the congress and signed by Obama.

Adding another $34 billion dollars to the disastrous debt Obama created since taking office may not seem like much to Mr. Jekel, but like buying a car when you can’t afford it, it only adds to our financial trouble. What we need is more private investment to increase business opportunity, jobs, the GDP, which will put the country back on a sound financial footing.

Increasing taxes on the people and businesses which provide jobs by will only decrease investment in US industry. Jobs will be lost rather than gained. Politicians didn’t learn this in the 1930’s and they still haven’t figured it out.

Mr. Jeckel is entitled to his opinion. He also has a responsibility to do the research to back it up. Unless, of course, his editorial is politically biased. Huh. Could that be it?

New Philadelphia Water/Sewer Billing Over Charge Explained?

An article in the Times-Reporter on July 14, 2010, concerning the City Council meeting the previous Monday, reported the following:

“During the public comments period, former city councilman Robert Conner of North Ave. NW asked why his water bill was for 38 days instead of 31 as required by city ordinance. He said no one in his neighborhood was charged for that many days. He called it “unfair, illegal and uncaring on the part of the city” and demanded answers. He was told he would have an answer Tuesday.
”Water Superintendent Kelly Ricklic contacted The Times-Reporter after the meeting to say that Conner had his meter changed at his request because it was noisy.”

Good reporting, but what is the rest of the story?

New Philadelphia City Resolution 09-2009, which sets the water rates for the city is specific in how water and sewer rates are to be calculated. Section 1 states: “The minimum water rate effective June 1, 2009 shall be Twelve Dollars and 90/100 ($12.90) per month. Beyond the minimum, any water usage will be billed with a seven percent increase.” Section 2 states: “The sanitary sewer rate effective June 1, 2009 shall be Twelve Dollars and 90/100 ($12.90) per month. Beyond the minimum, any sanitary sewer usage will be billed with a seven percent increase.”

The problem concerning the over-billing of seven days was discussed in a meeting with the Mr. Zucal, New Philadelphia’s Service Director. He explained that the replacement of a defective water meter created the billing problem. While the water meter was read on June 7th, then, because of the water meter replacement on June 14, it was re-read on the 14th, which accounted for the extra seven days. This was done because the billing program the city uses, according to the Service Director, does not allow combining two meter readings, one from the old meter and one from the new meter, to be combined in the next month’s bill. The Service Director said that the billing software program provided by Software Solutions Incorporated (SSI), of Lebanon, Ohio, did not have the ability to combine readings from two separate meters for the same billing period, therefore, the old meter must be read at the time it is removed to get the total water usage. The reason, I was told, was because SSI is a business oriented billing company and not utility oriented, hence the increased billing days.

I called SSI and was told by their representative that this was not the case. The SSI software, being used by New Philadelphia, provides a complete billing system for utilities and is capable of combining readings when meters are changed within the normal monthly billing period. The SSI representative stated that instructions for meter changes in a normal billing cycle are included in the operating manual for the software. In short, SSI stated that there was no reason, when using their software, that meter changes should interfere with the normal billing cycle.

The question then arises, why has this situation been allowed to exist over the length of time it has? The Water Office personnel are aware that improper billing periods create problems, and sometimes hardship, for water consumers, as they are the ones who get the consumer complaints. But the responsibility for correction of this problem does not lie with the office personnel, rather with management. The excuse that the extended billing period is caused by meter changes no longer holds water, no pun intended. The problem is that management is ignorant of the capabilities of the SSI software they are using for water and sewer billing. The Service Director and Water Department Supervisor have ignored recurring complaints from consumers about the billing problem and have not tried to investigate solutions to that chronic problem.

There is no reason that regular billing cycles should not be maintained. The Service Director and Water Superintendent should correct this problem without hesitation by using resources already available within the billing system.

Another area of concern, which remains unanswered, is the sewer rate being charged for the use of the city sewer system. Resolution 9-2009 is specific. The sewer rate effective June 1, 2009 is $12.90. The ordinance is specific. Twelve dollars and ninety cents, no more, no less. Why are we paying more?



Addenda:

A month by definition is from the first day of a month to the last day of the month. Seven months have 31 days, four months have 30 days, one month has 28 but every four years adds an extra day to make 29, referred to as a calendar month, the terminology used in business, finance, and the legal profession. From the first of February to the first of March is a 28 day month, from the first of March to the first of April is a 31 day month, from the first of April to the first of May is a 30 day month. With this in mind, from the seventh of one month to the seventh of the next, regardless of the length of that month is a month. There is no way a month on a New Philadelphia water bill can be less than 28 days nor more than 31. (There is also a lunar month, of which there are 13, with a day over, in a year, but almost nobody in business uses it.)

Two-Percent Pay Increases for New Philadelphia Administrators

Last night’s, July 13, New Philadelphia City Council meeting was interesting to say the least. While most of the business Council conducted was of a routine nature, the matter of pay raises for non-bargaining officials, Resolution 26-2010, was reopened during it’s second reading. It was at this point that the members of City Council displayed their true positions on the fiscal well-being of the city.

The original proposal for those pay raises was brought to the floor by the Chairman of the Salary Committee, Mr. Locker who had been assigned the task of looking into pay raises for non-bargaining city officials. The salary committee brought legislation to the floor of City Council requesting a one-percent increase for elected and appointed city officials. This legislation was changed by an amendment brought to the floor by Mr. Lautenschleger which contained changes, the increase of the raise from one- to two-percent, and the exclusion of Council members from that raise. The amendment was approved by Council by a four to three vote for acceptance, Cox, Espenschied, and Walker voting against.

Last night Councilwoman Cox, chairman of the Finance Committee, proposed an amendment to the pay raise legislation which proposed two amendments, return the raise to one-percent and exclude all elected officials. Cox, in a prepared statement, said that the financial state of the City was becoming progressively worse and the City might not be meet its budget because of the decreases in City income. She further said that elected officials knew what their salaries would be when they ran for office and should be satisfied with those salaries.

A vote on the amendment was taken and by a four to two vote the amendment was defeated. That left the proposed two-percent increase intact as well as giving salary increases to the Clerk of Council and to Joel Day, the President of Council. For the record, voting against the Cox amendment were Espenschied, Lautenschleger, Locker, and Zucal. Voting in favor of the Cox amendment were Cox and Walker. Absent was Mr. Maurer. The third reading on Resolution 26-2010 will be taken on July 26 at which time a vote will probably be taken to pass the pay increases. It’s my bet at this point that the resolution will pass at that time.

There are some interesting sidelights to this scenario, For example, Mr. Jim Zucal, the Service Director, is related to Mr. Lautenschleger by marriage, by blood to Mr. John Zucal, the Councilman. Mr. Locker, Chairman of the Salary Committee, who presented the original wage proposal of one-percent on the recommendation of his committee, whose members are Winnie Walker and John Zucal, voted twice to increase the salaries of those involved to two-percent and to exclude members of Council from the increases. Council President Day, apparently dissatisfied with the Salary Committee’s handling of the wage issue, created an ad hoc committee to look into legislation to set guidelines for non-bargaining city personnel, and in an unprecedented move, appointed himself as chairman of that ad hoc committee. Chairman Day, incidentally, is related by marriage to Mr. Ricklic, the city Water Superintendent. Mrs. Espenschied said after the council meeting that she voted against the Cox Amendment this time as she didn’t like changing things in midstream. It’s all very confusing.

The bottom line is this. Employment in private business is down, unemployment in Ohio at 10.7%, which doesn’t count marginally attached and discouraged workers. These are folks who wanted work and couldn’t find it and are no longer listed on the unemployment rolls. The Bureau of Labor Statistics made the following report:

In June, about 2.6 mil­lion per­sons were mar­gin­ally attached to the labor force, an increase of 415,000 from a year ear­lier. (The data are not sea­son­ally adjusted.) These indi­vid­u­als were not in the labor force, wanted and were avail­able for work, and had looked for a job some­time in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unem­ployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks pre­ced­ing the survey.
Among the mar­gin­ally attached, there were 1.2 mil­lion dis­cour­aged work­ers in June, up by 414,000 from a year ear­lier. (The data are not sea­son­ally adjusted.) Dis­cour­aged work­ers are per­sons not cur­rently look­ing for work because they believe no jobs are avail­able for them. The remain­ing 1.4 mil­lion per­sons mar­gin­ally attached to the labor force had not searched for work in the 4 weeks pre­ced­ing the sur­vey for rea­sons such as school atten­dance or fam­ily responsibilities.

Things are not well on the employment front. With rising unemployment, decreasing tax revenues, City Council should heed Mrs. Cox’s concerns about the financial state of New Philadelphia. This is not the time for any increases in budgets.

The Administration and City Council, if they do not face up to their responsibilities, can provide the New Philadelphians with only two things in the future, higher taxes or reduced services, or both.

Citizens, wake up. Press your councilmen and mayor to stop pushing the city into insolvency. Get involved.

Times-Reporter Gets It Wrong - Again

The Times-Reporter does it again. July 5's editorial should be included in every journalism class which is taught in every high school, college and university in the United States. The ignorance, I'm being nice, of the Editor in publishing the editorial "A demonstration of fiscal restraint," sets a new low in journalism for the Times-Reporter. It is obvious that Mr. Jekel doesn't even read his own paper.

On June 28, in reporting on the New Philadelphia City Council meeting, Joe Mizer stated that the City Council amended a proposed piece of legislation made by the Salary Committee concerning pay raises for elected and other non-union people working for the City. The original legislation, as it came out of the committee, called for a one-percent raise for such people. On the floor of Council, the one-percent figure was, by a vote of four to three, changed to two-percent. At the same time, any pay raise for City Council members was eliminated.

The editorial is an obvious lie in-so-far as its comments concerning New Philadelphia. Why would Mr. Jekel allow such a blatant misrepresentation of the facts be printed in the Times-Reporter? There is the excuse that editorials are not always written by the editor, that they are the result of an editorial staff. It is easy to pass the buck to somebody else, but passing the responsibility for such misleading statements to an underling won't wash. The editor is the editor, and what ever appears in any newspaper is undeniably the responsibility of the editor. Could it be that Mr. Jekel doesn't read his own paper? Joe Mizer got it right, why couldn't the editor? Is checking background information no longer a part of the editorial process.

Could it be that the T-R editor is enamoured with the New Philadelphia Administration to the point that truth and investigation of the facts is no longer a journalistic priority? Why haven't the following questions been asked of the Mayor and other Administration officials?

Is the President of City Council included in the proposed two-percent pay raise? After all, he is not a member of City Council. He is elected to an office which is more closely related to the Administration than City Council.
Who else is included in "non-bargaining" personnel? Are the school crossing guards, life guards, part-time workers, summer help, and others who work part-time for the city?
Why should non-elected, non-union employees get automatic pay raises when they are not evaluated on their job performance? There are no current job descriptions, if any at all, by which employees are judged. Tardiness is not reported nor punished when it occurs. Mid-morning breakfasts at local restaurants, a not infrequent situation, occurs without comment. Late and incorrect city reports from city officials go unquestioned.
Why should Administration officials get a two-percent pay raise when they talked the Clerical Union into taking one-percent in their contract?

In this editorial Jekel states "Kudos to New Philadelphia.....for doing the right thing" because, on a four to three vote, City Council saved the city a maximum of a thousand dollars a year by denying City Council members a pay raise. If City Council gets kudos for that, where was the editorial outrage when union employees received over half-million dollars in pay raises for 2010?

It is obvious that the Times-Reporter no longer understands what is going on in the City. It is obvious that the Times-Reporter is no longer a newspaper which has the motivation to report the news in a trustworthy manner. It is obvious that the editor of the Times-Reporter either doesn't have a clue about the newspaper business, or just plain doesn't have a clue.

Responsibility, as it always does, rests on the shoulders of the editor. Mr. Jekel needs to take a long, critical look at the Times-Reporter and his responsibility to its well-being and reputation. The misinformation, the bias, and the incompetence displayed in this editorial are inexcusable.

Budget Breaking Pay Increases Recommended by Council

What was City Council thinking last night, Monday, June 28? A two-percent raise for all non-bargaining personnel? Well, not quite. City Council members were not included. The two-percent increase was an increase from the one-percent increase recommended by the Salary Committee. Councilman Lautenschleger did not feel one-percent was enough for the elected and politically appointed New Philadelphia city officials. Lautenschleger is quoted by the Times Reporter as saying, “I personally believe that’s appropriate at this point.”

Appropriate must have different meanings depending on whether you have a salary protected job, as in government employee, or are unemployed, as in 11% unemployed in Tuscarawas County. The 11% figure does not include those no longer supported by the public dole, folks who the government has just written off. The probability of increased income taxes on the citizen of New Philadelphia to pay for salaries of elected officials and others is rising daily, but is of no concern to city employees. After all, their jobs are secure, their wages paid by those who are lucky enough to have jobs.

So what about city officials salaries? With a two percent increase they are doing pretty well. Take a look at the following figures of yearly earnings, bearing in mind that these are salary figures only and do not include benefits the city pays such as pension contributions, workers compensation, Medicare, health insurance, life insurance, and others which average another 48-percent. An easy rule of thumb to figure it out is add half-again as much to the salary.

Police Chief: $60,432
Fire Chief: $60,432
Service Director: $56,731
Water Superintendent: $54,653
Auditor: $52,977
Law Director: $50,325
Mayor: $48,903

It isn’t like everybody is underpaid. The Police and Fire Department clerk receives in excess of $15,759/year without benefits added.

The cost of wages, without benefits, of the 2% increases amounts to $25,566 for the year should they be passed by Council. But there is more to it than that. The Clerical Union contract, which was approved by Council after being agreed to by Mayor Taylor, allowed only a 1-percent wage increase to the clerks of the city. They originally requested 1.5-percent but the clerks settled for one-percent. I found that interesting at the time as the some members of the Police Department received more than a seven-percent increase and the Fire Department got seven-percent over three years. Go figure.

What’s this going to cost the City in the long run this year alone? In excess of half-a-million dollars when you figure the benefits in, not the $26,000 the auditor reported when asked by council. The difference? Well, it’s evidently hard to know what the real cost of insurance, workers compensation, and similar items paid by the city as these costs are handled by an outside contract and the city pays a monthly bill without really knowing what costs are to individual employees. The problem is that the City just doesn’t have the money to pay these high wages.

There was an interesting editorial in the T-R a short while ago admonishing the Council in these troubled times for even considering pay raises, interesting because last year, the T-R editorial spoke of the necessity of increasing the pay for police and fire departments. Then, okay. Now, no-no. It’s very confusing.

The mystery in this whole thing is that nobody involved seems to know, understand, or care that the United States, and Ohio, and Tuscarawas County, and New Philadelphia, are in serious financial trouble. The economy is not getting better. It is on the verge of collapse. At what point will the Mayor realize that spending money without money coming in will cause deficits, insolvency, and the inability of the city to pay its bills. It’s called cash-flow, Mr. Mayor. You must limit spending to what you can pay for, and we are close to not having the money to pay the bills. Mr. Mayor, you have an opportunity to become a legend in your own time. If this legislation passes City Council, stand up to the responsibility of your office and veto it. Show council and the citizens that you really do have the welfare of New Philadelphia as your prime concern.

Addenda:

Wages for 2010 with 2% Wage Rates, Benefits Not Included:

Police Chief: $60,423
Fire Chief: $60,423
Service Director: $56,731
General Services Supervisor: $55,883
Water Superintendent: $54,653
Park Superintendent: $54,376
Sewer Superintendent: $53,592
Auditor: $52,977
Health Director: $52,871
Assistant Sewer Supervisor: $52,276
Cemetery Supervisor: $51,003
Law Director: $50,325
Prosecutor: $49,836
Environmentalist: $49,094
Mayor: $48,903
Nursing Director: $48,691
Income Tax Administrator: $47,693
Assistant Park Superintendent: $45,339
Assistant Service Director: $42,029
Assistant Prosecutor: $34,731
Assistant Prosecutor: $34,731
Mayor Executive Assistant: $33,118
IT Guy: $32,164
Health Office Secretary: $31,421
Maintenance Director: $31,209
Part Time Nurse: $26,057
Assistance Maintenance Director: $26,053
Assistant Environmentalist: $15,912
Police/Fire Clerk: $15,759
Receptionist: $14,280
Treasurer: $11,924
Safety Director: $9,378

Total Cost for 2010 Wages Without Benefits: $1,303,853.

Add 48% to above wages to include benefits.

Safety Committee to Meet on Possible Property Seizure

A little bit on the late side, but the Safety Committee will be meet on Monday, June 21, 2010, at 6 PM, in Council Chambers of City Hall, to discuss the widening of West High Avenue. Residents of West High between the railroad tracks and Five Points should be especially aware of this as the decision made by the Safety Committee will play a big part in the eminent domain seizure of private property on that stretch of road. It is our understanding that none of the residents who own property on West High, which is under consideration for the street widening, have been informed of this meeting, a situation which we hope is not true. If it is the case, we take umbrage with the committee, as these residents have the right to be informed of the city's plans for property seizure before any formal action is taken.

Residents should take advantage of the opportunity to attend this important committee meeting, ask questions, and make committee members aware of their feelings. Failure to do so could see the seizure of property without the owners consent. Interestingly enough, invitations to attend the meeting were sent to a local realtor and ODOT representatives.

For further information contact your City Councilman or the Mayor.

Residents, get involved. It's your property the city will take should this project be approved.

Pelosi Ethics Come to New Philadelphia

Last Monday, June 14, New Philadelphia City Council took another step to distance itself from the citizens of the city. There was a day when administrative and legislative members of the city displayed a responsibility to the folks who live here. Today, the agenda of most elected officials in New Philadelphia seems to be to protect themselves, even if it means breaking faith with the citizen. An oath is taken by every elected official in the city in which they promise to uphold the law. Words are words, but actions define character. A case in point is Resolution No. 32-2010.

32-2010 finally, we hope, brings the melodrama of OH Holly Corporation, operators of the Perfect Landing Restaurant at the New Philadelphia Airport, and the City of New Philadelphia, owners of the building which houses the restaurant, to a final close. The melodrama concerned itself with disputes over the lease agreement, a typical he-said-she-said type situation. It dragged on for quite a while, opposing lawyers complaining that they couldn't get together with each other, that sort of thing. About a week ago, agreement was reached, at least by the lawyers. The OH Holly Corporation agreed. All that was needed to close the deal was agreement by City Council to make the whole issue disappear. It was at this point that the city government system unraveled.

During Monday's council meeting, the Law Director requested an executive session to discuss changes to the OH Holly lease. The executive session was requested, the Law Director stated, to deal with an ongoing lawsuit. The executive session was approved by Council. What occurred during that session is unknown, and by law should remain that way. There are, however, concerns as to why it was called in the first place. Evidently, the ongoing lawsuit was no longer ongoing. The judgment had already been agreed to by both parties and approved by the presiding judge. All that was needed was approval by council. By going to an executive session any explanation or discussion of the agreement the City was to be bound to, was lost to public knowledge.

Here is where it begins to get sticky. When the executive session closed, and the normal council meeting resumed, a motion was made to add Resolution No. 32-2010 to the evening's agenda. It was added by a vote of the council. One thing was missing. According to the rules of procedure for bringing legislation to the floor of city council, it must first be approved by a council committee in a scheduled committee meeting. This was not done, and apparently, not by oversight, but by a conscious disregard of standing council rules. The originator of this disregard of standing rules is not known as the action was taken in the executive session. This action proposes another breach of procedure. Decisions are not to be made in any executive session. These sessions are for information purposes only. It is obvious that a decision was made during the session Monday evening to break the rules and bring 32-2010 to the floor for a vote without it being heard in committee first.

The argument that there was not sufficient time to have 32-2010 heard in committee before the Council meeting doesn't hold water. The Finance Committee met that evening prior to the council meeting on another matter, and 32-2010 could have been discussed at that time under the statement on the committee meeting notice "and other matters which may be brought to the attention of the committee." The resolution itself, then was faulted, as it states it was sponsored by the Finance Committee, which it was not, as the Finance Committee never discussed it.

Another concern about the request to ignore the procedural rules by council revolves around the time involved in bringing 32-2010 to the attention of City Council. The court case was completed on May 7, 2010, according to the court records. That provided ample time for the matter to be brought before Council and considered without the necessity of blatantly ignoring Council procedures. While no time limit was set for the signed agreements to be returned to the court, a five week delay in returning the necessary documents to the court may be considered excessive. The cause of the delay remains an unanswered question. Was an unacceptable delay a factor in the extraordinary method used in getting 32-2010 legislation passed?

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Law Director was asked why the resolution did not go through committee. The Law director stated that it didn't have to go through committee as "this was a settlement that just came out of trial." He further stated that Council can bring items to the floor without going through a committee. "I'm telling you," he said, "that Council can void that rule with anything by putting it up, by voting to put it on the agenda. When they put it on the agenda, they bypass that rule. They have a right to do that. It's a procedural rule for order of Council." He went on to say that City Council is not bound to its own rules. What council wants to do, it may, with no restrictions.

The implications of last Mondays action by City Council are far reaching. A dangerous precedent has been set. With no constraints on procedure, there are no safeguards to the public. No longer are citizen comments assured. No longer is any operational rule or procedure of City Council viable.

My objection is not to the legislation of 32-2010. It is to the blatant disregard of standing rules and procedures.

With the decision to ignore City Ordinance 121.01 in this case, the precedent has been set which paves the way for city council pass legislation without the knowledge of New Philadelphia citizens. It also admits the New Philadelphia City Council into the Pelosi Get Legislation Passed No Matter How Society.

If the Law Director and City Council don't respect their own rules, what sort of respect do they have for you? Wake up folks. It is your future they are dealing with. Get involved.

Apathy Stalls New Philadelphia Legislation

Every once in a while there are things which need to be mentioned, none of which are big enough to make a full article, but never seem to get said. They kinda' pile up and eventually get thrown into a potpourri of thoughts. Today's the day to dig into that pile.

There are a lot of things sitting in City Council which should be acted upon. This is not unusual, but City Council needs to get on with the City's business, get them out of committee, and do something, anything but ignore them.

Last year a request for action was passed to the Safety Committee from the President of Council concerning noise in the city. This has become a problem over the years and came to a head a couple of years ago when a resident complained of the loud music from Bud and Tooties, a bar on West High Avenue. The matter was resolved by an agreement between Bud and Tooties, the Police Chief, and the resident who had complained. Unfortunately, the matter didn't stay resolved and the noise continues. The problem doesn't end there but spreads like a blight across the city through loud mufflers on cars, trucks and motorcycles. Even worse are the boom boxes in automobiles which vibrate house windows as they drive by. The police department states that there is no ordinance to cover noise, although the City's Codified Ordinances seem to disagree. It's been in committee for about a year, with only one committee meeting to my knowledge. But, we still have the noise. The EPA can define illegal noise levels. Why can't the City?

There is a proposal in Committee to widen West High Avenue. There have been meetings with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) concerning this street "improvement," but the folks who live in the effected area generally have no knowledge of the plans being considered, which include taking of their property by eminent domain by the City. To this date, neither the City, nor ODOT, has had any communication with residents. Does that make any sense? Cost of the project is estimated at $600,000 for the City's share alone. Yeah, that word was estimated. Who knows what the cost will be when the project gets under way in a couple of years.

Three and a half years ago a change was made to the City Codified Ordinances concerning how legislation was brought before City Council. In the updated, a really loose term in this case, City Ordinances, this change still is not included. From time to time the New Philadelphia Law Director makes noises like he is going to bring the ordinances up to date. Doesn't work. I guess it is a case of priorities because the Codified Ordinance book, and the reproduction of them on the City's website, are still out of date. Many of the resolutions and ordinances under which the City operates are not included in the published Codified Ordinances, or have been changed over the years so the published information is incorrect and/or misleading. This is an Administrative problem, not a Council problem, one which should have never been allowed to exist. It is dereliction of duty on the part of the Mayor and the Law Director that the New Philadelphia Codified Ordinances, which are used by the citizens and public officials of New Philadelphia, are not correct. I guess if you can't see 'em, you don't have to follow 'em. Makes life easier, I guess.

The Mayor has requested a Downtown Urban Planner be added to his staff. It appears that he recognizes the need to do something with the deteriorating downtown area. Evidently the survey he requested on conditions in Downtown New Philadelphia confirmed what was already well know to the residents here, but remained a mystery to the Administration. The request for an Urban Planner raises a couple of interesting questions. Didn't the Mayor appoint a Select Committee made up of influential citizens to make recommendations to get downtown up and running again? Isn't this the Mayor's job, to plan for the City's future? But the biggest question was raised by the Council President when he placed the responsibility for considering the creation of the position for Urban Planning. He assigned the task to the Zoning Committee rather than to the committee responsible for Economic Development. Are we missing something here? It appears that of late President of Council makes committee assignments for reasons which have no relationship to committee expertise on any given subject. What's going to be next, the President of Council taking on personally chairing the committees? Whew. The way things are going is it possible that the Council President wants to become Mayor?

One last thing. The White House was ecstatic about the increase in jobs last month. It made great headlines and soundbites in the media. The numbers look great with 431,000 created in May. Of course, 411,000 of those jobs, 95.4%, were census takers. The jobs are temporary, will cost the taxpayer in the long run, produce no increased production, nor monetary gain to the economy. But then congratulations to those 20,100 folks who found permanent jobs in May.

D-Day Lessons Lost On Obama

Sixty-six years ago today, June 6, 1944, 100,000 soldiers landed on the shores of France to begin the liberation of Europe, the majority of them American. American forces suffered the largest number of casualties. Of the 4,400 Allied troops who died that day, 2,500 were Americans. Of the 10,000 casualties that day, 6,600 of them were American.

The commitment and sacrifice of the United States on that June day is all but forgotten. But without it, there would be no freedom in Europe, and quite possibly none in the United States. It is only through the efforts of those brave young men, and many not so young, who who fought in what General, later President, Eisenhower called the Crusade in Europe, was it possible to free Europe from a barbaric, totalitarian regime, a Germany led by the madman Adolf Hitler.

In the Pacific, Americans fought and died to destroy an equally barbarous enemy, Japan, whose cruelty, murder and sadism, had taken by force most of the Pacific basin. American youth died on small islands with names like Iwo Jima, Tarawa, Luzon, and in unmapped jungles of Guadalcanal and Burma. They died in prison camps through torture, starvation, and outright murder.

Had the United States not become involved in the Second World War, we would be living in a totally different world than we have today. If the United States had not become involved in the reconstruction of Europe and the Pacific, there would have been little if any economic recovery in either. The United States destroyed its enemies. It devastated their property. But unlike any country in history from the beginning of time, as a victor, it rebuilt their economies, their cities, prevented worldwide starvation, and asked nothing in return.

But today, things have changed. In the past eighteen months, President Obama has disgraced the United States in ways unimaginable two years ago. He has apologized for what he perceives the United States has done in the past. He has become subservient to Muslim countries and leaders whose priorities are the elimination of Christianity and Judaism. He has forsaken the integrity of our country, blaming the United States for the corruption of South American governments. He condones Mexican border jumpers and wet-backs who come into the United States with drugs. He lets murderers from Mexico who kill United States citizens, sell drugs, steal from our social services, go unpunished. Obama punishes American soldiers, sailors, and airmen, for protecting us and making it possible for most of us to sleep secure in our homes at night. He increases, on a daily basis, our dependence on foreign oil, mostly from Muslim countries. He has taken control of private banks, two of the world's largest automotive companies, nominated Supreme Court justices, one who openly declares her dissatisfaction with the Constitution of the United States and another who has no judicial experience. He has increased income taxes on both individuals and businesses, and usurped medical care in the United States.

Obama has aligned himself with politicians whose priorities are not the welfare of the United States citizen, but control of the United States for their own purposes. Pelosi, Reid, Biden, and Obama have created a legislature and administration which is destroying the liberty we once enjoyed. What we are seeing today is a replay of Germany in the 1930s. Obama told Americans during his campaign what his intentions were and nobody listened. Adolph Hitler told the Germans, and the world, what his intentions were and it took a world war to depose him. Nobody listened to Hitler and nobody learned.

The United States was the hope of the world. In less than two years, Obama turned the Uniterd States from a world leader, economically, militarily, morally, into a blossoming communistic state, with the now predictable end of totalitarianism in the foreseeable future. The success of the Obama takeover and the communist bias of the congress, is founded in the lack of concern of the American public. The five hundred plus federal officials who make the laws, and administer them, were elected by American people who believed the lies, forgot the lessons of past history, want something for nothing from the federal government, and gave up their chance for freedom and liberty not only for themselves, but for their children and all future Americans.

Wake up citizens. You are being sold into slavery. Wake up while you still have the chance to do something about this theft of your country. Become informed. Become vocal. If the Obama crowd is allowed to continue you will lose your life, liberty, and right to happiness. And even worse, those thousands who died at Normandy and on those Pacific islands will have died for nothing.

Hillary Clinton And The UN Arms Trade Treaty Rumor

Friday, May 28, 2010

We continue to receive numerous inquiries regarding UN international treaties, and their impact on our Second Amendment rights. The latest rumor making its way around the Internet claims that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton actually signed a UN small arms treaty.

Contrary to this widely circulated e-mail, Hillary Clinton has not signed any small arms treaty. She could not have done so, in fact, because no such treaty has yet been negotiated.

As we noted in an update from last November, the UN Arms Trade Treaty will be drafted between now and 2012, and even if signed, would not take effect in the U.S. until it was ratified by the Senate.

Please rest assured that, as we said in November, NRA will be actively involved in this process and will oppose any treaty that would attempt to impose limits on our Second Amendment rights. In the meantime, we urge gun owners to follow this issue in NRA's magazines and NRA-ILA's Grassroots Alerts. We also urge gun owners not to circulate misinformation on this issue.

Copyright 2010, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. Reprinted by permission.

A Fable: Heidi and the Derivatives Markets

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Detroit. She realizes that virtually all of her customers are unemployed alcoholics and, as such, can no longer afford to patronize her bar. To solve this problem, she comes up with a new marketing plan that allows her customers to drink now, but pay later

Heidi keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans). Word gets around about Heidi's "drink now, pay later" marketing strategy and, as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar. Soon she has the largest sales volume for any bar in Detroit

By providing her customers freedom from immediate payment demands, Heidi gets no resistance when, at regular intervals, she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer, the most consumed beverages. Consequently, Heidi's gross sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank recognizes that these customer debts constitute valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for any undue concern, since he has the debts of the unemployed alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders figure a way to make huge commissions, and transform these customer loans into Drinkbonds, Alkibonds and Pukebonds. These securities are then bundled and traded on international security markets.

Naive investors don't really understand that the securities being sold to them as AAA secured bonds are really the debts of unemployed alcoholics. Nevertheless, the bond prices continuously climb, and the securities soon become the hottest-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses.

One day, even though the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the original local bank decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar. He so informs Heidi.

Heidi then demands payment from her alcoholic patrons, but being unemployed alcoholics they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Since Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations she is forced into bankruptcy. The bar closes and the eleven employees lose their jobs.

Overnight, Drinkbonds, Alkibonds and Pukebonds drop in price by 90%. The collapsed bond asset value destroys the banks liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans, thus freezing credit and economic activity in the community.

The suppliers of Heidi's bar had granted her generous payment extensions and had invested their firms' pension funds in the various BOND securities. They find they are now faced with having to write off her bad debt and with losing over 90% of the presumed value of the bonds.

Her wine supplier also claims bankruptcy, closing the doors on a family business that had endured for three generations, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 150 workers.

Fortunately though, the bank, the brokerage houses and their respective executives are saved and bailed out by a multi-billion dollar no-strings attached cash infusion from their cronies in Government. The funds required for this bailout are obtained by new taxes levied on employed, middle-class, non-drinkers who have never been in Heidi's bar.

Now do you understand?

New Philadelphia Airport Master Plan Meeting Raises Questions

Last Wednesday, May 19, 2010, the Public Works Committee of the New Philadelphia City Council held a meeting concerning the relocation of the runway at Clever Field, the city’s airport. Estimates of the number of citizens attending ranged from 120 to 200 depending on who was doing the counting. This is one issue which has citizen attention.

There were a number of misconceptions presented at the meeting, concerning not only the airport, but the Master Plan as well. The Master Plan contains eight alternatives to lengthen the runway, the one most favored, Alternative Four, or Option Four as it was referred to at the meeting.

Remember this about acceptance of the Master Plan. The comment that was made on a number of occasions last Wednesday by the speakers representing the Airport and Administration, that acceptance of the Plan is really accepting only Alternative Four, the other alternatives will not be considered, is a total fabrication.

If City Council accepts the Master Plan, it accepts everything in the master plan without exception. When a piece of legislation is passed by Council and approved by the Mayor, every part, item, comma and period, becomes law. Acceptance of the Master Plan would require the taking of private property under the process of eminent domain. This is a process by which private property is taken by the government, in this case New Philadelphia, no matter what the wishes of the property owner are. The amount of property to be seized will be determined by the City based on what is needed for the project. If the property owner does not wish to relinquish his land, he has no choice. When taken by eminent domain, there is no way to fight it, it is a done deal, like it or not. The only recourse the property owner has is to argue the price being offered in a court of law, but no matter what that outcome is, the property owner will lose his property.

The Master Plan will have an impact on the East Avenue Cemetery. Not only will some of the cemetery land be taken, but Delaware Avenue will be closed, make no mistake about it. Schoenbrunn Village property would be taken, an action which would also seize the access road to the historic site. The closing of Delaware Avenue will cause extreme hardship to the residents in the area. In excess of 36 homes and businesses and 42 acres of land will be taken should Alternative Four be adopted.

It was said also that if the Master Plan is not accepted the FAA will downgrade the ability of the airport to handle aircraft currently using it. It was stated that the FAA will require a shortening of the runway as it does not meet the requirements of aircraft landing there. This is not true. According to a contact in the FAA, there are no plans to downgrade the rating of Harry Clever Field. While upgrading the rating of the airport to handle larger aircraft will not be possible without increasing the runway length, there is no penalty to keep it the same. While there are concerns about the airport configuration, they are not sufficient to warrant a shutdown. Other airports have similar problems, Midway Airport in Chicago, for example, where approach paths are all over residential areas, and the runway safety areas are more critical than those in New Philadelphia. The problem at Midway is similar to the concern in New Philadelphia, in that the runway safety area is insufficient. The problem at Midway was resolved without the seizure of private property.

Among things not discussed last Wednesday night was why lengthening the runway is of such high importance. Reasons given failed to make an overwhelming argument.

One was that a longer runway would bring more business to New Philadelphia. In like fashion, an industrial park should bring more business to New Philadelphia. Obviously, this is not the case. The city alone put over a million two hundred thousand dollars into the High Tech Park, and it is still lacking meaningful growth.

Another was that to get to air transportation one must travel to Akron. So what? The trip to Akron/Canton Airport is 35 minutes from New Philadelphia. The trip in Chicago to O’Hare from downtown is thirty to forty-five minutes on a good day and nobody complains. In the Cleveland area the travel time is about the same.

Kent State wants an airport here, so said the Mayor, because it wants to teach programs connected to aviation. They have one up at Kent and it would be nice to have one here, at the expense of New Philadelphia, of course. To make this work here we need a longer runway. Our runway is 3,950 feet long, 100 feet wide, apparently not big enough. The runway at the Kent Airport is 4,000 feet long, 60 feet wide. Well, I guess our is shorter, but we are wider. Somehow, Kent Airport survives. Perhaps the Mayor and Airport Commission should consult with them.

So what is the need for a longer runway? None were mentioned. But of the corporations who use Clever Field, five, I believe, only one has voiced a desire for a longer runway to the Airport Commission or City Council. That desire was not because of a current problem, rather the corporation’s desire to purchase a larger, more powerful jet.

Citizen concerns were many, and ranged from property to be taken by eminent domain, closure of roads, decrease in property values, increased noise, destruction of Schoenbrunn Village properties, and the loss of family homes, some of which have been in families for a hundred years or more.

The price of this project? Who knows. Ten to twenty million dollars is a possibility, which puts the city’s share between $500,000 and a million. That’s a lot of money for the city to commit to for a project which is utilized by less than one half of one percent of the population.

The meeting is best summed up by a question from one of the audience who asked, “What’s this going to do for the people of New Philadelphia”. There was no answer.

Political Nonsense

A lot of things have changed since I was a kid. Life was easier then, especially when it came to speaking English. Political correctness, whatever that means, has so messed up the language that it is difficult to understand what is being said. I have some problems getting straight in my mind what the rules are, what the words mean, and what the logic of what is said really says.

For example on the radio last week the gal giving the news of the day made the announcement, in a very cherry voice, that the economy was improving. This was a sure thing as the number of foreclosures last month were down two percent from the previous month. This is a good sign? What it means is that instead of a hundred homes being lost only ninety-eight were foreclosed on because the mortgages weren't being paid. Wow! That is really a good sign that the depression is on the wane?

There was an article in the paper about that time that of the 21 practical nursing students at Buckeye this year, ten of them failed to pass their examinations. The students, who couldn't pass the test, have complained to the school administration that it was unfair that they failed and something should be done about it. What do they want done? They failed. That's the school's fault? Eleven students passed. What does that tell you? Maybe the reason they failed was because they didn't study. Maybe the reason they are complaining is because our society accepts failure as the norm. I mean, after all, if they are too lazy to study or educationally challenged, in my day we used to call it stupid, to understand what is being taught, why should they get a second chance to pass the test? How would you like being treated by a person who couldn't pass a test on matters which affect your health and well-being? Kinda' like being in an airplane with a pilot who only crashes on landing thirty-percent of the time.

Then there's Berkeley, California. Seems the high school didn't have enough space in the science labs for all the students to do the experiments. In an effort to allow students access to the labs, the science teachers went in early, stayed late, so the students could get their experiments and lab work completed. Didn't cost anybody anything except time. The administration took a look and found that the majority of the students taking advantage of the extended classes were white. Oh, oh. Discrimination. Why? Because colored students didn't go to the before and after hours labs. Nothing restricted them, they just didn't go. The school board's decision to rectify the problem? Forbid the off hour lab sessions because more white students participated in the after hours program than did colored students and that was discriminatory. Unbelievable.

Worked on a couple of Indian reservations when we volunteered with the National Park Service a few years back. Bureaucracy and the political correctness bunch have a field day with Indians. Oops. Can't say Indians, have to say Native Americans. I don't know why that is. Neither do the Indians. They like the terminology Indian. They prefer being called by their tribal names, Sioux, Ojibwa, Apache, but that doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. I mean, what do they know? They're only Indians. Got into a discussion with a couple of tribal leaders in Minnesota about that. I got told that they were Indians. I guess that I could agree with that. I'm a Native American. I was born here, didn't immigrate, disn't sneak across the border, or wade the Rio Grande. That qualifies me as a Native American. Government doesn't agree. I don't understand why they don't. The Indians did.

Had an interesting experience in Arizona. Went to an Indian rodeo with a friend of mine. He rode bucking' broncos and was pretty good at it. Wanted to give it a try at this rodeo and was turned down. Wasn't discriminated against. Just wasn't an Indian. Go figure.

When I was young, people of the age I have obtained used to be called old. That isn't good anymore. Now we're seniors. When we named my son the same as me, I became a senior. I wasn't even thirty then but figured if there was a senior discount I deserved it, being a senior and all. Didn't work. I'm way over 55 now and think I should get a senior senior discount, but that won't fly.

Sure gets confusing.

Council Discusses Widening West High

One of the things discussed at last Monday’s New Philadelphia Council Meeting was the widening of West High. Under consideration is adding a third lane from the railroad tracks to Five Points. In general, not a bad idea. The argument is a turning lane will decrease traffic accidents in that area. While any decrease in accidents would be welcome, there is a greater concern with this project than fender benders. The project has to be paid for.

Information provided by the Mayor puts the City’s share of this project at around $600,000, the rest being paid from federal and state grants. Well, maybe. The actual figure, based the anticipated value of the dollar in 2013, the proposed start of the project, is $524,180. A pretty accurate figure for three years down the line. Too bad the City can’t come up with similar accuracy for future expenses when requesting money to get the water bills printed and mailed. In any event, in a couple of years, should this project be taken on, the City is going to need the money. The question is, will the money be there?

We do not live in an independent financial city. New Philadelphia’s economic stability is dependent upon the financial status of not only New Philadelphia, but of Ohio, the United States, and now, as it turns out, the economic stability of Europe.

The European Union (EU) has committed to a trillion-dollar bailout of Greece. And the New York Times reported that the final decision of the EU to do this came after some arm twisting by, your guessed it, Obama. Their plan is based on the recovery plan designed by Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and the rest of the crowd in Washington. French President Sarkozy helped in the arm twisting, saying at the time, that “we have decided to give the Euro Zone a veritable economic government.” The end result is that the EU, like the United States, has ignored it’s constitution, and has taken control of the economy of its 27 member countries, with no input from the 450 million people who live there. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

The European Central Bank, similar to the Federal Reserve Bank, has tossed fiscal responsibility to the winds. It is now purchasing bad debt from member nations with no collateral. Sounds like they haven’t read about Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. The plan sounds like a European TARP program, and why not? TARP was the model for this fiasco.

This year the US approved $100 billion dollars for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which will be used to bailout EU countries from financial distress. In addition the Federal Reserve Bank has allotted an undisclosed amount of money for loans to the EU at what has been described as “very low interest rates.”

Greece has received $145 billion dollars already. Spain and Portugal are in dire financial straits. Italy is on shaky economic ground. Should more countries in the EU require bailout money, the effect on the United States could be catastrophic. The US economy is on the edge of faltering now, and the added burden of additional financial collapse in Europe could bring our economy down as well. The end result will be an increase in taxes, increasing interest rates, and a collapse of business growth here at home.

The economic future for New Philadelphia is not clear. The country is in serious debt, the Obama government is plunging ahead with its “income redistribution”, and government in general does not admit, nor recognize, that we are in a serious depression.

The City Council and the Administration must be reminded that the money tree has all but died. To make plans for projects without out the money actually in hand is poor financial strategy. The widening of West High could be a good project, but when West High was discussed at Monday’s meeting there was much left unsaid.

What is the plan for the city, if there even is one? Where will the money come from to widen West High? Will there be sufficient funds to carry out other projects such as the widening of University Drive, the paving of Fourth Street, the cost of expanding the runway length at Clever Field, and how much money is being put aside by the City in the event of a financial collapse of Federal and state economies?

It is time that the Mayor presents to City Council, and the people of New Philadelphia, a comprehensive plan for the future which defines not only the projects he requests but how they are to be financed. It is not the job of City Council to determine financing. City Council’s job is to approve the Administration’s plans, and if they do not, it is up to the Administration to revise them to meet the concerns of Council.

Tax On Dividend Income To Hit 44 Percent

Here we go again. Obama can’t get his story straight. Remember he ran on not sticking it to the middle class, only the evil rich, when it came to taxes. Well, think about this one. We know that taxes are going up, but because of Obama’s tax plans, investment dividends very likely will decrease.

According to a Wall Street Journal editorial, the tax rate on dividends will increase by almost three hundred percent. Seems like the Senate budget Committee raised the tax on dividends from its current 15% to almost 40% for the 2011 fiscal year. That’s a 164 percent increase, a far shot from the 20 percent increase he promised in 2008. But then, that was 2008, this is 2010. If you add the Health Care surcharge of 3.8 percent on investment dividends, that puts the total tax rate on dividends at about 44 percent. Let’s see. Add to that the 35 percent tax on profits businesses are already paying, and the tax comes to around sixty cents on each dollar of dividends received by stockholders.

According to the Journal, “You can expect fewer businesses either to offer or increase dividend payouts, which means less dividend revenue for the government…The millions of Americans who receive dividend income – most of them not rich – need to begin adjusting their investment strategy accordingly.”

The effect of these tax increases can be devastating to retired Americans whose retirement income is largely dependent upon investments. Not only will the proposed tax increases directly effect their income because of decreased dividends, but falling stock prices will also decrease the net worth of all investors, including non-retired investors who depend on those dividends for retirement income.

The effect of these tax increases will also devastate business. Without people willing to invest in businesses, large and small, business expansion will slow. The idea of business is to make a profit. To raise the capital necessary to expand existing businesses and create new businesses, investors as well look toward profit. These new tax regulations may well decrease investment capital which will slow down or stop business expansion.

This latest fiasco by the Obama administration is but another step to destroy the economy of the United States. Obama has made changes since his election, but can we survive them? With 48 percent of the population being supported by so-called entitlements, government-speak for on the public dole or welfare, with the public debt approaching 12.9 trillion dollars, can we afford to place greater burdens on business and those who who invest in it?

Wake up, folks. We are losing it all in the uncontrolled rush to Socialism.

May 19 Airport Meeting Location Changed

It was announced by Darrin Lautenschleger, Chairman of the Public Works Committee for New Philadelphia, that the location for the May 19, 2010 public hearing by his committee has been changed from City Hall to the pavilion at Tuscora Park. The meeting will concern itself with the expansion of the runway at the New Philadelphia airport. While no reason was given in the revised meeting notice, it is assumed that increased public interest in the possible taking of personal and business properties as recommended by the Airport Master Plan could be a factor. This meeting is open to the public and citizen attendance is encouraged. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.

Of the options proposed by the Master Plan, Option 4 appears to be the plan of choice. Option 4 recommends relocation of the existing runway, a plan which would require residential and business property to be taken, by imminent domain if necessary, to complete the project. According to Option 4, access roads to the cemetery and Schoenbrunn Village would be closed. Part of the existing city cemetery could also be taken as part of the runway expansion plan. Also to be considered is the city's ability to pay its share of the millions of dollars cost of this project.

For further information, contact Mr. Lautenschleger or your city councilman.

Health Care Revisited

A broker friend of mine sent this to me. It is worth reading as it discusses the Obama Health Care Bill from the standpoint of its potential effect on the stock market as well as its effect on the economy. It is interesting reading.

On Tuesday, March 23, President Obama signed into law a major change to the U.S. health-care policy that will impact every American and affect one-sixth of the economy. The social benefits of these policies I will leave to others to debate, my focus is what this means for the markets.

Within the Health Care sector the impact is mixed. There are three categories of companies affected by the legislation with the Health Care Sector. In general:
1) The Managed Health Care Industry is negatively impacted by extensive new regulation limiting profitability.
2) The Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Health Care Equipment, and Health Care Facilities Industries benefit from broader health care coverage leading to greater volumes, but these positives are offset somewhat by Medicare reimbursement cuts and higher industry excise taxes.
3) The Health Care Services and Health Care Distributors industries benefit from broader health care coverage leading to greater volumes with no direct cuts to pay for them.
Much of the impact has already been priced into the stocks in the sector. In the near-term, Health Care sector investors are likely to be relieved that the period of uncertainty is now over.

A potentially negative longer-term outcome for the broader marker stems from the tax and deficit impacts of the legislation. The legislation imposes a new 3.8% tax on investment income. This lowers the after-tax return on investments. It also adds a 0.9% tax on wages for those earning more than $250,000, set to take place in 2013. The macroeconomic impact that may be most significant is the potential to increase the deficit despite the tax hikes.

Two important facts are necessary to understand the concern evident in the markets over the deficit impact of the legislation:
1) The average cost of a family health insurance policy offered by employers was $13,375 in 2009, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust. On average, employees pay about 20% of premiums with the employer making up the rest (an average of $10,700 per employee).
2) The legislation establishes new insurance exchanges for the purchase of health insurance by those who do not have insurance offered their employer. Under the exchange, the cost of a policy would be subsidized by the taxpayers for individuals and families with incomes up to 400% of the poverty level;. This means that a family with the national average income of about $70,000 (at 317% of the poverty level of about $22,000) would have their spending capped at 9.5% of their income, which would be $6,650. The other half of the cost of insurance would be picked up by the tax payers.

The Congressional Budget Office, the agency that tabulated the budget impact of the legislation, estimated that about 25 million people would take advantage of the exchange to obtain subsidized health insurance by 2019. However, if employers that currently offer health insurance drop their coverage in order to save $8, 700 per employee ($10,700 less the $2,000 penalty for employers with more than 50 employees that do not provide coverage) and shift that cost to the taxpayer, the number of people getting subsidized health insurance could surge well beyond the budgeted 25 million. After all, there are 127 million people with incomes between 150% and 400% of the federal poverty level. If a large percentage of these 127 million people were shifted to the exchange, with a typical annual subsidy around $5,000-$6,000, the annual cost of the legislation would soar and significantly worsen the budget deficit. While all of the potential effects of the health care legislation are unknown, market participants may focus on the risks.

While the passing of the uncertainty surrounding the health care legislation may be welcomed by many investors, it could contribute to higher interest rates as fears of the rising deficit combine with rebounding economic activity and excess money provided buy the Federal Reserve. We expect Treasury yields to rise this year so we would caution against government bonds.