The cash-strapped City of Toledo found more than $1.1 million to help revise and alleviate cuts in the 2008 general operating fund budget, which was presented four months ago and must be passed within 11 days....................
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080321/NEWS16/78...
"Now, the budget is $254,271,089, which is slightly more than 2.7 percent over the 2007 figure."
since there is a mass exodus of people LEAVING toledo, why is the city budget going UP and not down? i also find it interesting this story came out the day after the last townhall meeting.
"City Finance Director John Sherburne said the unclaimed $1.1 million comes from checks not cashed by vendors during the last decade."
this is just a matter of someone doing a poor job at managing the city's finances! come on, how many of us FORGET to cash checks during the last decade?
I'M SO GLAD TOLEDO PASSED THE 3/4%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
... since the city is a voracious wolf of consumption which has a simple demand: MORE this year than LAST year.
The city is a liability system which loads up on expenses (contracts, projects, personnel, benefits, etc.) without foreseeable end. Just try to find out how many muni bonds the city is on the hook for, for failed downtown residential projects. The Blockade inadvertently reported on a few of those some years ago. But now all we get is a general silence from both the Blockade and the TFP about municipal obligations. The numbers are just too embarrassing for all Toledoans to admit.
Toledo is a stereotypical example of how to precisely waste an investment. Essentially everything we spend is an overspending applied to the wrong thing going towards the wrong goal. If there was ever a government that needed to be downsized purely because that would make it incapable of doing as much damage, this is it. But since we don't have real Republicans anyway (you know, the people who claimed to want LESS government), don't expect them to charge in to the rescue of our Democrat-ruled asses.
Has members that had never heard of the accounts, for how long?
Where is the oversight?
I would like to point out that WSPD has been "nitpicking","naysaying" and telling according to the mayor "mis-truths, half-truths, and out right lies" on the fiscal mismanagement for over two years now. Thanks for finally waking up. Can't wait to see what the Carty apologists have to say. Be careful about posting you may soon be considered a "nitpicker".
"City Finance Director John Sherburne said the
unclaimed $1.1 million comes from checks not cashed by vendors during
the last decade."
If it was purely a present administration problem, that would explain a lot, Sherburne's comment suggests that there is a longer problem here.
What other treasures will be dug when the nooks and crannies of the books are examined.
Sarantou says the books are audited, well great, but if facts and figures are not known, how can the audit uncover them.
... equals mostly Carty, seeing only Ford's term interrupted that rule, and that was largely for the charter-determined break as Carty was term-limited.
As for auditing, the city has been under so-called financial pressure for years. An audit should not have been necessary since all department heads and their managers have been tasked to scour their budgets for savings.
Well, either that, or we're LIED TO fairly constantly.
You forgot to mention "baboons".
The questions that need to be asked now are should city council go ahead with their vote on Tuesday in light of this new-found money and the new questions that it raises concerning it? Don't they need more time to examine, consider, investigate, weigh, and ponder, the facts? What happens if they go right ahead with the vote anyway? What will the consequences be?
They probably won't be as bad as new-found DNA evidence in a murder trial would be ignored and regarded as irrelevant which could exonerate the accused, but there will be serious consequences just the same.
Sarantou also said in the article that this happened because there aren't enough staff in the finance department. Trying to blame those of us who demand staff cuts during the budget process?
... would have no problem hiring enough "needed staff" (which is just GovSpeak for "extra staff" or "more relatives") whose salaries and benefits would cost at least $1.1M.
"... would have no problem hiring enough "needed staff" (which is just GovSpeak for "extra staff" or "more relatives") whose salaries and benefits would cost at least $1.1M."
with all the inbreeding going on, you'd think we lived down south!
Seriously, what a coincidence. Right after the last budget hall meeting, the Administration removes all the important proposed cuts such as citing people through the state code, which could have relieved the burden from Toledo and shared the burden with the County. They eliminated all proposed cuts, while keeping the increased fees. I swear Tom Waniewski, the only councilman that seems to respond and have any brain and sense on council, will be hearing from me.
I'd like to go to the budget vote just to boo our councilmen. Congrats Sarantou, Betty Schultz (as well as your disrespectful tirade at the District 5 budget hearing), and the union pandering Mark Sobczak.
An interesting thing on Mark Sobczak, at the District 5 hearing, there was a huge hoopla in regards to the union control over our politicians and business in Toledo. Afterward, Mark Sobczak came to apologize for his condescending tone in firing back at the citizens, and then in talking to him he told me that in his opinion, he felt THE TEAMSTER'S GOT GOUGED IN THE LAST CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the garbage pickup crew are part of the Teamster's, correct? THEY WORK 4-6 HOURS A DAY! FOUR HOURS! Come on!
When have we ever heard a councilman come up to a citizen and say, "you know what, I think the CITIZENS got gouged in the last contract negotiations". HA!
I went through a 25% pay cut in one contract negotiation.
As I pass a box of tissues to the Council President, who gets two salaries.
Times are different. One cannot expect to get the same, where there is less and we can only hope that this administration and future administrations will continue to control costs.
People do not like change and sometimes they should think twice, or once, before opening their mouths before they complain, as some of us are now working for minimum wage and no benefits, while they complain about a lack of increase.
Scientist say the universe is made of electrons, protons and neutrons. They forgot to mention the morons.
Is a true reflection of his inability to understand life, money, responsible self-control and fundemental responsibility to live within the real time finances of a declining city.
Its interesting how all this money is being found after he lays off employees and he's taxing the citizens twice for garbage collection.
That this is the same person who told an international committee, that he lives near the city center.