City and County leaders. Lets finish one project at a time. Let us see if the public will support these projects before spending us into a hole we can not recover from.
The Marina District. A new Arena. Now a proposed Riverwalk. All good ideas. But why are we doing them all at once? Is Carty padding his " Results" column before reelection? I Would have rather seen a Riverwalk across from the Marina District. Not opposite each other along the Maumee River. Something within walking distance of each other. Or a short hop across the water. This figure 8 design will need at a minimum a trolly /dedicated bus system to link all projects together in order to succeed.
With a dwindling population and decreased tax revenues. I do not want to see anymore public dollars throw at new projects until one or more is completed and financially standing on its own.
Telling so-called government leaders to do one project at a time is still telling them it's OK to foolishly spend public funds. Meanwhile, the roads need repair and the overall infrastructure is obviously falling apart. Look at how Detroit has done the same stupid thing. Around a re-invested, tiny, welfare-supported city core, there is a vast area that looks like Hiroshima after the Big Kaboom.
The government has no business telling private business what to invest in, much less COVERING THOSE BETS with public money (which creates a clear moral hazard at the very least).
A Marina District, an arena, a riverwalk ... all these things are the responsibility of private investment to create, manage and profit from. Yet they aren't doing it. And that's just fine, since we're not a Communist state, are we?
Your admonition for seeing completion or financial soundness is an insensible one. The government needs to stop spending OUR MONEY on "projects" (ego-fired) and instead commit funds towards performing the necessary minimum of public services. In addition, the government should be laying off or buying off these leech-like public employees. We can't afford to pay their outstanding benefits packages (guaranteed 3% yearly COLAs for their pensions, I've been hearing) and we can't even afford to keep them on the payrolls in the first place. GET LOST. Since 1970, 80 thousand people were so disgusted with the costs you invoke that they just up and left Toledo. Get a clue and find a REAL JOB.
With regard to the real on the ground situation with our local government because there are SO many problems - where do you even pick as a starting point?
I was taught, and this may be completely off the wall - I get like that alot. :-) And it's one of the things I like best about my life, but I digress....
I was taught when you took on a task of any size that you identify the objective and map out a strategy to achieve that objective. THEN YOU IMPLEMENT and press forward to completion. And you should expect the people who pay you to demand proof of this performance on a consistent basis. But maybe I'm just nuts.....
There is no clear job definition - in my opinion again - of our Mayor's job. Is he the City Manager? Is he the human resources authority? Is he supposed to be the economic director? I see him trying to do all of these jobs, I give him that - he does show up and he does try to tackle things but it's like he's six years old, has ADD and just showed up at a jewelry shop. It's a wonder he doesn't drill himself straight down into the earth.
What I heard angrysage say is something I've often thought - if they would do something right and do it completely and then move on to the next job - we'd at least have ONE THING DONE CORRECTLY.
The county leadership dynamic has changed. Drastically. I watched the last year of Maggie Thurbers' tenure and to be honest I thought that the reason Ben Konop was everyone's darling during the election was his familial connection and presumed willingness to drop into lockstep with Pete and Tina. WRONG!!!! In recent weeks I've read Ben Konop speaking the truth.
Alot of people criticize this because they think maybe his motives aren't pure. I think the situation is desperate enough that we need to support people who are telling the truth about the situation in Lucas County and let them worry about their own moral standing - unless they do something wrong.
Which he hasn't. And if it weren't for his voice in these last days, we'd have the dog warden doing door to door searches and we wouldn't be having honest discussion about the state of the county, there would have just been one more feel good banquet while more people lose their jobs and homes.