ZAP! #4.....April 3, 2010
Along with the city council and school board ballot on May 8th, voters will be asked to cast a vote on four (4) city charter amendments. ZAP! would recommend that you vote NO or against each of the items. Following is our rationale for voting NO.
Amendment 1: Purpose: to transfer the signing and execution of contracts, conveyances and bonds to the city manager. The mayor currently does this with review and final approval by the council. Do you want the city council to relegate this additional authority to a city manager? In an imperfect world, this change could also be used to circumvent established purchasing procedures.
Amendment 2: Purpose: to remove the position of Treasurer from the city charter. While this is not a mandatory position, any legal or State requirements would probably be placed under the control of the city manager.
Amendment 3: Purpose: to allow the city to issue Economic Development bonds. The city already issues bonds for streets, fire stations and other capital improvement items. And the citizenry has an opportunity to know the specific items being considered when these bonds are voted on. The use of Economic Development bonds could be fraught with problems and political issues. The city has done well without these “inducements” for developers and wheeler-dealers. Would the issuance of these bonds forego citizens knowing their ultimate use before being approved? Additionally, the city charter committee did not recommend this amendment to go before the voters!
Amendment 4: Purpose: to remove the cap on the city’s contribution to the employee retirement plan. When the council voted city employees out of Social Security in 1982, all parties agreed that a cap would be placed on the level of the city’s contribution. It was never intended for this cap to be removed.
Voting NO on each of these items may prevent a few more bucks from being lifted from your wallet down the road by the city council. E-mail or copy this for your voting friends. Early voting begins April 26th.
Mark Holbrook
Publisher
the Controversial Committee Report
LAWYER STUFF: ZAP! is a timely means (via bcc: e-mail to protect your address) to inform readers of the Controversial Committee Report about potential sacred cows that need butchering. ZAP! is published by Mark Holbrook who everyone knows -- with the exception of a couple apathetic slugs whose IQ equals their shoe size -- is Mike Howard. Any reference to persons deceased is purely out of respect. For those still living, draw your own conclusions. Get in line if you want to sue or complain. Better yet, call someone who might really care. Responses to this e-mail (markholbrook13 @yahoo.com) must meet at least one of the following criteria: humorous, cat kicking, or not libelous. Simple requirements for simple readers...that’s our philosophy. Permission is granted to copy, fax or e-mail this material to a friend, associate or someone you really don’t like.
