Got a little insert with some Camden Clark bills wherein I would or anyone could get a 50% discount on bills paid in full through the end of October. Only had to call some number to get the deal. Yet, the bills I received did not automatically include the new 50% discount? All the time some kind of a trick.
Was told that the City Contractor and the DEP Inspector got into a tiff on how the new fuel tanks were to be installed for the VUB @ 60th St.. DEP said to have noted several changes/ corrections required; Contractor says the work was perfect. Waiting to see how that 1:00 P.M. meeting on Wednesday at City Hall turned out?
Will bet the State Legislators/ Lawmakers (is their a difference?), are drooling at the amounts still in the State's Rainy Day Funds? There are two with a total of about $692 Million right now. The saving grace, is that the first one must be empty before the folks can get at the second one with a $425 Million balance.
Now in the "Our Opinion" column, it was suggested that everyone thank the presenter for the information and immediately forget it. I would suggest may happen when pigs fly? The Legislature will be after that money; first the $267 Million in Fund A and than as quickly as they can, the $425 Million in Fund B.
As much as I would have preferred spending the funds versus raising taxes in hundreds of millions and Road Referendum to spend them, I can see where the real solution was reducing and even the quitting of the never ending spending.
It is a simple fact that Government can NOT Budget. As is the case here, it is a matter of allocating the usage of EVERY dollar that is expected to arrive the coffers of the entity be it State, County or City. Reducing/ cutting are not Government Budgeting terms. To lower the amount of increase from one year to another is considered the closest they can get to a "Reduction". Is called Bureaucratese to make it something it is not, but fools the folks.
Went to City Hall Wednesday afternoon to review 5 years of documents on one of the City's favorite give aways. Turned out they could not even find one of the years? I don't think the City wanted it to be found. They are collecting (they said), another 1000 pages on a computer for me to review plus the above mentioned fifth year. What I did yesterday was to lay out all four years side by side and go through them to find what I wanted under the FOIA Law and to ask for copies of them. It was an interesting experience as the program has been changed so much over the past 4 years. The Taxpayers/ Residents should feel violated with good cause. Each and everyone of us has been financially raped to pay for goodies far in excess of what is deserved for the best of City Employees? More on that later, but now know the ability to compare hard copies of years side by side is a must for accuracy based on what I found by comparing pages from year to year. I would not likely have noted the items if on a computer?
Started at 1:00 P.M. or so, and at 3:35 P.M., Ms. Roberts (Finance Director), came in and told me I had to finish up as they were closing at 4:00 P.M. They had been copying for me for some time but copier was said to have jammed up? All the money for equipment of the best quality and it the copier could not seem to copy?
Will be a City Council Meeting tonight and that I suspect will be interesting as the Police Pension Fund is up on the agenda again. Will the City make an effort to reduce cost and follow P'burgs new Police/ Fire Pension Plan? Or will the City again go nuts to fatten up the bene's for our guys? Only time will tell as it usually outs the Truth. 'nuff said'.