Last week Newark City Council voted to stuff Newark City taxpayers by skimming off another $10 per auto license sale, even after taxpayers had voted overwhelmingly against such a tax. I wrote about it here.
In comments before council voted, Shirley Stare of the 2nd Ward mentioned this referendum vote as part of the reason she wouldn't support any more tag tax. Doug Marmie spoke at length about reasons why more taxes for street paving was a bad choice.
The fact that citizens had already spoken on the matter was my main reason for opposing it, but Doug said this is only one of several reasons council should give it a thumbs-down; it didn't make any sense from a governmental and business standpoint anyway.
1- The city had a savings that could have been used for paving but the administration asked that it be moved to a different category.
2 - Borrowing for a depreciating asset is bad business. (The mayor plans to borrow money for street paving and use the tag tax to pay off the interest on this loan.)
3 - We need a long-term plan (for street maintenance) and the city doesn't have one. This would include prioritizing repair expenditures.
4 - Citizens are already paying taxes to repair streets.
5 - Voters don't want this additional tax.
6 - City government should show people what it can do with the additional $5 tag tax that's already been passed by council before asking for more.
7 - You don't just throw money at this kind of problem and hope it's going to get resolved. You need a plan for spending on paving and there is none.
8 - It's not fair to citizens who are already struggling to make ends meet to ask for more taxes. This adds more to the cost of living in Newark.
9 - The tag-tax legislation under consideration does not limit expenditure of that money exclusively to paving, as has been the impression given by statements issued to the press.
Doug was thorough in his assessment and he delivered his thoughts in an understandable and sincere manner.
There were six council members who simply ignored his facts. They are David Rhodes (Councilman-at-large), Ed Houdeshell (First Ward), John Uible (Fourth Ward), Carol Floyd (Seventh Ward), Irene Kennedy (Councilman-at-large) and Don Ellington (Fifth Ward).
These people are counting on the majority of their constituents not being aware of their stand against facts in this matter and their vote for the tag tax and/or forgetting it by next election day.
There were three council members who felt the will of the people should override the temptation for yet another Diebold-sponsored tax grab. Voting in favor of democracy were Ryan Bubb (Councilman-at-large), Shirley Stare (Second Ward) and Doug Marmie (Sixth Ward).
I am greatly impressed by the position and the class of Councilman Marmie, and by his willingness to stand before his peers and tell them how many ways this legislative proposition was bad business and bad government. He proved to be, in this instance, a very good friend of the citizens of Newark.
Showing posts with label license plates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label license plates. Show all posts
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
City Council votes 6-3 to stuff voters again
Newark voters got stuffed again by the Needy Magic Nanny, this time for a $10 bill with every auto license they ever have to buy in Newark for the rest of their lives.
By a vote of 6-3 (one absent), council increased the city tax on auto licenses even though voters earlier held a referendum on this matter and rejected it soundly.
By replacing the unwanted charge, six of your Newark City Council members - with the blessing of Mayor Diebold - gave you the their dimpled middle digits, right in your face. Take that, stupid! You're not going to remember this on election day.
Isn't that right, David Rhodes (Councilman-at-large), Ed Houdeshell (First Ward), John Uible (Fourth Ward), Carol Floyd (Seventh Ward), Irene Kennedy (Councilman-at-large) and Don Ellington (Fifth Ward)?
And thank you, Advocate, for naming names in the report of May 6.
Voting in favor of democracy were Ryan Bubb (Councilman-at-large), Shirley Stare (Second Ward) and Doug Marmie (Sixth Ward).
About her vote, Shirley said “In 2005, the citizens soundly defeated the bill that was on the ballot. I am speaking for people in my ward, and I just do not think if they were here tonight they would support it.”
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all office-holders would think of their obligations to the people who put them in office above all else, thus maintaining a true representative government for, of, and by the people?
In case you don't know who your representatives on council are (in addition to the at-large councilmen), there's a ward map on the city's web site at this link.
Probably all browsers have the same capability as mine does to increase the size of the screen image until the lines of the streets and ward numbers are large enough to read. Otherwise, call the board of elections at 670-5080 or e-mail them at this form.
Anyone who cares to communicate with their representatives to Council about this or anything else can get the contact information here.
By the way, this vote will be a great memento when you to decide how you'll vote next election. I have elsewhere described the Game of Chicken played by office-holders who bet on short memories of voters. Whenever they can be stopped from winning this game, an improvement in government is guaranteed.
By a vote of 6-3 (one absent), council increased the city tax on auto licenses even though voters earlier held a referendum on this matter and rejected it soundly.
By replacing the unwanted charge, six of your Newark City Council members - with the blessing of Mayor Diebold - gave you the their dimpled middle digits, right in your face. Take that, stupid! You're not going to remember this on election day.
Isn't that right, David Rhodes (Councilman-at-large), Ed Houdeshell (First Ward), John Uible (Fourth Ward), Carol Floyd (Seventh Ward), Irene Kennedy (Councilman-at-large) and Don Ellington (Fifth Ward)?
And thank you, Advocate, for naming names in the report of May 6.
Voting in favor of democracy were Ryan Bubb (Councilman-at-large), Shirley Stare (Second Ward) and Doug Marmie (Sixth Ward).
About her vote, Shirley said “In 2005, the citizens soundly defeated the bill that was on the ballot. I am speaking for people in my ward, and I just do not think if they were here tonight they would support it.”
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all office-holders would think of their obligations to the people who put them in office above all else, thus maintaining a true representative government for, of, and by the people?
In case you don't know who your representatives on council are (in addition to the at-large councilmen), there's a ward map on the city's web site at this link.
Probably all browsers have the same capability as mine does to increase the size of the screen image until the lines of the streets and ward numbers are large enough to read. Otherwise, call the board of elections at 670-5080 or e-mail them at this form.
Anyone who cares to communicate with their representatives to Council about this or anything else can get the contact information here.
By the way, this vote will be a great memento when you to decide how you'll vote next election. I have elsewhere described the Game of Chicken played by office-holders who bet on short memories of voters. Whenever they can be stopped from winning this game, an improvement in government is guaranteed.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Diebold is point man for government greed
In everything written about Mayor Diebold's thirst for more money from taxpayers, never has he said anything about getting it honestly - by asking taxpayers to vote to spend more on city government.
In fact, just the opposite. Most recently this has focused on whether the city should levy yet another fine for living in Newark by squeezing each auto owner annually for $10 more. It's the opposite because voters in November 2005 voted on this one and defeated it in a referendum vote 58-42.
The voting booths hadn't cooled after the referendum when Mayor Bain was plotting another attempt to end-run voters with it. Since then, this matter has been considered by Diebold and some others in city government as the delectable piece of cake that could be translated into more government and to hell with what voters want.
It not just the additional tax burden that's important here; it about stuffing voters who've already spoken on the matter. It's about this endless government greed, which Diebold has so willingly served as point man without yet paying the political price. Of course he was among councilmen to vote for the reinstatement of part of the same tax in September 2006. (See: Council rejects voters' directive on Tag Tax.) Only Doug Marmie and Don Ellington voted in favor of upholding citizens' wishes.
This is not about pot holes, it's about more government. As I said here earlier, "If the city budget fails to account for city potholes - even with the addition of the $1-million Diebold cash cow from EMS services - then what in God's name is wrong with city budgeters?"
It IS about more government because no matter what they say they'll use this money for in the immediate future, their promises will unenforceable anyway, and surely will last no longer than their own terms of office. (Consider what happened to promises made while the city pushed for the pot-of-gold at the end of an EMS ride to the hospital. See Riding to the hospital with your city employees; Bend over taxpayer...
Once the money gets thrown into the gigantic kitty full of tax proceeds nobody is going to know exactly where those dollars have gone; only that there will be 880 thousand more of them in the kitty. And this translates as: Newark is going to have more government and better-paid government employees.
It's about milking for the last dime and the for largest employee raise. Thanks to the persistent greed of Mayor Diebold and his continuing willingness to stuff voters - and thanks to the cooperation from Ways and Means Committee members Irene Kennedy and Ed Houdeshell - good ol' boys to the core - the tax grab plan will be considered by full council, because you see, it doesn't matter to Kennedy and Houdeshell what voters have said. They want you to bend over and stay there.
In fact, just the opposite. Most recently this has focused on whether the city should levy yet another fine for living in Newark by squeezing each auto owner annually for $10 more. It's the opposite because voters in November 2005 voted on this one and defeated it in a referendum vote 58-42.
The voting booths hadn't cooled after the referendum when Mayor Bain was plotting another attempt to end-run voters with it. Since then, this matter has been considered by Diebold and some others in city government as the delectable piece of cake that could be translated into more government and to hell with what voters want.
It not just the additional tax burden that's important here; it about stuffing voters who've already spoken on the matter. It's about this endless government greed, which Diebold has so willingly served as point man without yet paying the political price. Of course he was among councilmen to vote for the reinstatement of part of the same tax in September 2006. (See: Council rejects voters' directive on Tag Tax.) Only Doug Marmie and Don Ellington voted in favor of upholding citizens' wishes.
This is not about pot holes, it's about more government. As I said here earlier, "If the city budget fails to account for city potholes - even with the addition of the $1-million Diebold cash cow from EMS services - then what in God's name is wrong with city budgeters?"
It IS about more government because no matter what they say they'll use this money for in the immediate future, their promises will unenforceable anyway, and surely will last no longer than their own terms of office. (Consider what happened to promises made while the city pushed for the pot-of-gold at the end of an EMS ride to the hospital. See Riding to the hospital with your city employees; Bend over taxpayer...
Once the money gets thrown into the gigantic kitty full of tax proceeds nobody is going to know exactly where those dollars have gone; only that there will be 880 thousand more of them in the kitty. And this translates as: Newark is going to have more government and better-paid government employees.
It's about milking for the last dime and the for largest employee raise. Thanks to the persistent greed of Mayor Diebold and his continuing willingness to stuff voters - and thanks to the cooperation from Ways and Means Committee members Irene Kennedy and Ed Houdeshell - good ol' boys to the core - the tax grab plan will be considered by full council, because you see, it doesn't matter to Kennedy and Houdeshell what voters have said. They want you to bend over and stay there.
Monday, March 31, 2008
New way for government to feed on itself, but who will win the Game of Chicken?
The fact that two county commissioners - Tim Bubb and Doug Smith - could impose a new tax on citizens without giving them a chance to vote on it seems to be the new way for government to feed on itself. No input from voters needed, thank you.
Likewise with the imposition of an auto tag tax to be considered again by Newark City Council. No need for voters to decide, thank you (though voters spoke clearly and negatively in a referendum to former Mayor Bain's first attempt to sidestep them on this tax).
The Advocate has done a spectacularly thorough job of reporting that Smith and Bubb have a majority's grip on this sales tax bite and that the Mayor Diebold and some city council members are just slobbering over the prospect of getting a yet another auto tax past the voters.
Voters have been well-informed by the Advocate this time, for the first time in many years. In the articles Commissioners debate sales tax and City Council mixed on increasing license plate tax reporter Amy Picard has laid it all out for readers on these complex matters.
The only omission has been any reference to the history of all this and how voters are being avoided by government representatives. Namely that Bubb and Smith jammed the sales tax through, that Bain tried to stuff voters for the tag tax, it got referendum-ed, council came back and reinstated a $5 tax anyway, and now they're talking about doing it again, maybe for more.
It is incredible that they would consider trying to get away with this crap. It's not just the addional cost of living in this area, but because it's being done without a vote.
The reason they've been getting away with this screwing is because voters don't know about it, don't care about it, will not say anything, and won't remember it until next election.
Or will they? It's the ol' game of chicken - bureaucrats vs. voters - bureaucrat-scammers lose if voters remember; they win if voters forget. I wouldn't place any bets on the game, but we voters are - thanks to better Advocate reportage - getting smarter all the time.
Likewise with the imposition of an auto tag tax to be considered again by Newark City Council. No need for voters to decide, thank you (though voters spoke clearly and negatively in a referendum to former Mayor Bain's first attempt to sidestep them on this tax).
The Advocate has done a spectacularly thorough job of reporting that Smith and Bubb have a majority's grip on this sales tax bite and that the Mayor Diebold and some city council members are just slobbering over the prospect of getting a yet another auto tax past the voters.
Voters have been well-informed by the Advocate this time, for the first time in many years. In the articles Commissioners debate sales tax and City Council mixed on increasing license plate tax reporter Amy Picard has laid it all out for readers on these complex matters.
The only omission has been any reference to the history of all this and how voters are being avoided by government representatives. Namely that Bubb and Smith jammed the sales tax through, that Bain tried to stuff voters for the tag tax, it got referendum-ed, council came back and reinstated a $5 tax anyway, and now they're talking about doing it again, maybe for more.
It is incredible that they would consider trying to get away with this crap. It's not just the addional cost of living in this area, but because it's being done without a vote.
The reason they've been getting away with this screwing is because voters don't know about it, don't care about it, will not say anything, and won't remember it until next election.
Or will they? It's the ol' game of chicken - bureaucrats vs. voters - bureaucrat-scammers lose if voters remember; they win if voters forget. I wouldn't place any bets on the game, but we voters are - thanks to better Advocate reportage - getting smarter all the time.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Jerking Ohio's license plates for the cause du jour
The idea of forcing convicted sex offenders to identify their autos with green license plates is another one of those feel-good measures Ohio legislators burp up when they want to get taxpayers' minds off of school financing.
It wasn't a good idea when I wrote about it last winter and it isn't a good idea now for two main reasons: 1) other family members have to drive the marked car so the finger of shame is not always pointed at the criminal; and 2) seems that cars with these plates would be more vulnerable to vandalism.
Legislators need to quit screwing around with license plates for their feel-good needs. Additionally, they should mandate that auto tags be cleared of all graphics and slogans so that the cleared space can be used for better readability of the identifying numbers and letters.
Of course that won't happen because bureaucrats have found a mother lode in advertising the status symbols of motorists. They charge an additional $35 a year for drivers to announce their cause du jour or whatever makes them feel good about themselves.
The range of subjects from which a tag-buyer can create little billboards and thereby purchase an ego goose are:
Autism Awareness, Bald Eagle, Breast Cancer Awareness, Cardinal, Celebrate Kids (A), Celebrate Kids (B), Cats/Dogs (pets), Choose Life, Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Browns, Columbus Blue Jackets, Columbus Crew, Donate Life, Ducks Unlimited, Eagle Scouts, Eastern Star, Fish Lake Erie, Freemason, Future Farmers of America, Lake Erie, Leader in Flight, Mahoning River, National Rifle Association, Ohio Cattlemens Association, Ohio State Parks, Ohio Zoo, One Nation Under God, Perry's Monument, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rotary International, Scenic Rivers, Scenic Rivers Blue Heron, Share the Road, Smallmouth Bass, Smokey Bear, Walleye, White Tailed Deer, and Wild Turkey, plus 23 names of colleges and universities.
All are good causes, no question. But the fact is they could - and should - be publicized with bumper stickers, leaving auto tags to perform their intended purpose.
It wasn't a good idea when I wrote about it last winter and it isn't a good idea now for two main reasons: 1) other family members have to drive the marked car so the finger of shame is not always pointed at the criminal; and 2) seems that cars with these plates would be more vulnerable to vandalism.
Legislators need to quit screwing around with license plates for their feel-good needs. Additionally, they should mandate that auto tags be cleared of all graphics and slogans so that the cleared space can be used for better readability of the identifying numbers and letters.
Of course that won't happen because bureaucrats have found a mother lode in advertising the status symbols of motorists. They charge an additional $35 a year for drivers to announce their cause du jour or whatever makes them feel good about themselves.
The range of subjects from which a tag-buyer can create little billboards and thereby purchase an ego goose are:
Autism Awareness, Bald Eagle, Breast Cancer Awareness, Cardinal, Celebrate Kids (A), Celebrate Kids (B), Cats/Dogs (pets), Choose Life, Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Browns, Columbus Blue Jackets, Columbus Crew, Donate Life, Ducks Unlimited, Eagle Scouts, Eastern Star, Fish Lake Erie, Freemason, Future Farmers of America, Lake Erie, Leader in Flight, Mahoning River, National Rifle Association, Ohio Cattlemens Association, Ohio State Parks, Ohio Zoo, One Nation Under God, Perry's Monument, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rotary International, Scenic Rivers, Scenic Rivers Blue Heron, Share the Road, Smallmouth Bass, Smokey Bear, Walleye, White Tailed Deer, and Wild Turkey, plus 23 names of colleges and universities.
All are good causes, no question. But the fact is they could - and should - be publicized with bumper stickers, leaving auto tags to perform their intended purpose.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Special plates for sex offenders is a mistake
Reuters reported on 2/28/07 that two Ohio lawmakers want to force convicted sex offenders to use fluorescent-green license plates because, said one of them: "The fluorescent-green license plate will make the most egregious sex offenders easily identifiable."
To which I add: And their families.
There's nothing wrong - and everything right - about identifying these dangerously abnormal individuals clearly and widely.
But, as with putting the onus on autos licensed to convicted drunken drivers, it's not fair to other folks who have to drive the marked car.
Anyway, legislators need to quit screwing around with license plates for all their feel-good needs. There is so much garbage and bumper sticker material and far-out graphics - sometimes covered by a plate frame that obscures the name of the state - that Ohio license plates seem to have lost their purpose, which originally was to identify the auto.
As for sex offenders, maybe they could be made to wear a distinctive hat while driving - say, one shaped like a big green penis.
Whatever happens with that idea, every parent ought to be checking for predators on the sheriff's web site. Go to http://www.lcounty.com/sheriff/sex_offenders/ and type in your address. If you haven't done this before you'll be amazed at how many there are; you'll also get to see photos of those convicted. You owe it to your child to run this check every few weeks.
If our state legislature wants to pass yet another feel-good measure that would likely cost a bundle of tax dollars to implement, let it be more screwing around with license plates. If it wants to do some good, let them provide more education about identifying and dealing with sex predators.
To which I add: And their families.
There's nothing wrong - and everything right - about identifying these dangerously abnormal individuals clearly and widely.
But, as with putting the onus on autos licensed to convicted drunken drivers, it's not fair to other folks who have to drive the marked car.
Anyway, legislators need to quit screwing around with license plates for all their feel-good needs. There is so much garbage and bumper sticker material and far-out graphics - sometimes covered by a plate frame that obscures the name of the state - that Ohio license plates seem to have lost their purpose, which originally was to identify the auto.
As for sex offenders, maybe they could be made to wear a distinctive hat while driving - say, one shaped like a big green penis.
Whatever happens with that idea, every parent ought to be checking for predators on the sheriff's web site. Go to http://www.lcounty.com/sheriff/sex_offenders/ and type in your address. If you haven't done this before you'll be amazed at how many there are; you'll also get to see photos of those convicted. You owe it to your child to run this check every few weeks.
If our state legislature wants to pass yet another feel-good measure that would likely cost a bundle of tax dollars to implement, let it be more screwing around with license plates. If it wants to do some good, let them provide more education about identifying and dealing with sex predators.
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