The Financial State of Parma is not bad after all...

by

David G. Fago


Well just because the election is over does not mean we should stop discussing city wide issues. More then ever now we need to watch our local leaders as they spend all those precious tax dollars.

They plan to move forward with building the two new fire stations. Remember how we were going to ruin Parma if 117 passed? Now we have millions set aside to build two brand spanking new fire stations??

Don't be fooled by the "Not using Parma's tax dollars to pay for this" bit.
The money they are using was earned from the insurance bills sent to people who needed the use of our Ambulances.

Let me ask one question...Who owns the Ambulances?? The answer: The People of Parma. Since the Ambulances are owned by the people of Parma (In other words...our tax dollars bought those vehicles) shouldn't the money made from the use of those vehicles also belong to the people of this great city?

All I say is don't sit back and watch. Here are some other questions:

1) How was the land for the new stations paid for?
2) What contractors are going to profit from building these new firestations?
3) How long will it be before the city cries about no having any money?
4) Who is going to pay for the asbestos removal and tear down of the old buildings?
5) What contractor is going to profit from the asbestos removal and tear down?
6) What does the city plan to do with the land where the current fire stations are?
7) Who is going to profit from that land??

Nate Gray just received 15 years for bribing political officials. The politicans should get life. I hope there are no shenanigans going on in Parma, but we are talking about millions of our hard earned dollars.

More to come...

Boycotting and Sour Grapes
By
David G. Fago

There have been a few calls to boycott city events, and I disagree with this thought. I disagree with boycotting city functions such as Rib N Rock, and other functions. These are great opportunities for us (citizens) to get a table at these functions, and they can be used as a great tool to get our message out. A lot of times, boycotting causes a sense of sour grapes. I don't have any ill feelings toward our elected officials. In fact, I respect their positions, and I would hope that they would in turn learn to respect the people they represent. I just wish our city officials would learn to respect another's opinion even if it differs from their own.

I have some very strong feelings about a few key issues, and I am not alone. I am not a guy with a bunch of nut job ideas out in left field. Here are some things I believe in:

1) I respect most of my elected officials. I may disagree with them on some key issues. My disagreement with them does not mean I disrespect them.

2) The elected officials I have lost faith in are the ones that attack innocent citizens. I lose faith in officials that challenge to fight innocent citizens in the parking lot. I have no repsect for officials that bully people. I have a loss of respect for people who have no respect for the law. And I lose trust in elected officials that have done bad things in their past and then in turn pass judgement on us. A good example of this was Judge Alice Robie Resnick. She is a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and she was pulled over for drunk driving by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. She is a judge on the highest court in this state. For a person to make judgements on the law, she certainly should not be violating the law. I still call for her to resign to this day.

3) I believe tax dollars belong to the people. I believe people should be allowed to vote on all tax issues. I fought hard for 117 which included giving us the right to vote on the income tax credit. Don't forget...the city has not given us that right because 116 failed.

4) I believe government does not deserve to have a blank check from us. One of these days we will be completely tapped out. I believe governments need to live within a budget, and when the budget goes out of control, the people should be allowed to vote.

5) When government spending goes haywire, someone needs to be held accountable. Whether it is a mayor or finance director or auditor or council, someone should be held accountable. In our own personal lives, we know when the big bills will be due, and we prepare for them. Governments should be held responsible in a similar fashion.

6) One city councilman told me one reason we needed 117 to fail was because interest rates went down, and the city's returns on savings has suffered. Is it the people's fault interest rates have gone down? Would I allow that same excuse from some of my mutual fund managers if my mutuals funds were suffering? Hell no. It is their responsibility to make sure our investments are giving us a good return. It is the responsibility of government to make sure the city's investments are getting a good return. If the interest rates are lowering, then find another solution to get a good return on investments.

7) When cities take from Peter to pay Paul, eventually Peter needs to be repaid as well. I don't like excuses like "I was a Freshman Councilman" or "The last council put us into this predicament", or "The last administration was horrible." Those excuses are lame. You claimed to be qualified when you ran for office, now show me that you are qualified. So far...they all have a good resume, but their actions aren't living up to that resume. The people of this city are the most important asset the city has. We work here, live here, play here, and spend here. One councilman asked me if I wanted Parma to turn into East Cleveland by passing 117? Well my answer is if Parma continues to be a "tax unfriendly" city, then it will turn into East Cleveland all on its own. East Cleveland's financial woes did not occur overnight...it was decades of apathetic voters, corrupt elected officials, and piss-poor financial responsibility. It has nothing to do with how much tax dollars were coming into the coffers. People already are choosing other cities so as not to fight with Parma's income tax structure. People are moving because of this tax structure, and by arbitrarily raising taxes every chance we get, we will eventually drive businesses away. These aren't things that will happen tomorrow...but the future shows that it will happen. Not now, but 10 or 15 years from now the city will have issues.

9) When our electred officials blame their predessors, or previous council, or blame a bad batch of kool-aid, we must not let them get away with that excuse. Those excuses will no longer fly with me, nor should they with the rest of us. In fact...I don't want excuses any more, I want action. So don't boycott events...volunteer to work a table at those events. Meet people, talk to people, and get the word out. Volunteer with citizen run groups, and talk to your neighbors. If we continue to have apathy, the city will continue to spend money on hiring friends, and giving out big contracts to corporate sponsors. It still bothers me immensely that First Energy gave $5000 to the Citizens for Fair Taxation. What are they expecting in return? Or worse yet, what were they "promised" in return? That should scare the hell out of all of us. Only 3.5% of the donations to that group were from Parma residents, the other 96.5% were from political organizations, politicians, businesses, and out of town people. The politicians themselves did not even donate under their name for the most part. They were all donations from "The friends of Joe Fabeetz", or the "Elect Joe Fabeetz to Council" committee.

All in all, the people of this city control our own destinies. Get out and vote, and get out and run for office. If you feel you are not qualified, have a look at the elected officials that currently represent you...you are no less qualified then they are. And by the way...being an attorney does not qualify someone for office...I want someone who knows who the real boss is...the people.

See you at the next event!!

More to come...

More times than not...Goliath defeats David.

by

David G. Fago

All right everyone...just relax. Last night was a tough defeat. We have to remember the story of David and Goliath. David was a once in a lifetime win...OK Villanova over Georgetown in 85 was very similar too...but In reality, David doesn't always beat Goliath. This time, Goliath (Council and the Administration) took a few cheap shots and beat David (The people of Parma).

We are still alive and we still have our friends. I made some great new friends through all of this, and we have today and tomorrow, and the days after that. Life is not over but we must learn from last night's battle:

1) The city and the Administration will take cheap shots to get their way. Example: Those red signs that read "No Charter Millage" "No on the Charter". What Charter Millage are they talking about?? That sign was so misleading, people thought that they were voting on a charter with Millage.

2) We must have people posted at every polling location throughout the city of Parma. Actually we need at least two people at every polling location. I would like to have 5 people at every location with a grill and hot dogs.

3) When working polling locations, don't be bullied by Elected Officials. If they interrupt you when you are speaking to a voter, finish your thoughts, and when the voter goes in to vote, you tell that person to stand back from you, and if they interrupt you again, get on the phone and call the Board of Elections.

4) Pack City Hall chambers every week. We should start a group called the "Parma Watch Dogs". We need to scrutinize every move the city makes so much that their heads spin. Do you know this council is currently selling off the land in this city to developers left and right? We will not have any green space left. We are letting them get fat, rich, and drunk off of our hard work and money.

5) The Republicans in Parma need to shape up. The Cuyahoga County Republican party needs to select a city leader that actually cares about the Republican Party. I don't care if the current leader served under Abraham Lincoln, but the party is divided and when division exists the blame goes to the leader(s). If we had a city leader that cared more for the party than giving Democrats money we would have all of our precinct committee people filled. I plan to have those positions filled by June of Next year, and I am a nobody. Call me harsh, fine...wanna talk to me about it? Great. You know how to get in touch with me.

Bottom line is, if we let the city walk all over us, then they will continue to walk all over us...and take our money at the same time. For those of you who voted against forming a Charter Commission live with your mistake. We would have had a majority, and now the city is set back 10 years (minimum).

For those of you who voted against 117, tell me what is wrong with making a city live within a budget? Were you afraid that the pools wouldn't be open next summer? I mean they are only open now from June 11 through June 15 because the city mismanages the money they are currently taking from us. I hope you enjoy watching the city build two brand spanking new fire stations. Enjoy watching the city let the old ones rot for five years - abandoned - because they need to spend millions cleaning out the asbestos prior to demolishing them. Sure building the new fire stations may not be from "tax payer" dollars, but I guarantee you the clean-up will be from our pockets...perhaps they will take that other 1% while they are at it. Then once they spend millions of our dollars to clean the asbestos ladened buildings, they will demolish them on our dime, and then build 235 single family homes on the lot (each having .0000506001 acres) (Thumbs up!!)

If you bitch, you better be prepared to walk the neighborhood, gather signatures, campaign for new leadership, and eat a hot dog and a beer to raise some money for the David's of Parma. Otherwise...just sit there full of apathy like you did during election day 2005.

More to come...Dave


Disclaimer: The David referenced in this document was meant to reference David the King, not David Fago