IN THE FINANCIAL BLACK & RED: "AT THE SAME TIME!"

REVISED ON 02/25/2015

VIDEOS

MASSILLON COUNCIL DISCUSSES
2015 BUDGET
SORT OF?
==========================

KEN KOHER

MASSILLON BUDGET DIRECTOR

ON

INADEQUATE ANNUAL CARRYOVER

==========================

COUNCILMAN MILAN CHOVAN

ON

PLAN TO INCREASE MPD BY 8 OFFICERS

Even before she took office, Massillon mayor Kathy Catzaro-Perry was pressing the State of Ohio Audtor's (SOA) office to place the city in fiscal emergency.

She was initially denied.

But in May, 2013 she finally succeeded.  And even that determination was on the slimmest of criteria:  Massillon only meeting one of six criteria that qualifies a city to be thrown in to emergency financial status.

Ever since, it has been a roller coast ride for Massillon finances, to wit:

• Two failed levies one of which (November, 2014) was part of a SOA approved recovery plan, 
• A reduced income tax credit that will expire on December 31, 2015 unless a levy passes in the meantime generated about $275,000 (more or less) of revenue for 2014 but which have not yet shown up in city revenues,
• Increased income tax income revenues due to a general Ohio/USA Great Recession recovery,
• A claimed $2.6 million budget deficit by Mayor Catazaro-Perry (at the beginning of her administration in 2012) which miraculously and mysteriously turned into a $785,000 surplus (carryover) in 2015, and
• On and on goes the highs and lows of Massillon finances.

Last night's Massillon City Council proved to be more of the same.

There was considerable discussion of what to do with the $785,000 "apparent?" surplus.

For starters, the $785,000 is not really $785,000 because some $400,000 is spoken for to cover a 27th week payroll obligation due in 2015.

And then last night in sort of discussing the 2015 Massillon budget, council reached a consensus (no votes allowed at work sessions) to designate $123,000 for a workers compensation obligation.

And then there was Councilman Paul Manson (D, at-large) advocating that Massillon institute a $50,000 annual plan move from the general fund to Parks and Recreation.

Only to be disagreed with by Councilman Ed Lewis who wants what remains of the original $785,000 (about $362,000) left alone or, alternatively, some portion thereof to be moved into the capital improvement fund where it is said that Massillon is "millions behind" in dealing with road repair and the purchase of sorely needed equipment (e.g. snowplows, new cruisers, et cetera).



And to top it off, Catazaro-Perry administration financial official Ken Koher (Budget Director/Income Tax Administrator) said in effect that the $785,000 that everybody including his boss (Mayor Kathy) was a pittance compared to fiscal recommending bodies saying that a city in good financial health with a budget of Massillon's size should have an annual carryover (surplus) of some $2.8 million.



Note that Koher ends his points on the annual carryover (surplus) saying that though the $785,000 doesn't cut it, Massillon is heading in the right direction.

The SCPR questions that even though most councilpersons mouth the same phrase.

No new revenues on the horizon, how can Massillon be thought to be heading in the right direction?  Austerity and cuts can only do so much, no?

Is there any doubt that Massillon's financial world is a confusing if not a chaotic world?

The really solid bright note from last night's meeting was a plan unveiled by Councilman Milan Chovan (R, at-large) to increase, over 18 months, the numbers of Massillon police from 36 to 44 to get within hailing range of 50 officers that in recent times (10 years ago) once staffed Massillon's security forces.

And get this.

Chovan's plan is likely to save Massillon (which paid $750,000 in police overtime last year) about $200,000 which would go where?

But hold your breath.

Service/Safety Director Al Hennon has signed on. 

But it is an open question whether or not the mayor will go along with Chovan's plan.

All of this is confusing, no?

Levy failures,  abbreviated income tax credit,  general fund surplus, capital improvement deficits, a belligerent major, and policing at a savings.

But that is the order of the day in Massillon these days.

So what is the financial instability attributable to?

A mayor and majority of council who cannot work together, so the SCPR thinks.

Usually, such scenarios are a mixed bag as to whom is at fault.

However, The Report thinks that Massillon topsy-turvy financial world is almost completely, if not totally, the inept leadership of Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry.

Though she clearly lacks the skills, temperament and attitude to be an effective mayor, it is likely that she will be reelected to a new term in November.

There will be some changes on council with the coming and going of the election.

However, it appears to the SCPR that there will still be a majority of council that the mayor will refused to work cooperatively with.

So the result?

Financial confusion will continue to reign.

Consequently, Massillon will continue to muddle along in minimalist mode of governing to meet the needs of its citizens.

The SCPR is highly impressed with "most" of Massillon City Council with Chovan being among those at the top of the list.

Overall, Massillon City Council is the best in all of Stark County.

If council only had a mayor to work with?

CATAZARO-PERRY "EXPLODES" VIDEO: THE VIDEO "ALL OF MASSILLON IS DYING TO SEE;" THE VIDEO "ALL OF STARK COUNTY 'OUGHT' TO SEE!"

UPDATED:  3:45 PM

Yesterdays SCPR's viewer numbers were exceptional.

Why would that be?

Likely because the blog dealt with Massillon mayor Kathy Catazaro's charge at Monday night's council meeting that those who voted to reconsider an ordinance to fund a downtown Massillon parking officer enforcement position to "defund" it were being racists and sexists.

To The Report, it was fascinating to see the mayor seemingly "to come 'unglued'" in her interaction with various council members.

The Report could not help itself when in a Google search on the expression "coming unglued" but to glom on to what came up:

A hair shampoo product (apparently now a "discontinued" product)  "got 2b unglued" came up in the Google listing.

It certainly is "hits the mark" as being a catchy tie-in to the SCPR's take that the symbolized expression being the most apt way to graphically describe Catazaro-Perry's demeanor on Monday night.

Due to the good graces of a third party who recorded the happening, the SCPR has been able to obtain a copy of the video of the council meeting and today The Report publishes two versions.

VERSION #1: about 17 minutes long - shows Mayor Catazaro's "explosive" moments in taking on:

• motion proposer Milan Chovan (a Republican councilman-at-large,
• Councilman Ed Lewis (R - Ward 6), who, the SCPR thinks is a likely candidate to unseat Catazaro-Perry in November, 2015,
• Councilwoman Megan Starrett (D - Ward 5), and
• Councilwoman Nancy Halter (R - Ward 2) who is tied to Republican sheriff candidate Larry Dordea and political opponent to the Massillon-based Johnnie A. Maier, Jr's Massillon Political Machine as it endeavors in an "all consuming passion" to elect Johnnie's brother George T. Maier sheriff.   
• Currently he is the Stark County Democratic Party appointed sheriff. 

VERSION #2 (about 45 minutes)

The entire recording.

As readers of the SCPR know, The Report always puts up on any blog "the complete story" so that readers can decide for themselves whether or not Martin Olson has gotten it right in The Report's editorializing and abbreviation (video-wise) of the material of any given blog.



Of course, only Catazaro-Perry knows, but the SCPR conjectures that Monday's explosive outburst was a calculated one.

Really?

That is what the SCPR thinks.

Why?

The Report knows the mayor and and her political core supporters (Johnnie A. Maier, Jr, Shane Jackson [Stark Dems' political director] and perhaps former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez [whose nephew works in the mayor's office] well enough in terms of how they approach managing political problems to believe that they anticipated that the appointment of Deametrious St. John's spouse Dwan to a city of Massillon job (which turned out to be a combined "fulltime" parking officer/income tax administrator position with "full" benefits) would not set well with quite a number of the Massillon City Council members.

To get into Johnnie A. Maier's mind is not all that difficult for the SCPR.

Since the early 1990s when he became state representative in the old 50th House District (which had another number and which was differently composed [for instance it included the city of Massillon]), The Report has known Maier.

In the late 1990s, daughter Heidi served as Maier's page.

The Report's take on Johnnie is that he is very much a "get your opponents - before they get you" type of guy.

Operating on that premise, the SCPR thinks that when the plan was hatched up to hire Maier loyalist Deametrious St. John's wife to fill the parking officer position created by council on June 16th (the hiring taking place on June 23rd), it was decided by the Maier political cabal to play "the race card" in thwarting any criticism of the move.

• Note:  The hiring was supposed to be just for the part time position of parking officer but by the time the Catzaro-Perry administration worked it over it got expanded into a fulltime with benefits position that council never envisioned when it approved the June 16th enabling ordinance.

As we all know from watching the players in national, state and local politics, there is an element of the right wing of the Republican Party that hates President Barack Obama merely because he is a black man.

By the way, yours truly voted for Obama in both 2008 and 2012.

So the thinking was likely among the Maier political inner circle, The Report believes, "Hey! who are the core opponents of our beloved mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry?"

Answer:  Massillon City Council Republicans Milan Chovan, Ed Lewis, IV, Sarita Cunningham-Hedderly and Nancy Halter.

"What political party are they members of?"

Answer:  The Republican Party.

"What political party by and large houses 'I hate Obama' because he is a black man crowd?"

Answer:  The Republican Party.

"Okay, why don't we have the mayor go on the offensive with council and suggest that should they try to eliminate the St. John appointment that such would be tantamount to aligning themselves with the racist crowd."

"And, not only is Dwan black, she is a woman."

"Why don't we just pile on and have Kathy say they are sexist, too?"

That folks is the SCPR speculating on how Mayor Kathy came to her "apparent," - indignant, "I'm offended" explosion of Monday night.

Let the SCPR hasten to add that The Report thinks that the mayor and her political advisers are genuinely interested in hiring minority persons.

But The Report thinks that all members of council are too.

The point of the SCPR argument of how Catazaro-Perry came to attack council on Monday night is NOT the genuineness of the mayor's, her political advisers's and council members's commitment to equal employment opportunity in the city of Massillon.

The point is:  The Report thinks that the likes of Maier et al will in the context of political power maneuvering do whatever they have to do to achieve an objective.

The SCPR doubts that the mayor or her advisers "really" think anybody on council is racist or sexist.

But they are political hardball players that will go to great lengths to have things their way.  And they know the affliction that the Party of Lincoln - "the Great Emancipator" - now suffers at the hand of a lunatic fringe. 

This is the kind of story that years down the road - in a "let's remember the good times" social -  they might well - if the SCPR's conjecture is on the mark - have a big back slapping laugh about how they outmaneuvered the anti-appoint-St. John to a "fulltime" city of Massillon position forces.

If The Report has hit upon something, this matter is nothing to have a year later "backslapping laugh about."

There is some discussion about whether or not the combined position needed to be posted to the general public inasmuch as whomever gets employed is paid by what?

Indeed!

Taxpayer dollars.

And it is very likely that not only Massillon taxpayer dollars are involved but also state and federal tax dollars which takes the matter out of being merely a local concern.

We all ought to be outraged if it appears that the parceling out of public jobs are inside jobs with the general taxpaying public being excluded by our elected officials.

Whether it is Stark County recorder Rick Campbell (D), Stark County treasurer Alex Zumbar (R), Stark County auditor Alan Harold (R), George T. Maier (D) or Massillon mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry, CRONYISM SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED!!!!!

In Massillon the political crap needs to stop!

It is apparent to the SCPR that political gamesmanship is "the order of the day" in the halls of the Kathy Catazaro-Perry administration and it needs to stop now!

And so does political cronyism throughout Stark County!!!

Councilwoman Megan Starrett offered up a perfect solution to the standoff between the mayor and council.

Let the mayor have her Dwan St. John as a parking officer enforcer.

But on the other hand let council do the fiscally prudent thing and insist that the part time income tax position be staffed as such.

One final thing.

On the part time income tax position, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE!!!