(VIDEO) CANTON COUNCIL PRESIDENT PUTTING OLESLAGER, SCHURING, HAGAN & SLESNICK ON THE SPOT!

MUST SEE VIDEO!

Canton Council President Allen Schulman

Rips

Stark County Legislators on Local Gov't Funding

The Stark County Political Report can think of a number of Cantonians who should be sitting in the mayor's chair over William J. Healy, II.

One would be Canton service director and chief-of-staff Warren Price.

But the SCPR's prime choice would be council president and premier personal injury attorney Allen Schulman.

One of the most exciting parts of the Canton City Council agenda is the last item on it:  "miscellaneous business."

On occasion, at this point in council proceedings, President Schulman will launch into a polemic that is absolutely spellbinding.

While Healy is a quintessential calculating politician that spins everything to make himself look good, Schulman, on the other hand, is a "what you see is what you get," passionate politician.

As mayor, the SCPR can only imagine what Schulman would be as an inspiring politico who could lead the people of Canton to a restoration of the Hall of Fame City to heights that the city has not seen in many decades.

But for whatever reason, he had decided not to go that route.

Nonetheless, he is a force and factor in Canton politics that merits the attention of other area politicians.

It is rather obvious that he works behind the scenes in Canton and Stark County political and governmental circles agitating local politicos "to do the courageous and right thing" for the interests of Cantonians/Stark Countians.

On this past Monday, Schulman let loose with a political/verbal barrage of castigation on Stark County's legislators, namely:

• state Senator Scott Oelslager, Republican of Plain Township,
• state Representative Kirk Schuring, Republican/Jackson Twp,
• state Representative Christina Hagan, R-Marlboro Township, and
• state Rep. Stephen Slesnick, Democrat, Canton

Why the castigation?

Because they have done very little, if anything, to stop the bloodletting by the Kasich administration of local government funding.

In the video that follows at the end of this blog Schulman shares with Canton City Council members that Senator Oelslager has shared with him that Governor Kasich has squirreled away $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds.

Schulman's point?

Ohio urban areas (including Canton, of course), while the state of Ohio is awash in surplus monies.

The SCPR applauds Schulman for his willingness to confront these "ineffective on state funding of local government" Stark County-based legislators.

Mostly local government officials (especially school board members) fawn over Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick when they have had the chutzpah to show up at local government meetings against a background of having voted for measures to gut local government funding.

But not Schulman.

Recently, he was in a back and forth with Stark County Concerned Citizens leader Chris Borello on her groups' failure to take these same legislators on with regard to their support of legislation to take away from local governments the ability to manage and control the environmental consequences of fracking for natural and wet gases.

It is easy to criticize others.

But how about one's self.

Well, Schulman with his polemic and insistence that Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick come to Canton City Council and explain themselves is demonstration that what he applies to others (i.e.the environmentalists), he applies to himself.

Being the evaders of anything unpleasant, the SCPR doubts that any of the four will show up at Canton council February 25th meeting.

They will have one excuse or another.  Most likely it will be 'we are in session we simply do not have the opportunity to break away'.

Council does not meet until 7:30 p.m.  So even if they are in Columbus, they all could hop in a car at 4:30 and be in Canton in time to go face-to-face with council.

The SCPR is willing to bet that they will find an excuse not to be in Canton on the 25th.

If, perchance, any of them do show up, it will be interesting to see which of the council persons "suck up" to them?

While the SCPR thinks that council members should be courteous, civil and respectful, there should be no cloying of them.

A SCPR "tip of the hat" to Allen Schulman for putting Stark County's legislative delegation ON THE SPOT!

(VIDEO) ONLY REPUBLICAN COUNCILMAN MARK BUTTERWORTH GETS IT, VOTES "NO" ON TRANSFER OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT MONIES TO CITY'S GENERAL REVENUE FUND FOR POLICE & FIRE

A week ago today Canton City Council bought into deepening the financial crisis that besieges Canton city government.

Cantonians have to thank God for having one Republican on Council to act as a conservative conscience on the runaway Democrat spenders on Council, no?

Well, not exactly.  In fact, Canton is spending less and less on government because revenue collections from the city's income tax is falling, falling and falling more.

However, it is fiscally improvident and irresponsible for Canton to be taking capital improvement funds and putting them in day-to-day operations (police and fire in this instance).  It is truly astounding to hear Law Director Martuccio (see video at end of this blog) that whereas local law mandates a 75% to 25% between general fund and capital improvements split; Council has - over the years since Canton implemented an income tax - provided for 14 exceptions to the 25% capital improvement allocation through November 28, 2010 and then on the 29th added a 15th exception.

Butterworth did do the right thing in voting no on the 15th exception.

 

Councilman Hawk did speak out against the practice of making greater and greater inroads into capital improvement monies as a shift to general fund day-to-day operations.  

 

But should Cantonians be impressed by Hawk's rhetoric?  No!  The saying:  "actions speak louder than words."  What are Hawk and his finance committee members doing vis-a-vis Mayor Healy and his administration to stop this "robbing Peter to pay Paul" operation that is in full stride in Canton's financial operations these days.  

Answer:  absolutely nothing!!!

Words, mere words is all Cantonians are getting.  And he has ten other Democrats following his lead.  Democrat officials get upset about being tagged with being financially irresponsible.  But how else is this Canton City Council action to be tagged?

One of the highly important needs of an city is to have capital improvement funds with which to make infrastructure improvements required by new and relocating businesses if the businesses are going to (with their income tax-producing jobs) decide to call Canton home.

To the degree that capital improvement funds get eroded, so does Canton's capability to make Canton an attractive option to businesses seeking locales for new or expanding business.  While police and fire functions are vitally important, Canton must find other ways to fund these operations.  Cutting into the bone of the city by taking from capital improvement funds is a dangerous move in terms of Canton's economic future viability.

In the video that accompanies this blog, the SCPR interviews Mayor Healy on his view about creating the 15th exception to take from capital improvement monies and shifting them to day-to-day operations.  As readers of The Report know, yours truly has never met a more crafty political spin artist than Mayor Healy in making what he deems to be important as being sound reasoning and therefore the thing to do.

As readers will see, Healy does not disappoint in terms of his spin- making ability.  He shifts the topic away from the enduring to the temporary in insinuating that stimulus monies and road paving projects financed by the one-time money somehow cures the removal of bone from the Canton body politic and the damage it does to Canton's economic future.

There couldn't be a clearer picture of the the financial and economic damage that is insidiously being done.  But does Healy put on a good show?  He does.

While the big fuss at last week's meeting was whether to amend the city building code to provide for mandatory inspections at dramatically increased fees (and these inspections are highly important if Canton is to get rid of its slums), the vote on the transfer of funds from capital improvements to day-to-day general fund obligations is a "fly beneath the radar" operation that cuts into Canton's ability to turn its economic future around.

Shame on Council and shame on Mayor Healy for aiding and abetting the demise of Canton's future!!!

Here is the promised video.