LOCAL OFFICIALS (VIDEOS) ARE A "LOT OF HOT AIR" WHEN IT COMES TO STATE FUNDING OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT?

As early as December 20, 2010  the Stark County Political Report began writing about the draconian state funding cuts that were coming to local government (villages, cities and townships) in the wake of Republican John Kasich's election as governor in November.

And such talk was not just "whistling Dixie" on a dark, scary night to comfort oneself in the face of feared disaster.

The fact of the matter is that the Kasich administration has done what it was feared it would do on taking office on January 1, 2011.

As an Ohio political subdivision and one of the state's larger counties, Stark has absorbed the full brunt of the cuts which over the entire state has turned into a $575 million in cuts whereas Ohio now has several billions in surpluses in its "rainy day fund."

What the SCPR notes is that a few of Stark County's local government officials have struck out at state officials but that they for the most part are out-of-power-at-the-state-level Democrats.

A recent new entrant into the jawboning has been Democratic Canton city treasurer Kim Perez, who, the SCPR thinks is fixing to run against Canton mayor William J. Healy, II come next year's Democrat primary election (May, 2015).

The SCPR thinks Perez may be "more of the same" in terms of local officials (again, emphasizing mostly Democratic ones) whining about the state cuts in a grandstanding fashion and not doing anything about it.

In the following video of Perez at Canton's June 2, 2014 meeting of city council, he talks about "new" potential devastation to Canton and other Stark County and Ohio cities at the hand of proposed Amended Senate Bill 5 and of his effort to bring all of Stark County officialdom together in united action in bringing pressure to bear on the Ohio General Assembly and, of course, Stark Countians Oelslager, Hagan, Schuring and Slesnick.



As The Report wrote in October,2012 right before the 2012 general election:

The SCPR projects that Stephen Slesnick (Democrat - Canton, the 49th), Kirk Schuring (Republican - Jackson Township, the 48th) and Christina Hagan (Republican - the 50th) will win re-election next month by fairly comfortable margins.  And The Report is ready to project that the Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez (who, as Jackson Township fiscal officer, 9-1-1 governance committee chairman and Canton Municipal Court employee frequently complains about the drop off  of funding of local governments) will offer up a "sacrificial lamb" in opposition to Scott Oelslager two years hence when he seeks re-election.

In re-electing this Stark County legislative foursome, the message they receive is a loud and clear:  your seat is safe and secure no matter that you have done nothing to stop the carnage of Ohio's Local Government Fund funding of Stark County's cities, villages and townships.

To add insult to injury, beginning January 1st, there will be no more revenues from what used to be Ohio's estate tax.

And there are other legislative initiatives and failures to hold harmless that the four have participated in to one degree or another.

The SCPR really has no sympathy at all for local officials and their complaints about what Governor Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly is doing to them and to Stark County taxpayers.

Who among them has organized any pressure on the re-elective future of any of the four?

Answer:  none!

All they do is whine.

And when any one of the four shows up in local government venues, they are likely to be treated as if they are political royalty.  Kissing up to those who are hurting you seems to be the standard protocol most local government types dish out notwithstanding the financial grief that none of the four has done anything to stop.

Not that the four should be treated uncivilly, but they should receive a barrage of criticism and they should be subject to meaningful and threatening to their political longevity opposition as the come up for re-election.

The SCPR's take is that local officials really do not care so long as they can convince locals to ante up with local tax increases.

 And what has changed as we approach the 2014 general election?

Exactly nothing!

As a parting reminder that he is Stark County's "whiner-in-chief," recently retired Canton Municipal Court chief deputy and former (as of June 5, 2014) Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez has offered up a bevy of sacrificial lambs to the Republican side of the Stark County delegation in this fall's election and, in the case of his seeming "best - political - friend" J. Kirk Schuring:  nobody!"

Democratic Canton City Council president Allen Schulman is one of the foremost critics of the Kasich administration and members of the Stark County delegation of the Ohio General Assembly; namely,

• Republican Scott Oelslager of Plain township representing the 29th Ohio Senate District which includes most of Stark County
• Republican J. Kirk Schuring of Jackson Township representing the 48th Ohio House District,
• Democrat Stephen Slesnik of Canton representing the 49th Ohio House District, and
• Republican Christina Hagan of Marlboro Township representing the 50th House District

because they have done absolutely nothing to curb the $575 million in cuts despite pleas that they do so from area "mostly Democratic" local officials.

Here is a April, 2013 Schulman "rant" about the legislators.



As a consequence of the political impunity with which the Stark County delegation has failed to act to stop the financial bloodletting on local government funds, local voters have been asked (with varying degrees of success/failure) to make up for the cuts.

Accordingly, the recent outcries by Perez, Schulman, Healy and a few other outlier Democrat officials and a few whimpers by a scant few of Republican officials should be scoffed at by Stark Countians.

As far as the SCPR can tell, the protestations are all mouth.

As long as local officials can get the voters of Stark's cities, villages and townships (as, of course, school districts) to ante up new local revenues, all we will get from local officials is political rhetoric.

It could be that as voters consider new income tax increase requests and/or income tax credit reductions and the like (e.g. Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton) and should they reject them, the seriousness and the authenticity of the clamor by "state cut" complaining Stark officials might actually bear fruit in terms of putting Oelslager, Hagan, Schuring and Slesnick on the "hot seat."

And, perhaps, Stark County voters ought to reject any and all new revenue requests so as to give local officials no other choice than to push back and push back hard on state government through the locals who we send to Columbus.

STARK COUNTY'S DELEGATION TO THE OHIO GENERAL ASSEMBLY LIVING BY THE PRESS RELEASE?

Recently, Tom Suddes of the Plain Deal wrote:

On average, only about 20 percent of all the bills introduced during a two-year General Assembly session become law. Most bills are like beads thrown at Mardi Gras: Cheap, but visible. In fact, the last time Democrats ran Ohio's House, in 2009-10, under then-Speaker Armond Budish of Beachwood, the proportion of Ohio House bills that reached then-Gov. Ted Strickland's desk was just 5 percent.

But in getting to the 20%, the 5% or whatever, the reading public is subjected to press release after press release after press release touting how much your state legislator is getting done for you in the Ohio General Assembly.

A Stark County Political Report examination of legislation offered by the members of the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly shows that most of the legislation offered is going nowhere and a good part of that which does not accomplish much for Stark Countians.

However, local media is awash in publicity seeking press releases when either state Senator W. Scott Oelslager (R-Plain), state Reps. Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson), Christina Hagan (R-Marlboro) and Stephen Slesnick introduce a bill in the Ohio Legislature.

The most productive members of the Stark County delegation are first Scott Oelslager and second Kirk Schuring.

Christina Hagan and Stephen Slesnick are proving to be virtually worthless in being productive while working the press releases.

Hagan takes the prize so far as the SCPR is concerned when it comes to working the press releases in the face of being unproductive in getting prime sponsored legislation to passage.

And, mind you, this is 2013 a "non-up-for-reelection year."

Just wait until next year when they are all up for reelection.  Local newspapers will be filled with self-congratulatory material.

Yours truly recalls years ago in a conversation with the editors of the Akron Beacon Journal of bringing the point that Oelslager claimed credit for "such and such" legislation.

They all let out one big belly laugh.

And they added, Scott Oelslager has never seen a piece of successfully passed legislation he did not want to take some credit for.

Anyhow, let's take a look at what (in order of significance in the view of the SCPR of their respective efforts.

OELSLAGER (the 29th Senate District)

His Senate Bill 4 takes the prize of being legislation offered this year that likely will have the greatest impact on the lives of Stark Coutians.

The added cost for requiring all Ohio hospitals to screen for critical congenital heart defects using "pulse oximetry" is minimal at $150,000 for inital setup and perhaps $30,000 annually to maintain the monitoring system.

Although his SB 99 appears to be going nowhere, it is a worthy offering.

• Prohibits insurers from providing less favorable coverage for orally administered cancer medication than for intravenously or injected cancer medications. 
• Prohibits insurers from reducing coverage for either orally administered or intravenously administered cancer medications to levels lower than those in place on the effective date of the bill. 
• Enables the Superintendent of Insurance to impose disciplinary actions on insurers who violate the prohibition. 
• Enables a court to impose civil penalties on insurers that violate the prohibition: up to $35,000 in total for violations occurring in a six-month period and up to $10,000 for each violation of a cease and desist order issued by the Superintendent.  (Source:  Ohio LSC)

SCHURING (the 48th House District)

While Kirk Schuring has had the most success of any member of Stark County delegation, it does not appear to the SCPR that his efforts have all that much significance to Stark Countians.

His HB 67 (became law on March 6, 2013) which had to do with "delaying determinations of eligibility for PERS (Public Employment Retirement System)" will impact future Stark County participating public employees but from their perspective likely in a negative way, it can be argued that Schuring's work on this legislation ensure the long term viability of retirement benefits.

Schuring's prime sponsored HB 108 got swallowed up in the political controversy surrounding providing taxpayer dollars for Planned Parenthood.

This is what one blog had to say about the fate of this legislation:

The Senate also added the language from HB 108 to the Budget. This bill, initially intended to create the Rape Crisis Trust Fund and provide additional funding to Rape Crisis Centers, was amended to include language which would prohibit Rape Crisis Centers from referring patients to entities that provide abortions.  [passed as amended, in the Ohio General Assembly 2014/2015 budget bill]

His HB 110 is inconsequential in the SCPR's view in that its objective is to create authority for the issuance of Massillon Tiger license plates as well as similar vanity-esque plates for other organizations.

Unfortunately, this legislation is typical of what legislators offer for the purpose endearing themselves to the few who care about such matters.

HB 112 (passed with an effectivity date of October 11, 2013) has a worthy purpose to it, to wit:

• Creates an income tax refund contribution check-off for the benefit of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Project.
• Discontinues an income tax refund check-off category if contributions to that category do not exceed $150,000 in each of two consecutive years.  (Source:  LSC)

 We should all wish that the check-off produces.

After Canton City Council president Allen Schulman raised a stink with the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly about the savaging that state of Ohio funding of local government funding took in the 2012/2013 biennium budget bill during a March session of Canton City Council, Schuring cobbled together his HB 115.

Now this is legislation that could help some Stark County local governments.  In particular, Alliance (facing a vote on a raise to a 2.5% [highest in Stark County] income tax rate in November.  Also, Massillon which is facing being named by the state of Ohio Auditor as being under "fiscal watch" or perhaps even "fiscal emergency" any day now.

But will it pass?

After much publicity and fanfare for Schuring in local media on its introduction, not likely in the judgment of the SCPR.

Schuring is credited with even caring about the financial crisis that many it not most Ohio and, of course, Stark County local governments are facing.

One has to wonder why Hagan and Slesnick has not joined Schuring as a sponsor of HB 115?

As for the rest of Schuring's "prime sponsorship" legislation, it looks pretty inconsequential to The Report.

HAGAN (the 50th House District)

Christina Hagan has sponsored four bills so far in 2013 according to the Ohio House website:

However, none of them have even gotten a committee hearing.

And one of them, HB 248 - "the detectable heartbeat bill" is likely to be highly controversial if the leadership of the House Republican Caucus allow it to move forward at all.

Representative Hagan seems to the SCPR to be developing quite a skill at introducing legislation and getting a lot of ink in the process but having very little hope of getting it through the Legislature.

There are 16 months left in this legislative cycle, so we shall see.

But note that nothing so far deals much with the "bread and butter" issues that Stark Countians care about.

SLESNICK (the 49th House District)

Poor Stephen Slesnick.  A Democrat in a Legislature that is supermajority Republican.

What's the expression?

"As useless as 'ti*s' on a boar hog?"

The SCPR thinks that is what he would be as a legislator even if the Democrats were in power.

For what its worth, (the SCPR thinks virtually nothing, here is what he is offering up so far as a prime sponsor in 2013:

Hum?

Eliminating the need for a front license plate and looking out for the interests of pawnbrokers.

Wow!

Slesnick's constituents in the 49th have to be "really" impressed, no?

But the license plate thing has gotten him some PR.

Mission accomplished.

Such seems to be much of what all the members of the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly seem to be about.

SCHURING'S FALL FROM GRACE?

Well, it depends on what you mean in "fall from grace."

As the SCPR sees Kirk Schuring's political future, he is not in the slightest jeopardy in retaining his seat in 2014.

Statewide, the Democrats are scrambling to find one seat "net" gain in the 2014 Ohio House races to achieve a very modest political goal.

The goal?

To take away the Republican's supermajority status in the House.

And you can be sure that given the anemic Stark County Democratic Party in terms of making a meaningful challenge to either Schuring (the 48th) or Christina Hagan in the 50th, the gain will not be at the expense of either of them.

To be sure, it was a real setback in terms of "aspirations" Schuring might have had for his political career when he lost in 2008 to Democrat John Boccieri for the right to succeed retiring 16th Congressional District Congressman Ralph Regula, when the 16th still included all of Stark County.

But that still is not what The Report is referring to in the expression "fall from grace."

Actually, it is his loss of face among Republicans constituting the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly.

Schuring ranks dead last among the three according to his latest campaign finance report as a political fund raiser. Hence the kick in of another expression:  "last man on the totem pole." (figuratively speaking)

As pointed out in yesterday's blog, with his being named chairman of the Ohio Senate finance committee, the top billing goes to state Senator W. Scott Oelslager (Ohio's 29th Senate District).

The surprise is that "elected for the first time" in 2012 - Christina Hagan - of the 50th came in second; not Schuring as one would expect.

Here are the numbers.

Number 1 - Oelslager:

Number 2 - Hagan:

Number 3 - Schuring:

Schuring only bests Democrat Stephen Slesnick (the 49th):

And, of course, Slesnick is a member of the 39 member Democratic House Caucus which has absolutely - no - political clout and therefore why would most PACs and lobbyists waste their money on him.

It is interesting to look at the contribution layout for all of them.

(Note:  all extracted data obtained from Ohio secretary of state website)

First, Christina Hagan:

Next Schuring:

And finally, Slesnick:

Indeed, the July, 2013 campaign finance reports for the period January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2013 clearly show that J. Kirk Schuring has had a dramatic fall in political status, prestige and respect from his heyday in 2008 when he was raising tens of thousands of dollars upon tens of thousands of dollars in his quest to be a United States congressman.

Who would have thought in 2008 that by 2013 he would be rank third among three Republicans making up the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly?

"'LEGISLATOR 'STRICT' POLITICAL PARTY ALLEGIANCE" HURTS STARK COUNTY CONSTITUENTS & COMMUNITIES, THE STATE AND THE NATION

The Republican and Democratic causes in the Ohio General have a rule.

And the rule holds that if 80% of the caucus members vote to support a particular piece of legislation, then the remaining 20% forego their opposition and vote for the proposed bill.

Sometimes a member gets excused from the rule because he/she has a compelling personal political reason (i.e. that folks back home are watching and the caucus vote will not play in the district) to depart from a party-line vote.

Yours truly is in the process of reading an in-depth book on each of our 44 U.S. presidents.

And in reading about John Quincy Adams (John Quincy Adams, American Statesmen Series, John Torrey Morse) for the time he served a Massachusetts district in the U.S. House of Representatives for upwards of 17 years (1831 - 1848) after he lost his reelection bid for the presidency (1828), it is striking how independent he was of political party influence both in his time as president and in the Congress.

John Quincy Adams can be said to have put the interest of the country and his district ahead of his political preferences.

He was very much in the tradition of George Washington, our first president, who viewed political parties as unhelpful at best and damaging at worst.

A Washington quote:

[Political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

Morse on John Quincy Adams as a member of Congress:

Mr. Adams took his seat in the House as a member of the twenty-second Congress in December, 1831. He had been elected by the National Republican, afterward better known as the Whig party, but one of his first acts was to declare that he would be bound by no partisan connection, but would in every matter act independently. 

Morse, John Torrey (2011-03-30). John Quincy Adams American Statesmen Series (p. 155).  . Kindle Edition.  

And Morse's book is replete with example after example after example of Adams voting what he thought was best for the country even though his vote and leadership on attaining a particular vote benefited his political opponents.

But Washington (a founding father) and Adams were men of the 1700/1800s.

We are now in 2013 and at the national level the nation is in what is termed as being in political gridlock.  So much so that it may be that in September the Republicans may vote to shut down the U.S. government in order to try to kill Obamacare.

Should such an eventuality materialize, you can bet your bottom dollar on the certainty that Stark's congressmen (Gibbs, R - the 7th; Renacci - R - the 16th and Tim Ryan - D - the 13th) will largely vote (90% or better) the party line.

And the same pattern (probably between the 95% to 100% range) has been demonstrated by Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly, to wit:

• Scott Oelslager, Republican (Plain), the 29th Senate District,
• Kirk Schuring, Republican (Jackson), the 48th House District,
• Christina Hagan, Republican (Marlboro), the 50th House District, and
• Stephen Slesnick, Democrat (Canto), the 49th House District

When Republican Jim Renacci ran against then incumbent Democratic Congressman John Boccieri in 2010, one of his main negative points on Boccieri is that he nearly always voted with the Democrats and then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But catch this from a 2011 SCPR blog:

And he was pretty much on the mark.  Stats show that Boccieri voted with Pelosi about 94% of the time. 

But what has Renacci turned around and done as Boccieri's successor? 

You've got it! 

He is pretty much in lockstep, too.  He is on record as voting with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner 92% of the time.

Notwithstanding the ballyhoo that Congressman Renacci made in his successful re-election drive against Democrat Betty Sutton (November, 2012) about his involvement in a bipartisan Congressional policy group, the SCPR sees very little if any separation between him and the Republican House Caucus.

Unless, of course, one considers the following U.S. Senator Rob Portman generated press release to be an example of " on policy issues" bi-partisanship:

Press Releases 

Home / Newsroom / Press Release 

June 11, 2013 

Portman, Brown, Manchin, Renacci and Gibbs Renew Push for Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) and U.S. Congressman Jim Renacci (R-OH-16) joined members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to renew their push for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act in advance of the Hall’s 50th anniversary in September.

Although local Pro Football Hall of Fame afficionados are undoubtedly appreciative of the effort, the SCPR believes that most Stark Coutinans will not think that this joint legislative venture is indication that Washington partisan political gridlock will be ending anytime soon.

So to the question posed by the graphic that leads this blog, to wit:  In 2013 does Stark County have anyone at the state or national level of legislating that in any way, shape or form approximates John Quincy Adams?

STARK COUNTY SCHOOL OFFICIALS SHOULD BE "JUMPING FOR JOY." WHY - THEY LIKELY ARE NOT!

UPDATED AT 12:19 PM

FORTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS FOR OHIO'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS!  (LINK to Columbus Dispatch article of July 12th)

WOW!, WOW!! AND WOW!!! A THIRD TIME, NO?

Not really.

Of the $45.4 million, the SCPR calculates that Stark's 17 schools districts will get a little over $1.2 million

No doubt that the $45.4 million sounds impressive.

And even dropping down to the county level $1.23 million is nothing to sneeze at.

It is when one gets to the school district level that it becomes apparent that the casino profits which are distributed twice a year are pretty much a dud.

It is at the local level that educators (i.e. superintendents and board of education members) cringe.

What sticks in the mind of the local taxpayer?

Of course, $45.4 million.

So why school officials are you asking for "new" monies?

This past May, five Stark County school districts asked for "new" money notwithstanding already receiving casino money AND, mind you, lottery profits.

So why levies for "new" money?

Answer - the casino monies and lottery profits are not what the politicians passing laws in Columbus including Stark County's:

• Scott Oelslager (R-Plain, 29th Ohio Senate District) who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,
• Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson, 48th Ohio House District),
• Christina Hagan (R-Marlboro, 50th Ohio House District) and
• Stephen Slesnick (D-Canton, 49th Ohio House District).

Oh, they love to talk about the $45.4 million.  Maybe even the $1.23 million you do not see them (this would be Christina Hagan for East Canton) high-five school officials over $18,000.

For East Canton schools with about 900 or so students the $45.4 million gets reduced to about $18,000 per half year or $36,000 for a full year of sharing in casino profits.

To give perspective to what $36,000 a year might mean in terms of meeting the annual school budget in the Osnaburg (East Canton) School district, let's take a look at what the district spends each year educating a student.

Scan down through the cost per student list for 2010/2011:

(Note:  2011/2012 - 2012/2013 figures are not yet available, but does anyone think costs have gone down?)

In East Canton it costs $9,568 (remember 2010/2011 numbers) to educate a single student.

So with the additional estimated $36,000 per year from casino profits East Canton can educate 3.75 students.

Remember that East Canton has to spread the $36,000 over let's say 900 students.

How far does $36,000 spread out?

How about $40 compared to at least $9,568 to education.

To be fair, let's look at Stark County's largest school district:  Canton.

Canton is likely to get about $400,000 a year from casino profits.

Okay.

Canton has about 10,000 students.  Divide 400,000 by 10,000 and what do you get.

Bingo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$40 a student.

But Canton is worse off than East Canton.

It costs at least $11,308 (nearly $2,000 more) to educate a student Canton than in East Canton so the $40 does not buy as much in Canton as it does in the Osnaburg Local School District.

with the additional estimated $400,000 per year from casino profits East Canton can educate about 35 of nearly 10,000 students.

So are you still wowing about the $45.5 million in casino provides allocated to K-12 Ohio education?

And we haven't even touch on the lottery profits.

Suffice it to say, in the opinion of the SCPR Ohio's schools get absolutely nothing out of the lottery profits (2012 was a record year for profits LINK), because - though denied by state legislators and the Kasich administration) the folks in the Statehouse play a "shell game" with Ohio taxpayers.

As required by the Ohio Constitution, each and every single profit dollar from the Ohio collection of lottery games DO GO TO EDUCATION.

But the dirty little secret of the $62 billion Ohio biennium budget is that general fund money equivalent to the lottery profits are redirected to "other than education" appropriations.

Folks that's how honest the likes of Oelslager, Schuring, Hagan and Slesnick and their colleagues are with you.

And educators "shudder" every time they see a headline about lottery profits going to the schools.

If their disingenuousness were not enough as to the "shell game" they play with us, the legislators (including ours, except for Slesnick [because as a Democrat he voted against the 2014/15 biennium budget bill]) Oelslager, Schuring and Hagan supported:

• taking away the 10% tax rollback on real property taxes, 
• taking away the 2.5% tax rollback on real property (owner occupied) taxes,
• taking away the Homestead Exemption for those making $30,000 or more.

In doing so they made it significantly more difficult for the school districts across Ohio to pass new levies.

Only Stark's Lake Local School District is asking for "new" monies in a levy issue on November's ballot.

In view of Lake's state representative (Christina Hagan) having made it harder for the district to pass its levy, the very least she could do is to wish the district good luck.

So in the firm belief that Representative Hagan will approve, the SCPR has put together this graphic for Lake Local School District users to take solace in.

(VIDEOS: SCHURING, HEALY & NORDMAN) SCHURING AND SLESNICK "FINALLY" MAKE IT TO COUNCIL TO TALK THE STATE GOV'T FUNDING ISSUE.

TODAY'S STORIES

(UPDATED:  08:15 AM)

Schuring & Slesnick Show Up

at Canton City Hall to Talk

Local Gov't Fund Reduction

(also:  Schuring video talk about meetup)
 

*********************************

 Vassar Park Resident

Bruce Nordman

Says

"No More Excuses" Mayor Healy

On Police Force Numbers

Funding Reduction Notwithstanding

(also:  video  Healy/Nordman exchange) 

  *********************************

SLESNICK

ANNOUNCES

HE IS MOVING

TO

THAT

"CITY UP NORTH"

TO RUN IN 2014 FOR

STATE REP!

Okay!   So it's April 1st.  On the Slesnick part of the headline:  Happy April Fools Day!!!

After weeks of trying, Canton City Council's president Allen Schulman's effort to get members of the Stark County delegation to the Ohio General Assembly (OGA) is bearing fruit.

Last Thursday, the SCPR was at a North Canton sponsored event (solving the Zimber Ditch flooding problem) held at the North Canton Civic Center and had the blessing of encountering state Rep. J. Kirk Schuring.

On greeting the good state representative, the first thing yours truly asked of him:  "When are you going to show up in Canton?"

This would be in response to Schulman's request (make about six weeks ago) that he and his fellows (Hagan, Oelslager and Slesnick) do so for the purpose of explaining what you are doing or not doing to solve the local government funding crisis which is ravaging most of if not all of Stark County's school districts, townships, villages, cities, and, indeed, the county government itself?

As Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) circa (1964 - 1969:  "Gomer Pyle - U.S.M.C.) used to say:  "Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise!"

Schuring knocked yours truly's socks off in saying:  "I met with several members of Canton City Council today (Schulman and Councilman Jim Griffin as well as a few other Canton officials (Finance Director DiRuzza and Annexation/Service/Safety Director Warren Price).

Though he would not reveal much about the conversation (by the way, he did say that the representative representing Canton proper; namely, Stephen Slesnick) was also present, he did leave The Report with a nugget of information:  He (Schuring) is going to introduce legislation on Tuesday that apparently has something to do with the deficit funding matter.

Again, he would not specify.  He only said that he would leave revealing the specifics to Canton authorities and in a provocative way teased:  "stay tuned!"

Here is the Schuring video wherein he talks about meeting with Canton officials.



The SCPR has gotten in touch with President Schulman and here is what he had to say in an reply email to The Report;

From: allen schulman
Subject: Re: Schuring & Slesnick meeting today
To: "Martin Olson" <tramols@att.net>
Date: Friday, March 29, 2013, 9:36 AM

Good morning Martin!

To answer your inquiry, we did meet with Representatives Schuring
and Slesnick yesterday.

Member Griffin, Director Price, Director DiRuzza and I were present to conduct an informal session to understand what was being done in Columbus to help struggling urban areas like our own.

The meeting was informative and candid.

While I will share my views at a  later date, it is probably best to let the General Assembly Representatives speak for themselves.

It does appear that these State Representatives understand and [are] concerned about the serious impact on urban centers from the various cuts to local communities.

Personally, I believe that there may be a response from Columbus, albeit on a limited basis.

At this point, any additional funding would be welcome. However, it is clear that a significant change in philosophy is required before local communities are restored to their previous funding levels. State Republican leadership believes that local government is bloated and inefficient. That view is not borne out by the facts. Nevertheless, I will continue to speak out against these destructive funding cuts and the terrible cost to local communities like Canton that are  the result of misguided policies driven more by ideology than sound public
policy.

I hope that answers your questions. ... .

Allen

It had to be gratifying for Schulman and his fellow Canton city officials to see Representative Slesnick (a Canton Democrat) in Canton.  However, not all was "peaches and cream."  For the snub of Canton officialdom at the hand of state Representative Christina Hagan and state Senator Scott "I'm too busy" Oelslager continues.

As mentioned above, Slesnick was present also.  But clearly "as second fiddle" to Schuring.  Being a Democrat in the supermajority Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly he is little more than a wallflower on the ornate walls of the House chamber.

Slesnick's presence had to be bittersweet inasmuch as last Monday night Slesnick was in Akron for an Akron Budget Town Hall meeting.  He couldn't even send a legislative aide to his home district.  Hmm?

His snub of the hometown is almost enough to start a rumor that he must be planning to move from the Hall of Fame city to the Rubber Capital to start a new political career.

But that couldn't be true.

For in Akron the name Slesnick would not have near the political oomph that it does in Canton.

He desperately needs the family name Slesnick if he is to be a political success.

Stephen is in his own right is so colorless and boring and therefore unimpressive to the extent he could not generate enough personality to get elected dog catcher outside his home digs, no?

The SCPR was not the only one caught by sur-prise on Slesnick and Schuring showing up.

Yours truly inquired of Councilpersons Cirelli, Fisher, Mariol and Morris and was told the meeting was news to them but it was welcome news.

The Stark County Political Report agrees with Vassar Park resident Burce Nordman who has been working feverishly to help Canton and Stark County government to solve the county's/the city's crime problem.

He says that Canton needs to solve its perceived and REAL crime problem if it is going once again to become the shining jewel of a city it once was (producing President William McKinley).

Mayor William Healy, notwithstanding his political campaign (2007, 2011) rhetoric of "zero tolerance of crime in Canton", has utterly failed as a matter of substance to make any headway on reducing crime.

Now that Nordman and his Vassar Park friends are putting the heat on to increase the police force from 150 policemen to 175 policemen, Healy is crying that State of Ohio government cuts of approximately $6.5 million in recent years prevent his administration from putting more police on the streets.

Witness this video exchange (last week council meeting) between Nordman and Healy:



Before this latest political gambit, Healy was blaming the county financial crisis and the defunding of the sheriff's department which forced a reduction in the use of county jail beds in use from 501 to about 300 as a reason why his claimed reduction of  crime in Canton (a claim which is clearly open to dispute) has leveled off if not increased by his own numbers.

We have all come to know the mayor as being a veritable artist of political spin.  Accordingly, it is difficult to give him any credibility for anything he says.

While there is documented credibility to his claim that the State of Ohio has balanced its budget on the backs of local government, he undermines the significance of the impact on Canton city government by his seemingly spendthrift ways in hiring new folks for the mayor's office, to wit:

• William Bartos, communications director at $58,500 on 02/05/2013
• Michelle Chyatte, management assistant at $38,800 on 08/14/2012, and
• Ashley Wright, research and referral assistant at $26,000 on 11/12/2012

Also, he has legislation in the works to increase (at his whim, meaning that some will get no raise while others get more than the overall percentage of raises) non-bargaining employees at 2% of the current total salaries of this classification of employees.

And that is not all.

He has found $3 millon of capital funds at risk from what the SCPR believes to be a very shaky Hercules Project.

There is another $360,000 for a questionable in terms of real effectiveness of a "shotspotter flex" program passed by council or March 18th of this year.  Consider these other expenditures (LINK to September 17, 2012 blog):

• $13,895.00 for remote control blinds in the mayor's 8th floor of city hall office,
• $12,673.00 for a big-screen "smart board-esque TV" and another
• $14,995 for camera and programing for the smart board

Also, there is the matter of pay increases that the mayor is contemplating to Finance Director DiRuzza (from $62,450 when he hired in two years ago to his present $68,399 to soon-to-be $80,000 [about $17,500 in increases in two years]) and to Warren Price (service director, safety director, chief-of-staff and annexation director) who gets about $33,000 in increases in four years.

So between DiRuzza and Price the city will be paying $50,000 a year more in 2013 than in 2009.

And there is more to the story.

Other city officials (including city council members) have gotten raises that builds upon the $50,000 more that DiRuzza and Price likely will soon be getting.

And, of course, Healy is - as pointed above - is asking for another 2% of the cumulative non-bargaining unit salary base for additional raises.  The cost?  Probably about $120,000.  Hmm?  (Note:  the SCPR calculates the 2013 contemplated raises to be approximately $120,000 based on the 2011 $198,000 3.2%-based figure)

The SCPR has learned from a councilman that some on council are insisting that the law department  amend language to the effect that Healy cannot concentrate the raises on certain administration favored employees and also that council itself would not again participate in a previous round of raises as occurred in July, 2011.

In June of 2011 council lifted a freeze on pay increases which resulted in a 3.2% increase that amounted to about $198,000 total in increases passed out to various city non-bargaining unit employees.
 
These expenditures show that the mayor can dig up money for what he deems to be important but then poor mouths it when it comes to what the citizens of Canton want.

What do they want?

More policemen patrolling their neighborhoods.

The cost?

Beefing up to 175 officers as Group 175 wants will be about $825,000 a year according to figures developed by Nordman.

Healy said in the video above that it would cost Canton most if not all of the money ($6.5 million over six or seven years) to fund police expansion.

Quite a disparity between $825,000 and $6.5 million, no?

Undoubtedly, the difference is that the mayor is looking at sustainability over a period of years whereas Nordman is looking at a one year cost factor.

It also points out how slick Healy is when he starts talking numbers.

If called on it, he would backtrack immediately and correct the apples and oranges comparison sleight of hand that might not be that apparent to the casual observer.

So lets add up the numbers:

Does anyone believe that the expense numbers in the spreadsheet above constitute the ONLY discretionary expenditures during the 2009 - through 2012 time period?

If so, then yours truly want to talk to you about you perhaps buying some Florida swamp land.

The SCPR is convinced that Nordman et al is a political force that Healy has not reckoned with before in terms of being intelligent, dynamic, researched, persistent, enduring while non-belligerent as a civic action effort.

And he will find that out if he does not already know it now when he meets them on April 16th.

Political spin and finesses will not work with these folks!

The Report believes that in the end Nordman's 175 Group (the number of Canton policemen they are insisting upon patrolling the streets of Canton) will be the number that Canton's officials will find the financial wherewithal to support.

And of course, if Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez will get off his duff and pick up on the vulnerability that the likes of Oeslager, Schuring and Hagan (all Stark County Republicans) might be facing for their support of the gargantuan State of Ohio local government funding cuts (which is contributing to local tax increases and/or less ditch repairs, road/street repairs/resurfacing; less park hours [Jackson] and the like) in the 2014 elections and field "real" candidates that have a "real" chance to run "really" competitive campaigns, then Stark County (indeed, all Ohio political subdivisions) might experience a reversal of the State of Ohio apparent abandonment of local government.

The same for Republican Stark County chair Jeff Matthews in finding viable opposition to Democrat Stephen Slesnick.

All four of them stand by and watch the State of Ohio accumulate upwards of $2 billion dollars in surplus while school districts, townships, villages, and cities have to ask for local tax increases or that citizens accept less in local government services.

Stark Countians should be besieging Gonzalez and Matthews to find more than token candidates to take the Stark County legislative incumbents on and thereby provoke a change in Columbus.

It is a credit to Canton City Council President Allen Schulman who has gotten this ball rolling.

It is a credit that Vassar Park resident Bruce Nordman has seized the initiative to make Canton a safer place which business/industry/commerce might one day seek out as a desirable place to be.

Representative Schuring may be in the process of redeeming himself now that it is being driven home to him that Stark Countians are saying in increasing numbers that enough is enough in terms of State of Ohio local government funding cuts.

If he actually does something, the SCPR will be laudatory of his action in future blogs.

Now all one can do is assume disingenuousness.

He could be pulling a Healy and making it look like he is taking action while in reality all that being said and "apparently" done is nothing more than appearance and in the end more garbage for the political dumpster.

Such is why everyday citizens are becoming more and more cynical of, disenchanted and disaffected with elected officials.

But maybe not,

Perhaps he has seen the light and will take some political risks with his own political party for the benefit of Stark Countians.

The core of his district is Jackson Township.  Because of State of Ohio cuts, the township's parks are at risk in terms of scope of use to township residents and in terms of keeping up with maintenance and repair with no money for capital improvements.

The SCPR will be watching and a growing body of Stark Countians are watching to see whether Schuring will stand up for Stark's local governments.

Oelslager and Hagan have signified by their refusal to meet with local government officials over their participation in the reduction of state monies to:

•  all of Stark County's political subdivisions in the case of Oelslager (he represents all but the western fringe of the county),
• Alliance, East Canton, East Sparta, Louisville, Magnolia, Minerva, Nimishillen Township, Marlboro Township, Pike Township, Lake Township, part of Plain Township, Osnaburg Township and Sandy Township in the case of Christina Hagan

that it is their political party and its ideology of strangling government at all levels over the everyday needs of their districts' citizens.

Their decision has been made.

If their constituents re-elect them in 2014, then the SCPR does not want to hear them complain.

The SCPR retort will be:  Buck up Oelsalger and Hagan (and perhaps Schuring constituents - as said above, "we shall see") constituents.  You have made your choice for less government - now live with it!