Wednesday Council Roundup
If you don't get down to council meetings on a regular basis, as I don't, you can forget how incompetent our officials really are. Today I was able to listen to council "debate" the upcoming budget.
The big topic of the day, and council's creative answer to solving crime, should we add 100 more cops? John Cranley, who seems to be the biggest enthusiast of the idea, consistently pointed to cities like New York who have "cleaned up" their streets with large scale arrests and a massive police force. Six other council members agreed with him. The only dissenting voice was David Crowley who preached more efficiency as compared to bulking up the force with larger amounts of officers. He too pointed to a comparison between Cincinnati and New York, a statistic that showed New York has about 10% more of their force available to respond to calls and fewer officers behind desks (or in other fields of police work).
After the rest of council vigorously jumped on the "tough on crime" bandwagon, some, such as Jeff Berding, pointed out there were many other areas in which crime can be fought (education, recreation, job opportunities, etc). However, no one really seemed anxious to explore these routes. With the urban flight news article coming out in today's Enquirer (how convenient by the way), everyone wanted to talk about the importance of safety and, of course, "perceived safety."
The next issue to be "debated": The scheduled property tax roll back. Taking their cue at the words "tax rollback," Republicans Chris Monzel and Leslie Ghiz leapt at the chance to valiantly fight for property owners rights. The cut, which would remove $2,000,000 of the city's budget, ironically the same two council members had just voted to increase spending, would cost the average property owner $9 a year. Monzel even went as far to infer that this $9 is one of the main reasons people are leaving the city for the suburbs. Ghiz advocated the rollback as an excuse for the city to get used to a little belt-tightening, complaining that the city is too frivolous with taxpayer money. Again, right after she voted for a raise in safety spending. The only dissenting votes on this issue were Crowley and Thomas who saw the apparent discrepancy in demanding for more police and better city services while simultaneously cutting the budget.
That brings me to the AndrewWarner.org hero of the day, David Crowley. The only voice on council who realizes that throwing police at crime is not the best solution. In spite of him losing that argument to those police grandstanders, he, along with Cecil Thomas, could at least recognize the need to not eliminate money from the budget while trying to provide better city services. Aside from that, he reminded Mayor Mallory, and those in attendance, of the need to create a clean environment department at city hall. Not to mention his amendment to save the Department of Human Services. Way to go Councilman Crowley.
The AndrewWarner.org loser of the day, hands down, has to go to Leslie Ghiz. Not only did her votes and speeches contradict one another, she was text messaging on her Blackberry the entire time. Throughout the session she was smiling and staring down at her portable device like a college girl who had just met "the one" at a frat party and couldn't bear to not talk to him for a couple hours. If she wants to be horrendously rude, she can do it on her own time. It was especially distracting due to the interference of every incoming and outgoing message in her microphone. That buzzing sound through the PA is so annoying.
The big topic of the day, and council's creative answer to solving crime, should we add 100 more cops? John Cranley, who seems to be the biggest enthusiast of the idea, consistently pointed to cities like New York who have "cleaned up" their streets with large scale arrests and a massive police force. Six other council members agreed with him. The only dissenting voice was David Crowley who preached more efficiency as compared to bulking up the force with larger amounts of officers. He too pointed to a comparison between Cincinnati and New York, a statistic that showed New York has about 10% more of their force available to respond to calls and fewer officers behind desks (or in other fields of police work).
After the rest of council vigorously jumped on the "tough on crime" bandwagon, some, such as Jeff Berding, pointed out there were many other areas in which crime can be fought (education, recreation, job opportunities, etc). However, no one really seemed anxious to explore these routes. With the urban flight news article coming out in today's Enquirer (how convenient by the way), everyone wanted to talk about the importance of safety and, of course, "perceived safety."
The next issue to be "debated": The scheduled property tax roll back. Taking their cue at the words "tax rollback," Republicans Chris Monzel and Leslie Ghiz leapt at the chance to valiantly fight for property owners rights. The cut, which would remove $2,000,000 of the city's budget, ironically the same two council members had just voted to increase spending, would cost the average property owner $9 a year. Monzel even went as far to infer that this $9 is one of the main reasons people are leaving the city for the suburbs. Ghiz advocated the rollback as an excuse for the city to get used to a little belt-tightening, complaining that the city is too frivolous with taxpayer money. Again, right after she voted for a raise in safety spending. The only dissenting votes on this issue were Crowley and Thomas who saw the apparent discrepancy in demanding for more police and better city services while simultaneously cutting the budget.
That brings me to the AndrewWarner.org hero of the day, David Crowley. The only voice on council who realizes that throwing police at crime is not the best solution. In spite of him losing that argument to those police grandstanders, he, along with Cecil Thomas, could at least recognize the need to not eliminate money from the budget while trying to provide better city services. Aside from that, he reminded Mayor Mallory, and those in attendance, of the need to create a clean environment department at city hall. Not to mention his amendment to save the Department of Human Services. Way to go Councilman Crowley.
The AndrewWarner.org loser of the day, hands down, has to go to Leslie Ghiz. Not only did her votes and speeches contradict one another, she was text messaging on her Blackberry the entire time. Throughout the session she was smiling and staring down at her portable device like a college girl who had just met "the one" at a frat party and couldn't bear to not talk to him for a couple hours. If she wants to be horrendously rude, she can do it on her own time. It was especially distracting due to the interference of every incoming and outgoing message in her microphone. That buzzing sound through the PA is so annoying.
Council is so inconsiderate and immature. Texting and talking during the whole session. I really think we should address this at the next session. Todays meeting has inspired me to attend regularly and to try and get a word in.
That last guy in the comment session was HILARIOUS!
Posted by Jacqueline Henretta | 5:45 PM
I work during the days, so I really appreciate you shedding some light on what goes on during the council meetings. It is really discouraging to hear that the council is so disrespecful and distant. You and Jacqueline keep up the good work!
Posted by Brad Knowles | 11:49 PM
I just managed to rearrange my schedule to get Wednesdays off just for this purpose. Too bad they're about to recess. Afterall, their part time job (which Ghiz feels she is being overpaid for two fold) is getting too demanding.
It's truly a shame that they don't make the meetings more accessible. After today though, it is clear they aren't really interested in any of us participating in our government or our city.
Posted by Andrew Warner | 11:55 PM
best regards, nice info
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Posted by Anonymous | 9:01 PM