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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2010 11:30:10 GMT -5
He gets to set the bar at an alarming level, and then passes the buck to the council. Typical political football. Gets him off the hook and makes everyone else the patsy.
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Post by stoney on Mar 8, 2010 11:36:09 GMT -5
Good point, Clip.
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Post by bobbbiez on Mar 8, 2010 12:35:46 GMT -5
I have no idea what motivates the voters of Utica. Year after year clowns such as Zecca (who ran unopposed) and Scalise keep getting re-elected while at the same time people are screaming that taxes and fees are going up. The streets of Utica are now more than goat paths, yet officials boast how much they are spending to repair them, buildings and businesses are shuttered weekly because taxes and lack of business is driving them out or away. The Council rubber stampos pay increases, promotions, and staff additions while bellowing that cuts must be made. The insanity of increased taxation must stop. The destitute people of Utica are not getting the substantial raises and promotions that our civic leaders are garnering. Its unaffordable - City of Utica property taxes will have risen over 70 percent in the past two administrations if this increase takes place and that 70% does not include County or School District tax increases. There is nothing left to have taken or stolen from our pockets - yet Scalise and her cohorts claim that the Mayor has a tight budget and they will support it.  Jim Zecca ran unopposed because the people in W.Utica are extremely happy for once we have a councilman who addresses the problems we face in W. Utica and who made the Administration realize W. Utica IS part of the city. We are no longer the last on the totem pole to receive attention and services as it always was in the past.  Jim Zecca has accomplished more in his terms then all the former W. Utica councilmen put together. No sense in putting up a candidate to run against Zecca when you know you won't defeat him. He is the people's choice.  |
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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2010 12:40:01 GMT -5
I am not there to watch the everyday business on the tv news, but I get the impression from afar that this mayor is the most "do nothing" mayor the city has ever seen. Just the fact that he has Angelo address most issues, rather than to "take the time" to take a mayoral stand on issues that rate a mayoral answer to the public, make me think he is really quite disinterested in the welfare of the city. He seems to be there strictly for his own purposes, and to keep his family and friends employed.
We had an undertaker mayor once before, and Dominick Assarro attended to city business and spent his days in his office at City Hall. He was not out and about leading funeral processions every day. God rest his soul.
His little temper tantrums and his walking out of meetings when things don't go his way, tells me he is better off dealing with the dead, because they can't disagree with him or make him angry.
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Post by corner on Mar 8, 2010 13:51:36 GMT -5
well he is screwing the city taxpayer for sure but what can you expect from somebody who dealswith stiffs every day.
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Post by stoney on Mar 8, 2010 14:40:56 GMT -5
Corner, you just crack me up & make my little day!  |
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Post by corner on Mar 8, 2010 14:44:18 GMT -5
glad i could help
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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2010 15:25:24 GMT -5
He does have a rather unique sense of humor to say the least, hahaha! You crack me up too Corner! |
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Post by stoney on Mar 8, 2010 15:35:45 GMT -5
He's a man of few words, but packs a lot into what little he does say.
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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2010 15:48:19 GMT -5
That is an understatement Stoney. LOL
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2010 17:59:47 GMT -5
If Roefaro & the CC want to show that they are serious about cutting the budget, they can start by taking away city owned vehicles driven by dept. heads, police & fire chiefs, etc. I drive my own vehicle to work every goddam day & I don't make 100 grand a year. This city is not so huge that these guys can't drive their own vehicles when called in on an emergency. Roefaro was asked this question on WIBX this a.m. & he hemmed & hawed on his answer. Every dept. head should be forced to cut another 10% from their budget. Period. Find the cuts, or you're out. Foreclose on Hotel Utica. And pass an ordinance forcing tax exempt entities to pay a fee to the city for the services that they recieve. No more free rides for special interest groups that are sucking the taxpayers dry.
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Post by corner on Mar 8, 2010 18:11:44 GMT -5
a dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste!
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Post by Clipper on Mar 8, 2010 23:54:40 GMT -5
Kracker you have some very valid points. The idea of having each and every department head cut 10% from their budget, is not the least bit unrealistic in scope. When I was still working for the Air Force in the 90's we were tasked to cut our budgets by 25% one year, and it was simply taken from us, and it was up to us to decide what to cut . The following year we had to cut another 27% under the same guidelines and we also managed to accomplish that without hindering our mission capability.
The moral of the story is this. If you simply take the money from each and every department, they WILL find a way to work around it and still manage to function. Just have to get tough and not buckle to the whining.
Forcing tax exempt properties to pay fees for services is not at all unfair either. While a church may not be required to pay taxes as such, there is no reason for them to be exempt from paying for their garbage pickup and other city services provided to taxpayers and funded with tax moneys. Let those properties receive a bill for garbage pickup codes inspection and other services provided by the city.
I also agree with ya about the Hotel Utica. Foreclose on the damned place and be done with it. It is nothing but a boat anchor hanging around the necks of Utica taxpayers. Let the city foreclose, and then do what they have to to have it occupied and profitable, or else tear it down and bite the bullet.
Lastly QUIT THE PILOT PROGRAM BUSINESS. We have yet to see anyone actually live up to their agreement to employ progressively more people or live up to the expectations of the agreement as far as paying the moneys that they promised to. The program has obviously not been the miraculous cure for drawing businesses and creating jobs that it was originally purported to be.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Mar 9, 2010 0:24:52 GMT -5
Clipper,
From what I remember, Utica has no standing to foreclose on the Hotel Utica. Utica isn't the lender for the loan that is continually a problem, it is the co-signer on the loan. If the Hotel Utica doesn't make a payment, the city is liable. If the loan goes into default, it could have a very negative impact on Utica's bond rating.
An even worse scenario, if the mortgage holder foreclosed on the property & auctioned it for less than the amount owed, I believe Utica would be liable for the difference.
The Hotel is usually late with it's tax payments but not late enough that the city could take it for taxes owed.
What a great deal the city negotiated.
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Post by kit on Mar 9, 2010 8:03:49 GMT -5
No offense intended, but excuse me while I chuckle and wonder why those folks who haven't already moved away from the Utica area don't DO something about the political nonsense and stop just talking about it. Talk and arguments are cheap, but they don't get anything done. I guess the idea is to just watch as Utica goes into the pooper and then bitch about why it did.
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Jim Zecca ran unopposed because the people in W.Utica are extremely happy for once we have a councilman who addresses the problems we face in W. Utica and who made the Administration realize W. Utica IS part of the city. We are no longer the last on the totem pole to receive attention and services as it always was in the past. 
