Roefaro's laughable pay cut.

[Clipper]

Larry Tanoury Jr's Gotham City News carries the linked article, describing the 5% pay cut he will take and the additional 2% cut that he is suggesting his department heads might take.

www.gothamcitynews.com/roefaro-sends-the-right-message/


5% of Roefaro's mayoral salary is a pittance when looking at his gross income for a year I am sure. It is a political maneuver. One asked when did we last see the city's top elected official take a cut in pay? Mayor Edward Hanna worked for much less than David Roefaro and actually spent a pile of his own money to beautify the city. What Does Roefaro bring to the table? Dreams of an unneeded traffic fiasco at Oneida Square? Has he contributed anything personally to the city? I mean other than lots of city jobs for family and friends? If 20 department heads made $50,000 per annum and they all give up 2% it will save the city a grand total of $20,000. In offering this mere pittance in financial savings he will go forward to ask for sacrifices from the actual WORKING folks employed by the city. He will place the burden to cut city expenses on the backs of your public safety and DPW folks. If he eliminated the politically created jobs and friends and family members from the city hall payroll, City government would probably productively be able to work out of a double wide mobile home. The corrupt politics and the resulting high costs of living in NY State are all that keep me from returning to the area I love and to my beloved home town. State mandates and other costs make it impossible to lower the costs of living up there. Mayor Hanna was forced by the courts to accept his salary, but he invested it back in sculpture and other improvements, so he effectively worked for less than any other mayor in recent history.

[Deleted]

It is a nice gesture by the Mayor and it does motivate other employees to follow his wonderful example. This is what we need . This Mayor is a hard worker and only has the needs of the people of Utica on his mind day and night, His vision of Utica from the great Master Plan to this wonderful tribute to all veterans by make more prominent that glorious monument of dedication within a roundabout. That area is in need of drastic improvement, everyone would area, except the usual nay sayers who even have problems with the Farmers Market and the Parkway Ski area developments. This tribute to our military in that neglected area of decay would bring added beauty because of its closeness to our grand Museum. Hopefully more Mayors in the times to come will bring in their ideas to enhance the City of Utica.

[Clipper]

No problem with improving the city Alan. One would only hope that at some point they quit applying cosmetic band aids and put some money into repaving streets so that one can view some of those things without breaking a spring or blowing tire enroute to those places. The whole nation might also benefit from passage of a "workfare" law that requires those physically able to work for their social services benefits. Maybe with such laws, states would not have to claim a McDonald's bag as their state flower. Utica could darn sure use a little dusting up don't ya think? My last visit left me shaking my head at the sad state of the cities streets and the number of burned out or abandoned properties. THAT might be a good place to start to improve the appearance of the city. Tear down buildings, clean up the garbage, and fix the streets.

[stoney]

I thought Hanna worked for $1 per year?

(Somebody should read up on their history...)

[One more thing, Clip: Consider the source. ]

[Clipper]

Hanna attempted to do that Stoney, but the courts made him accept his salary, so he simply reinvested that and more in beautification projects and such. His benevolence will not be equaled in our lifetime by anyone running for office in the City of Utica. He may have been a little weird (actually a WHOLE LOT weird) but his heart was as big as his mouth.

[stoney]

That's right, Clip. But we must remember he was a millionaire, & could afford to do such things.

[Clipper]

Gee, I wish I was rich and eccentric. Must be a bitch to wake up in the morning and try and decide how to shelter your millions from the IRS and Obama's plans to redistribute wealth.

[Deleted]

I don't know when you were last Mr. Clipper buy many streets were repaved in the past three years. Last summer they finished repaving the entire Bleecker St. All Genny is done. All of North Utica is finished. Most of James St is finished. The city is being rebuilt like in the days of the Great Caesar's. One thing I do like about Utica is the food wrappers on the ground, remind me of some of Italy countryside. Still not sure why so many mothers with babies throw the dirty diapers in the street but that gives the DPW something to clean.
If I remember that 'workfare' law is in affect. Only one big problem if you sign up for SSI at the Federal Building right after signing up for Welfare assistance they can't make you do the work part of the welfare agreement. And depending how long it takes the SSI administrative judges to approve the cast, even counting the many years between the two rejection leters a person be sollecting welfare and never work. Back pain and psychiatric problems I guess are still the biggest SSI cases and many Doctor's will give a 'can't work order". All this is kind of silly but people will do anything for a free handout.

[stoney]

Huh? You are being facetious about the streets, right Alan?

[stoney]

You're right about the back problems, Alan. That is the #1 claim for disability (short-term, long-term, or SS). I've never worked with Worker's comp issues before, but wouldn't doubt that's their #1 malady, too.

I think I mentioned before, I used to love ordering & then watching the surveillance tapes. Here's people claiming a major back problem, carrying 30-packs of beer in their houses & doing all sorts of activity.

There's a little "test" some doctors use when a person claims they have a back problem. They'll push down on the top of a person's head & say, "Does this hurt?" If the person says yes, then we'd know they were faking it.

[Ralph]

"Most of James St. is finished".......then why can I see BRICKS instead of blacktop? I drove over it recently and it still looks like there was mortar practice going on in the neighborhood.

Must be the new deepwell drains for clearing the water off the roads.

[Deleted]

James and Mohawk up to MVCC and around that area is done. Isn't the area around the Police Safety done. All of Bleecker St is done. They need to work on Elizabeth especially the Court House Area.

[Clipper]

Mr. Clipper? To what do I owe such a distinguished monicker? I can read Alan, and just about every day people are bitching in the newspaper about the potholes in the city streets. Tow years ago when I was there last, almost ALL of Uticas streets were riddled with potholes. Potholes were the rule rather than the exception. They used that foolish pothole patching machine and wasted a ton of money. They used that thing here on parts of I-81. That crap pounded out of the potholes before the truck was out of sight down the road.

[bobbbiez]

Yeah know, in all fairness in the last three weeks I've had to travel quite a bit throughout our area from Albany to Rochester and there isn't one city or town that hasn't got major problems with pot holes. Sure Utica does have it's share but so does all cities especially once the plows hit the streets in the winter.
I read and listen to the news most of the time and that's a major concern in all areas right now. Geez, I'm not positive but wasn't it Watertown who lost a whole snow plow in one of their pot holes within the last few weeks? I know it happened around here somewhere.
Even in Syracuse two women started a page on facebook for people to write in or take pictures of the pot holes in their areas in hopes their city departments take care of business. We all know it ain't gonna happen till the snow is gone.

Guess it's just a bigger problem when you live in states who have plows tearing up streets as they remove the snow. Won't even mention the curbs I "use" to have in front of my house or the grass I "use" to have on my front lawn by the road. Again being fair, it happens every year and when I call the Mayor's office they do come and repair the damage.

[Clipper]

That wasn't a pot hole that the snowplow fell into BZ. It was a sinkhole.