Yesterday we learned that the City of Toledo plans to lay off up to 350 employees, including 150 police officers. They expect that 75 of those officers will, however, work through the summer because they've gotten permission to divert a federal grant, originally to intended to pay for equipment, to cover the cost of those officers.
The city is facing a $27.7 million deficit and they have made some cuts and modifications which have reduced that to $20 million. Elected officials have repeatedly said that they've cut everywhere they possibly can.
However, at last week's council meeting, they tabled a motion to cut out the $457,000 athletic program. They also still plan to open a pool this summer.
This is INSANE!!!!
The role of government is to provide the protection for life and property - not to entertain us. To say that they have to lay off police officers when they are planning to fund sports programs this summer makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever.
And these types of decisions are part of the reason why so many people believe their government is out of control - and why they expressed their frustrations on Tax Day at the Tea Parties.
Tea Party attendees have wondered, "what next?" Well - here is your first test.
Are you going to let Toledo politicians fund athletic programs instead of police officers? Are you going to allow sports to be a priority over your safety?
You need to act. Call or email them today and insist that the basic, core functions of government be provided before the non-essentials.
Mayor Carty Finkbeiner: 419-245-1001
mayor.toledo@toledo.oh.gov
Toledo City Council: 419-245-1050
Michael.ashford@toledo.oh.gov
Phillip.copeland@toledo.oh.gov
Joe.mcnamara@toledo.oh.gov
George.sarantou@toledo.oh.gov
Betty.shultz@toledo.oh.gov
Mark.sobczak@toledo.oh.gov
Frank.szollosi@toledo.oh.gov
Wilma.brown@toledo.oh.gov
Mike.craig@toledo.oh.gov
Dmichael.collins@toledo.oh.gov
Tom.waniewski@toledo.oh.gov
Lindsay.webb@toledo.oh.gov
If you are not a resident of Toledo, but you either work in the city, travel through the city, have friends or relatives in the city, or just care about the city, you have every right to call and express your opinion. Any time that government forgoes its basic responsibilities, citizens need to speak out.
Here's the thing to remember: the reason Council didn't cut out the athletic programs is because 50 - yes, 50 - people showed up and begged them not to. If 20 times that number (the people who attended Toledo's Tea Party) pick up the phone and call, they will listen.
Better yet, if every TDTP attendee also gets three other people to call, they will certainly listen. If they get so many calls it overwhelms the phone system, they will have no choice but to listen.
You cannot just attend a protest, wave a few signs and expect that our elected officials will change their ways. You have to be vigilant in ensuring that they are constantly reminded what the priorities should be.
This is the first test. Will we pass?
We talked about this last night on Eye On Toledo, in case you missed it.
Friday, April 17, 2009
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4 comments:
My email will soon be on its way....
This is a prime example of screwed up priorities. The City of Toledo would rather pander to a small group that demands an athletic league and a pool than set out a realistic expectation of the impact that making that choice will have.
This type of misdirection of common sense was truly a factor in our decision to move. This is not the first time this has happened, and it will not be the last.
There was a time in recent history when there were no city sponsored athletic leagues, no public pools and no carte blanche handouts just because a person was unemployed, under-employed or plain lazy. Kids used a garden hose to play in the water, kids played street hockey, they played touch football in vacant fields. And, IMO, they did just fine. The kids were responsible for being creative enough to occupy themselves.
But I guess if you're going to take away a chunk of the safety services, the city may be thinking that babysitting is cheaper than keeping the police visible.
Just another example of the backbone of the council members. The Mayor has an idea to take away the reciprocal tax credit for 19,000, but some show up and complain saying they will move out of the city, so they vote against it. They should check and see how many city's don't have these types of agreements and then make an informed decision. Thet should continue the "Tea Party" at the voting booth! I grew up in East Toledo and still have family there, I think the first person out should be the spineless representative from that district. I'm sure the people who live on Van Buren would agree.
This is another example of council backing down because they are afraid of doing their job and offending a minority of the voting public. Perfect example is when the Mayor wanted to eliminate the reciprocal tax. This would of helped the budget but they were afraid people would move out of the city, and a handful showed up and complained. Its time to take back Toledo! At the voting booth.... But that's another story!
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