Hate to say it, but I told you so

Today's Blade has an interesting article on the presentation Toledo did to win the LivCom award.

Basically, they're saying that the claims made in the presentation are either overstated or more applicable to the region, rather than the city.

It's nice of the Blade to finally acknowledge what so many have said on the local blogs and radio - that any objective and independent review of the claims would show a much different picture. And the idea that we are the 'third most livable city in our size category in North America' is dubious when you consider all the other factors we 'live' with on a daily basis that make this city less than friendly - to businesses and residents.

The LivCom award was judged on the submitted application and then on the presentations. The judges were environmental and landscaping professionals. The criteria have to do more with aesthics than practicality. And that's okay if you know that ahead of time, and understand that there was no independent verification of the statements made.

Winning third at LivCom in our population category is a nice thing - but it won't be a catalyst to economic development when the reality doesn't match up to the 'advertising.' And that's the problem - which the Blade seems to finally recognize.

(Aside - the Mayor is correct about one thing, though. We do have deer in the city. Point Place, while a pennisula, is in the city and we've had deer in our yard and up and down the street several times. They are unusual, but not rare.)

The value of third place at LivCom

Yes, Toledo won third place, out of seven finalists, in our population category for the United Nations sponsored LivCom Awards. And that's a nice thing.

But what is the value of this award? and how can it help us with the myriad of challenges Toledo faces? Ah...there's the rub.

In all the data on the LivCom website, I couldn't find objective criteria for the judging, although the city did release its scores in the various categories (one A and the rest Bs). And the paper is reporting that 70 communities applied in our category. So what, exactly, are we among the 'best of' in terms of 'livable cities'?

The criteria are listed here, but the judging was based upon application and presentation. There was no independent verification of the statements made.

Toledo, I'm sure, did a good job in preparing the application and in making the presentation. Carty Finkbeiner is nothing if not enthusiastic about our city and its assets ... and he has the ability to infect others with his enthusiasm. So I'm sure the decision of the judges (environmental and landscaping professionals) was justified.

But does winning this award change anything? Sadly, I don't believe so. Not because it isn't a nice thing to have - it is - but because the hype over the award is in excess of the value. Having this nice claim to fame isn't going to do anything for the problems Toledoans face on a daily basis.

And even The Blade admits the problems in their editorial today:

"This is not to say that Toledo doesn't have issues it is struggling to overcome. The flight of educated young people to greener pastures, the loss of good jobs, the lack of downtown retail development, troubled schools, and growing suburbanization are all issues yet to be adequately addressed."

But their take on this award is that "Third place is infinitely better than no place, which is where some, including naysaying radio personalities, would have us believe Toledo is."

Now, I have no idea if they're referring to me, or not. But I take exception to the depiction that such awards will actually change the city, because they won't. Papers, certificates, trophies and titles will never be enough to cover up the loss of good jobs, loss of population and troubled schools. And no company is going to make a decision to move here because of those awards when these other issues are still outstanding.

Even the poll results on The Blade website show their readers understand this fact. As of the time of this post, nearly 61% do NOT "agree with Toledo's mayor that pursuing a recognition award is worth the effort to improve a city's reputation?"

It's a matter of priorities - and style over substance. Carty is great at style, but a bit lacking on substance. To be glad about the third-place finish is appropriate, but to jump up and down is a bit much. What would be so much better, however, would be to have no awards, but a city with good roads and infrastructure, low taxes, and a business-friendly environment. Then we'd really have something to rejoice about.

LivCom Results: Toledo is third

Toledo was one of seven finalists for the LivCom Awards in Category D, population of 200,001 – 750,000. Other finalists were:

* Edogawa City, Japan
* Lyon, France
* Malmo, Sweden
* Manukau, New Zealand
* Regional Municipality of Niagara, Canada
* Toledo, USA
* Wenjiang, PR China

Toledo finished in third place in the awards. Second place was Lyon, France. Winner was Malmo, Sweden.

Complete results are available at the above link.

Begging for money - or trying to shame businesses into donating?

Yes, the mayor is at it again when it comes to the LivCom award. First he announced the application and selection to the finalist round. Then he announced he was seeking contributions to pay for the trip to London to make Toledo's presentation. Then he held a press conference and said they need $40,000!

Of course, they're not getting the funds they wanted, so he submitted an op-ed piece to the Toledo Free Press that, in my opinion, attempts to shame the business community into giving - even if it's done is a semi-subtle manner.

The problem I have is with Carty's thinking. He uses the example of Mayor Lloyd Roulet, 1952, trying to build an airport. Interestingly, Roulet had been working on this for 8 years ... perhaps there's something genetic or in our water that takes this city so long to accomplish a goal???

Anyway, Roulet was having difficulty getting the community to agree on a location, as several sites were rejected by neighbors. To overcome the public issue, he turned to the business community. Finkbeiner writes:

Roulet called the presidents and CEOs of Toledo's largest companies. His plan, he told them, was to have each company buy a small parcel of land on the border between Monclova Township and Swanton Township. He knew that any large land purchase by the city would tip off land speculators and send real estate prices soaring and cost the city more money. Small purchases by the private sector would go unnoticed. Each of these corporate titans agreed to invest their firm's money and time in helping Mayor Roulet and the City of Toledo.

Later, the City would purchase all of the lots to assemble the parcel where Toledo Express Airport is located today. Mayor Roulet's dream of having a major, international airport in Toledo would have been substantially delayed, if not destroyed, had the private sector not stepped in to help the city in its time of need.

To me, this seems intentionally deceptive on the part of the mayor. Deceptive in that the excuse is to save the city money, but, considering the public opposition, I wonder if the idea wasn't to keep the location a secret so there wouldn't be any opposition.

Today, there are non-profit organizations designed, under Ohio law (our local LCIC), to enter into such purchases for a public entity specifically so that the municipality can purchase for a fair market price rather than an inflated one if news of their purchase were to get out.

But I cannot help the concern I felt at reading this example and seeing that our current mayor thinks this is a good example to follow.

The mayor goes on to say:

We Toledoans of today need to reinvigorate that spirit of cooperation between the business sector and the government sector. We have an opportunity for our city's business leaders to step forward and help the city for our mutual benefit.

...and...

While I would not compare competing for this prestigious award to a project as immense as building an airport, strengthening the cooperative and symbiotic relationship between the city's government and the city's business community is of paramount importance.

There are some corporations who have decided to help out - Owens Corning, Fifth Third Bank and Larry Dillin - but the total is only $5,000, far short of Carty's goal of $40,000.

But the bigger problem is that Carty wrongly thinks putting money toward a trip in an effort to win an award represents a 'strengthening of the cooperative and symbiotic relationship' between businesses and government. Sadly, he's missed the point that giving money to a pet project of the mayor doesn't constitute a good relationship (unless he's following the pressure/extortion route so prevalent in Lucas County politics).

A good relationship between local businesses and local government exists when the government helps create an environment conducive to job growth and success. It doesn't exist when government continually raises taxes while reducing services (payroll and garbage), takes over functions being performed by private industry (towing and ambulance service), restricts new businesses because of a misplaced concept that they contribute to deteriorating neighborhoods (convenience stores - whose problems are more a result of a lack of police), or creates a business advisory council and then promptly refuses to let them examine an issue (article).

A good relationship is also dependent upon each entity doing what they're supposed to do - which means businesses provide good products for the cost, treat their employees appropriately, earn profit for their investors/owners and follow the law. It also means that government performs its mandated functions efficiently, placing priority upon those mandated functions (like roads, police, fire, etc...) and not spending money on the 'niceties' until the necessities are taken care of.

But sadly, our mayor is more about style than substance. He's a great cheerleader for Toledo, but cheering doesn't always cut it. While he chases after awards, we continue to lose population while having a high unemployment rate.

To win this LivCom award would be nice. But no award, no matter how it's marketed, will overcome the problems we have in this city which are clearly evident when you drive down a road that jars your teeth.

Begging for $40,000 for LivCom????

Well, the mayor held his press conference yesterday announcing his plea for donations for the LivCom award (more background here)

I wasn't able to attend the event, but today's Blade has some of the details I was hoping for - specifically, how much the Carty wants to raise...and the number is staggering: $40,000.

"Dr. Richard Ruppert, who will lead the fund drive, said the goal is to send 15 to 20 people, at about $2,000 each. "That would be my guess," he said.

He said the fund drive would pay for those who can't pay their own way."

Okay - why in the world do we need to send 15-20 people to this thing when only three people are allowed to make the presentation? Do we think that sheer numbers will impress? And what are 15-20 people going to do for three days in London, other than have a nice vacation paid for by donations?

"Mr. Finkbeiner said he would pay for travel and accommodations for himself and his wife, Amy. He vowed that no city funds would be used in the process, including in preparing the presentation.

"We'd like to take a good, strong delegation," he said. He said some funds, about $10,000, will be needed to pay for a 12-minute video presentation."

I'm very glad that Carty is paying the costs of his, and Amy's, trip. But I question $10,000 for a 12-minute video. With today's technology, does it really cost $10,000 to get a good video? And who will be in charge of shooting the video and determining what gets included? Will one of Carty's contributors get this 'plum' of a contract?

Does Toledo - or one of the numerous economic development organizations - already have a video that highlights the livability of the city? Could such a video be used or modified for less than $10,000? And if we don't, would that be a prudent use of operational costs that one, or all, of our economic development entities could pay?

Or does Carty think that 1) such a video wouldn't be specifically tied to the application and 2) that 'having the community support' might impress the judges and lead to a win? I know, I know...there I go asking all those pesky questions again.

"Toledo's application essay for the liveable city award covered a series of topics, such as enhancement of the landscape, heritage management, environmentally sensitive practices, community sustainability, healthy lifestyles, and planning for the future."

Duh - that's because the award is based upon such criteria ... we'd look pretty stupid if we applied for an award and then emphasized things not included in the criteria...

And then there were these two comments:

"The mayor said a liveability award carries weight when companies decide where to locate because of the importance of quality of life to their employees."

"City Councilman Mark Sobczak said, "The recognition tells Toledoans we are on the right track.""

First, I live in Toledo and I think there are many positive aspects of living here - and I wouldn't stay if I didn't believe that. But I'm not blind to the negatives nor do I dismiss those who point out the negatives with the hope of eliminating them or changing them into positives.

I'm also not delusional enough to think that having some 'award' will mean the difference between whether or not a company chooses to locate here. Having a 'liveable city' designation might get us a visit instead of another city - all things being equal, but when the glowing comments and awards are balanced by an actual visit, reality sets in. We can have tons of flowers (to pick a favorite topic) along the entryways to the city, but if you lose a tire because of the pot holes, those flowers don't mean much.

Likewise, winning such an award won't tell Toledoans anything when they, too, balance the "style" with the lack of "substance" on our infrastructure and basic services. Carty even took a swipe at those of us who questioned the spending on such style issues, failing to recognize that it wasn't the flowers per se, but the spending on a 'luxury' while the 'necessities' are lacking.

Sadly, Carty loves these kinds of things. He loves awards and titles...and usually there wouldn't be anything wrong with that. But when the awards and titles and 'appearances' come before the core services and infrastructure, something is wrong with his priorities.

Toledo Mayor begging for money

Today Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner is scheduled to hold a press conference today to beg for money for the LivCom awards (Blade story here and previous blog post here.)

Now, it doesn't say how much he's trying to raise other than "thousands of dollars to send a presentation team to London from Nov. 22 to 26."

In a quick check, I found a round-trip ticket for $733. Figure three nights in a hotel at around $500 (including taxes, etc...) with each person covering their own meals, and it shouldn't cost too much.

Oh - yeah - the rules of LivCom say that only THREE (3) people can make the presentation...

4. Final Presentations: If, following the Interim Judging process, your community is selected as a Finalist in The LivCom Awards, there are some key points to bear in mind:

• A maximum of three representatives from your community will be able to make the Presentation, plus an interpreter if required.
• Presentations must be made in English.
• Presentations must not exceed 40 minutes and may include a digital video disk (dvd), also in English, of no longer than 12 minutes duration. Appropriate equipment will be provided.

... so there's no need for more than three to go...unless they want to AND will pay their own way - not expect the community, through donations, to foot the bill.

On one hand, I'm very glad that Carty is not expecting to pay for this with tax dollars. On the other hand, I'm wondering about what this award really means. In 2004, Honolulu won this award for cities their size. While their presentation was good, it didn't tell the whole story. This article does. I was particularly struck by the last paragraph and the similarity to Toledo. What do you think?

UPDATE: Some other bloggers who are covering this subject include Uncommon Squalor and Chad Quigley's WannaBeMayor. Then there is Hooda_Thunkit's post which, while not mentioning LivCom, details many of the infrastructure concerns versus the 'appearance' of the city.

Also, there are other U.S. cities who also made the finalist list, contrary to Carty's comments. They're just in other 'size' categories.

Toledo shoots for LivCom award

According to this article in The Blade, Toledo is the only U.S. city to be a finalist for the LivCom Award which is endorsed by the U.N. Environment Programme. It's an international award honoring liveable communities.

And when I started reading the article, I thought - 'that's nice.' However, near the bottom of the article was this:

"The judging criteria includes enhancement of the landscape, heritage management, environmentally sensitive practices, community sustainability, healthy lifestyles, and planning for the future.

An international panel of judges includes environmental and landscape management professionals."

Call me cynical, but now I understand why Carty was so insistent on planting flowers, building bikepaths and pushing his "Get Fit Toledo" campaign...