"PROMISES IN THE DARK" pat benatar

Well let’s do a short recap of Tuesday’s Council Meeting.

Time and location of council meetings will stay the same.

The budget was presented… and all I can say is there's really not much in it for the current residents of Painesville. $150,000 to repair roads. Apparently only $87,000 for sewers, plus another Tiber Creek Study…but then again it might be the same one. I bring this up only as a reference to those that ran for council with the promise to get a handle on the road and sewer problems we have here in town. Mr. D…. I know you have the residents’ best interests at heart but what do you think you can solve with $87,000?

Council must grab the reins of the budget because the only thing I see that is a priority to the administration is the administration.

Mrs. J…. great question about bids on the grass cutting at the cemeteries. Bad answer from the CM…. why not put an official binding bid out in the newspapers and find out the truth? You should demand the CM does this.

Painesville City Schools will provide the city with $15,000 to pay for a police officer at Harvey until the S.R.O. officer returns. A good start… and the schools should contribute half of the S.R.O. officer’s pay and there should be another one trained to step in when necessary. These officers should be answerable only to Chief Hager, period. I guess we all can feel a little more "comfortable" as to what is going on at Harvey now.

Mr. Green (Electric Plant Superintendent) will retire at the end of March. At this time there is no replacement planned. That’s two highly paid administers leaving in the next couple of months.

I think the Clandestine Drug issue being put on first reading is a good idea. Someone mentioned I was not in favor of passing this on the first reading because of a friend that happens to be a local landlord. That friend does an extensive background check and chooses to live in Painesville. My problem is what about the absentee landlord that would walk away from his slum property and leave the mess behind. To be paid by who. I know the responsible landlords will do the right thing, but who will be left holding the bag for the ones that are not responsible?

I wish every neighborhood in Painesville had a TIF (tax increment financing). We could put 10% down on any project we wanted and pay the man later.

I know what "Capital Improvement" I would like to see, but I will keep it civil.