"AN OPEN LETTER FROM JOHN MURPHY"
To the good people of Painesville:
I have been following the ideas of city council for quite some time. I for one believe the levies on the ballot will fail for a multitude of reasons. That said, the latest solution put forth by the administration to raise city income tax is, by far, a worse idea. The idea appears to be to charge you income tax for the privilege of living in Painesville. Was this the true intent of city income tax?
Yes, Painesville needs to manage its money better. Do we really need all those directors? Do we really need all those employees at City Hall at the electric plant?
A few of us presented an idea to outsource the cemetery landscaping for our two cemeteries. A director told us that city employees could do this service cheaper. Please, let us see the facts. The amount paid by city employees toward health care seems to be a huge secret. Are Painesville employees paying their fair share? Why does the city refuse to release the figures?
From my perspective, the city has not yet exhausted all that can be done to save money. Why don’t we have a city grant writer? Under the current system, the respective directors write the grant proposals. They are paid their salary whether they receive the grants or not and I do not believe any of them have the necessary expertise to be very successful at it anyway.
Grants towards Painesville’s infrastructure, not just for beautification projects.
We must also find out what other items/projects are costing Painesville money unnecessarily. A great example is to find out what these Amp-Ohio deals are actually costing us. I am very unhappy with these AMP-Ohio deals, but I also think we should see what recourse we have to deal with them.
I promise all Painesville residents that, when elected, I will never vote to end ‘reciprocity’. Will my opponent make you the same promise? There is no waffling on this issue…it is a simple yes or no.
I believe raising Painesville residents’ property and/or income taxes should be the absolute last resort. I believe Painesville has not visited all avenues to save money in our budget. I would also propose going back to a line item budget. This would enable us to have funds set aside for all the needs we now seem overwhelmed with.
It is time to put Painesville on a more solid financial footing. Times are a’changin’.
Thank you,
John Murphy
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All candidates for council are free to post open letters here. This is an open forum.
posted by terminator1 @ 7:20 AM
23 Comments
23 Comments:
Is that not if elected. U have failed several tkimes
Well said, John Murphy. You have my vote. I too would like to know what city employees pay for their insurance. You can't keep asking me, who am paying through the nose for my health insurance and taking a pay cut, to keep financing these employees lifestyle. Let them tighten their belts too. Mine is as tight as it will go.
All this with 30 employees sitting around the light plant playing cards. The city now has hired a law firm to take care of Human Resources? Guess what that cost?
There is so much waste and dulplication in Painesville its unbelievable. Time to cut!
Is it a joke that the 30 employees at the light plant are doing nothing but playing cards? That is atrocious! Send them out to mow lawns, pick up trash, do building maintenance, anything! I am freaking paying for these slugs to sit around? If that is true someone should call one of the tv stations to investigate.
I guess it's up in the air on who will pay to replace the marble bench at Riverside Cemetery?
Finally someone who says what I've been thinking for years. It seems the answer to all of Painesville problems is to ask for more money. It's time council realizes there is no more to give. Start thinking of new ways to save money. I don't want workers laid off but it is something that should be looked into. Police and Fire would be the last placr to make the cuts.
I see many ways this community wastes money. It's time the people that hold the purse stings do to.
It's easy to write letters and ask questions, will you really DO anything John?
You expect us to believe an ex union representative will go against everything unions stand for and change, cut, or require more money from union employees?
I for one don't believe it.
7:33f
So that is a reason to vote against someone? Things have worked so well for the last 20-30 years?
No need for new ideas here!
9:33 The electric employees are mowing and such, however, they are still receiving 30.00 and more per hour, depending on their classification to perform these duties. THIS may be why our power factor is HIGH YOU THINK ?
3:08 The best union officals do there best to keep there members working. Not rape their employer's . If your goal is to get every last dime out of the city ,presently you have the best people in charge to fill that wish.
If council votes to end reciprocity, I say that all of us who work outside of Painesville should refuse to file our city tax returns, in protest. Let RITA spend a fortune coming after all of us.
8:33 This RECIPROCITY will be sold to the elderly citizens of Painesville of a way to raise money without any pain to them. For a couple of years it will generate more money. But soon young families living here and some thinking about living and purchasing a home in town will look elsewhere. It will become a fact that Painesville is not a location to raise your family. In a two worker family it will appear to cost them more than $600.00 just to live here than in cities without reciprocity, or move into a township. This reciprocity will probably be the end to this community. left with only poor people with nowhere else to go, and retired people not contributing to the city finances. You can live with that? Try selling Gandpa's house after he goes too the promise land. All this city ever does is what is EASY!
I have no doubt that all of these huge errors that our city council and our former city manager have made would not have happened if John Murphy had been in office then. John knew that the AMP-Ohio deals were bad right from the beginning, for example, and spoke out against them at many council meetings.
Many people, including myself, already go to John with their problems when the city does not respond. One example of this is when John went to a meeting at the Water Pollution Control Plant with me to discuss the odors coming from the plant. Arlene Becks, who was a councilwoman at the time, completely stood us up, and never did even call to cancel, which left us all waiting and waiting for her and worried. Many hours later, I finally reached her by phone, and she said she had a chance to talk to a professor at school, so that is what she did. Now mind you, it was hours later, and she still didn't feel the need to call anyone to let us know of her whereabouts. She had been home for hours, and we had not only not received a cancellation, but we still had not been released of our worry over her. But John Murphy was there for me and for the citizens of my neighborhood. Many people have similar stories of receiving John's help.
I know John to have a level head with a lot of common sense. He will start at the beginning with an issue and study it from the ground up, look at all the angles and facts, and start to formulate his own opinion. He does not follow anyone else's opinion without thoroughly investigating the issue and facts himself.
I would trust John completely with the money and business of this city. I wish he had been here years earlier while all this mismanagement and secretive half-truths and downright lies were going on, because I know the city would not have gotten away with it had he been on council.
So very glad you are willing to give us your time and energy, John. Thank you, and I wish you the best of luck.
This city is in serious trouble, and I know that you will take the necessary steps to start getting us out of it.
Susan Kramer
TO 3:08 I don't think you really know MR.MURPHY because if you did, you would not wonder if he would do any thing when elected. BELEIVE 3:08 BELEIVE. (A retired OHIO RUBBER CO employee.)
Looks like John Murphy has the support of a lot of Landlords.
And you know Landlords they will fight to stop any TAX increases,
no matter what they are.
9:33 - Yes, it is a joke that the light plant employees sit around playing cards.
6:25 - No, the light plant employees are not mowing lawns. According to my sources (Term is not the only one with sources), the union that represents most departments had a fit when the city wanted to supplement parks and cemeteries with light plant workers. They wanted overtime for their workers, or have the city hire more people.
The light plant workers are being used on various "projects" around the city that had they been hired out would have cost the general fund alot of money.
The problem with this blog is that most people don't know how or just plain WON'T do a little research before they Post. For instance, the definition of power factor is "In AC circuits, the power factor is the ratio of the real power that is used to do work and the apparent power that is supplied to the circuit." - This has nothing to do with anyone pay rates.
According to public records, no one except management makes $30 or more an hour. Even adding in their benefits, they don't come close to what it costs me as a contractor to keep my people working.
11:47 your signature adds a lot validity to your comment.
&:1`2 I know many people who aren't landlords who are against raising these three levies.
9:59 I guess you can say you have showed us the brotherhood of the city employee's? Could you fill all of us in on these "projects" seems no one is aware of them? Look I don't care if the Power Factor is the formula as to how many chipmunks it takes to provide me with electricity. I'm interested in what it's all costing us.
You might consider yourself a poor contractor? How many paid holidays do you have 30 and out? What do your employee's pay in health care benefits? Do you pay employee's when there is no work? see light plant.
? do we elect a person who is a successful businessman or a person who has declared bankruptcy. One who has run unsuccessfully for commissioner and councilman moved back and forth to do so or someone who has had a stable job in the area since the days of diamond shamrock continuing with another after, owns a business in town and has served the community.
Just bringing up a question
POST 754 , I think you should vote for a person who is the chairman ,on planning of the city. He has served several,several, several years, and his leadership has been great for us. I think the city is fine,we should continue thing's should be ok.
POST 7:54 Well I see, it is time for the mud slinging to start, telling halftruths about me 5etc. The politics in the city, is why, "we the people" have, flooded basements and bad streets. JOHN MURPHY.
6:36 You I have got to meet!
Question: WHAT LONG RANGE PLAN WOULD YOU WANT TO IMPLEMENT FOR OUR COMMUNITY IF YOU ARE ELECTED? This should be answered,by all canidates,in the city council election this nov- 5- 2013. I think this would be great. JOHN MURPHY.
post 12:47 You don't really think, any of HADA'S people, is going to commit, to any plan's do you? Get real murphy.
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