Well Pat Kane will be celebrating. I will say he deserves too. No one fought harder for this than him.
So congratulations Pat.
Just stay off Caroline Street, it's not safe you know.
Let me the first of no doubt many to nominate my good friend Ed Spychalski for City Manager
Full Decision HERE
21 comments:
Ron Kim for city manager and Lew Benton for Mayor.
Let the good times role
Oh, shit
Somewhere Val Keehn is smiling
Group homes will now be running the city,nice job Scott you should resign.
It's interesting that the courts, according to the Saratogian website, didn't say that the charteristas had filed an adequate financial statement instead they said THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO GIVE ANY FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING OF WHAT THEIR CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT MIGHT COST. Wow! This group from the beginning has suspiciously refused to give any serious answer as to what this plan would cost the city. How sad that the courts have ruled this is unnecessary. Just because the court said this doesn't mean it's right. Hopefully the public will see that not only are they presenting a sloppy unfinished document but will keep asking the question--what will it cost??
Rabbits.....MOUNT!
So how is the government proposed in this charter change like the SSHA? Let me count the ways. Well, there are the staggered board terms making it impossible to remove the whole board/city council at the same time or even to get a new majority in place in a timely manner. Then there's the set up that the board/council chooses the Executive Director/ City Manager (alwalys an exemplary person no doubt). And then there's the contract that has to be dealt with to get rid of an undeisrable Executive Director/City Manager....
Oh, but we will always have a city council made up of outstanding citizens (a professor, a nun, and a not for profit former exec dir perhaps) who will choose the perfect, faultless person to govern the city and who will have the perfict contract that will both have enough benefits to attract the perfect faultless person for the perfect affordable salary (better than a principal??) and yet have the perfect escape clause so the perfect faultless person can be let go at any time without penalty to the city. Not that you would ever want to because the perfect, faultless city council members would never have to fire the perfect faultless city manager in the Land of the New Charter.
QUICK, Mayor Johnson-- To the Barricades!!! To the City Treasury!!! Better yet, To The SUPREME COURT!!!
NOW is no time to give up on your Superior Wisdom! SPEND like there's No Tomorrow... and one day you're BOUND to be right.
Kyle you are a DICK as usual and good for Pat Kane. Maybe Eddie can get his son a job for the police with all his experience in security and all. Eddie for city manager. Great choice. Of course we will have to send him for training somewhere extravagant.
I got 400 voters that are voting for a change, this form of govt. is ancient & way passed its usefulness
If we do get a new form of government the last thing we would need is any of these current council members. We need a CEO type with many years of experience. Not John Franck or Scott Johnson.
Looking for a CEO type to run our city government? What a great idea. You mean the kind of smart guys who ruined our economy with all those very smart derivitive moves? Why don't you try Goldman Sacks or Bank of America. I'm sure they have a bunch of smart CEO types hanging around you could interview for the job.
I think the Mayor was very smart to try this lawsuit. Wasn't the city joined in the suit by an association of local governments all concerned about the same thing--a bunch of irresponsible crazies getting something on the ballot without being held accountable for telling the voters what the financial impact would be. If they don't have to do it by law they should so it anyway. Why wouldn't they unless they're afraid the numbers would scare away voters..
An unelected group not accountable to anyone will be responsible for changing the government to fit their standards and job decriptions. Don't forget along the the City Manager comes an assisitant city manager, a budget director and at least two administrative people that would be additional. The balance of the positions will be held by current staff. Will not each department need someone to generate a department budget for the City Manager to critique and review or does this one person run the Planning Department, the recreation department, the new HR Director, follow up on all contracts etc. etc. What will be the search charges and commission, relocation charges of at least one person, rolling contract???(who would relocate without any guarantedd contract or buyout and on and on. The new Council will show up once a month with no ongoing knowledge of what has transpired operationally in the City and in their eight hour meeting will bestow their wisdom on the new City Manager. You can't make this stuff up. We will get all of this for only $110,000 for the City Manager who obviously will be given a bicycle to ride to work because he will be able to live on affordable 5th Ave.
For $110,000 you get a cop (who earns overtime)
For a city manager, you pay a lot more. Heck, Ed gets $152,000, a couple of trucks, expense paid trips a couple times a year, etc.
on the article in the saratogian today on wilton raising the city of saratoga springs taxes,well well...how does it feel?its been happening to all of us law-abiding taxpayers since polititions arrived on this planet. as far as frank saying $60,000 thats sombodies salary..i hope he wasnt referring to the jobs over at the housing athority!!!!! hahaha lol
Franck is losing it! He is power hungry and is knee deep in the plan on South Broadway. Lets buy up all the property along there with Parillo and we then have our own little monopoly. He is on our council as it exists now and is about scam the taxpayer all to line his pockets. Sorry Johnny boy. We the taxpayer is watching.
THINK.
If the Appellate Division ruled for the Mayor, Saratoga Citizen would have appealed to the Court of Appeals and the current City Council would not have funded representation for the City.
Clearly, the current City Council will not fund an Appeal of the Decision in favor of Saratoga Citizen.
The Mayor's only choice, I would say his obligation, is to appoint a Charter Review Commission, and direct that their work product be available for a vote this November.
This is the Mayor's prerogative and will engage and enlighten the general public.
The Saratoga Citizen "proposal" is undemocratic, horrendously expensive and designed to line the pockets of, guess who: It's sneaky,leaky (Democrat and Republican) financial supporters.
The Mayor has promised a certain group in the Community that HE would form a Charter reveiw committee and HE will be held to that,I would have never thought a judge would have ruled in favor of a group hell bent on a vendetta against Mayor Johnson that would throw the City into a financial abyss.The model government that Saratoga Citizen has copied is a carbon copy of the SSHA's ruling body it ='s corruption,no transperancy and accountable to no one just what the taxpayers of Saratoga Springs is looking for...put it on the ballot and lets send in down the road along with Spychowski and Brunnell.
Well, ironically, Scott Johnson fought this. However, if it passes, he will be THE MAYOR. a real Mayor, like Jerry Jennings. Franck, Mathieson, Madison???? Little, at large, city counsel members. We will probably increase the number of cousel members further marginalizing these folk. Mathieson will not run the fire and police departments anymore. Good times ahead.
Actuallly the Mayor won't be a mayor like Jennings. The unelected City Manager will do ALL the hiring and firing in city hall. The mayor under the proposed charter won't have any more power than now but actually less as the unelected City Manager takes over some of the duties currently ascribed to our elected Mayor. Democracy in decline
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