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I thought Sittenfeld was going to follow the will of the voters? (Re: Issue 48)

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  • Robuu
    Robuu

    It's all good, just get a hot tub.

  • ryanlammi
    ryanlammi

    I think automatically granting certain zoning relief where affordable units are provided is a good policy, but only allowing zoning relief for affordable housing is very dumb.

  • taestell
    taestell

    I don’t know why some people are acting like executive sessions are going to lead to Cincinnati City Council no longer having public meetings or doing all kinds of shady stuff.   Ohio state

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Believe it or not they were having a special meeting on potholes during the streetcar groundbreaking!

Did Smitherman ever come up with that list of streets that haven't had any maintenance in over 25 years?

That they would still be recognizable as streets would be pretty impressive.

  • 2 months later...

First-time council members speaking up, getting out there

 

In their first 100 days in office, they have taken on towing companies and lenders, pushed back at internal politics, pushed for domestic-partner benefits, put the brake on quick deals, proposed advisory groups, testified in Columbus, cleared trash, given speeches and had a cocktail named in their honor.

 

Chris Seelbach, Yvette Simpson and P.G. Sittenfeld may be among the youngest members ever to serve on Cincinnati City Council, but it’s clear that they feel at home in City Hall.

 

They are, Sittenfeld says, “having a blast.”

 

Their election last fall was a game-changer in city politics. The three 30-something Democrats replaced more conservative veteran council members, and part of their confidence and comfort clearly stems from coming into office together.

 

Cont

"It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton

A great article about how council - despite their differences, can work together in harmony, come to consensus on issues, and be a positive force for the city. Well, most council members...

^ Epic! Hope it works out well.

Poor article- and no offense at all to the Cincinnati Blog, which I read regularly, but the fact that the author pitted random quotes from past blog pages against politically phrased quotes from Finney was horrible reporting. It actually made Smitherman look better because no one likes extreme rhetoric.

 

I wish they would have quoted Geri from the Buzz who said (paraphrased) "why wasn't Smitherman having the NAACP address black on black crime during the last 5 years? Why were they waisting their resources on streetcar petitions while black people are dying." on the air the other day.

 

EDIT: somehow I didn't realize those CincyBlog quotes were just taken from the website & thought they were reap quotes. I've edited my statement to criticize the author instead

To the Cincinnati Blog's defense, those quotes were pulled from blog posts, and not specifically acquired for the article.

Ya- I didn't realize that somehow. Edited my statement.

I can't believe they simply pulled those quotes.  I wonder if they contacted Brian Griffen at all beforehand, or if he just woke up to see that.

^looks like they were just snagged.

Who knows? Maybe Finney supplied them.

  • 3 weeks later...

2 City Councilmembers want to fire over 2 dozen pension advisers.

well, nobody ever accused 'em of being conservative.....

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2012/05/16/councilmembers-ask-to-fire-pension.html

"fund managers used by the city received $12 million in compensation last year but produced investment gains of less than 1 percent."

I poked around to find how other cities were doing & came up empty. Of course, councilmembers aren't supposed to get involved in this kind of thing but it seems like the City Manager should be able to jockey these managers around. Approx 2 dozen people getting about 12 million?

Also I'm not sure what these managers can actually do legally.

 

Even in today's economy, 1% is a terrible return for a hedge fund.  I see no problem with the hedge fund managers getting the ax over years of bad returns, especially if they're making an average of $500k a year.  That's the kind of money we should be paying for at least 6% not 1%, which we could have gotten in a savings account at Fifth Third.

I found a couple towns with 4% returns for the past year and <1% for the YTD.

Here's 5/3 interest rates

https://www.53.com/product/rates/search

I'm guessing some managers are doing worse than others in Cincinnati. Seems they should have some kind of goal to stay employed. Firing the lot of 'em is kinda crazy.

Even in today's economy, 1% is a terrible return for a hedge fund.  I see no problem with the hedge fund managers getting the ax over years of bad returns, especially if they're making an average of $500k a year.  That's the kind of money we should be paying for at least 6% not 1%, which we could have gotten in a savings account at Fifth Third.

 

Much of a hedge fund manager's compensation hinges on the return provided. Hedge funds are unregistered and unregulated for the most part, so it's up to the client to do the policing.

 

But that article isn't about hedge funds anyway; the city is proposing firing people who are basically portfolio managers for the city's investments. A hedge fund is a more elaborate investment tool that aims to provide extremely wealthy investors sustained, elevated returns that aren't supposed to fluctuate very much.

  • 5 weeks later...

Holy crap is anyone watching the budget and finance committee meeting on Citcable right now?

No, I wish. But I did see @chrisseelbach's most recent tweet: "you are all evil and you are just trying to build an evil empire"-one of the more colorful people testifying before council today."

 

 

Yes! Hahaha...one of the more interesting people. I am actually really disappointed at the number of younger people. All I have seen are people who are elderly, and yes while I know a tax increase will affect people on a fixed income more than younger people...but I am getting sick of the age war comments from a lot of these people speaking. What happens to the city once you are gone? Because none of them seem to give two craps about anyone else. Kind of depressing.

The Greatest Generation does not understand math. 

No, I wish. But I did see @chrisseelbach's most recent tweet: "you are all evil and you are just trying to build an evil empire"-one of the more colorful people testifying before council today."

It was this guy holding up the no tax increase sign on the left

 

CityHalltaxhearing.jpg

 

 

I tweeted about that guy as well.  Basically he was screaming about socialism, more Reagan, and the Constitution.  Then ended it on a high note with "Anti-Christ"/"Gov is evil" quotes

 

Another guy ranted about the streetcar

 

Another "4th generation Cincinnatian" complained about "Yuppies moving in"

 

Another woman said "Cincinnati Property tax increase will drive people to cheaper locations like Indian Hill"

 

Its been interesting thus far

Yeah I saw the lady talking about the 16k check she has to write tomorrow. At first it was well meaning people and then you got other people like that guy who just...didn't really add to the discussion. It kind of turned into a "yell at City Council fest".

 

Honest question: How do taxes and services in suburbs compare to this city? I am asking because I know someone who lives in Milford and their taxes are about the same as mine here in the city. Same size house and we have a little more yard than they do. 

^That's what's amazing -- the overall tax burden is pretty much the same everywhere in this area, but talk radio would have you believe living in Cincinnati is significantly higher.  You might pay higher property taxes for schools in one area versus another, but you still spend the same on state and federal taxes, which comprise the majority of your direct taxation. 

I love how people try to make everything into some kind of biblical epic struggle of good v. evil. The Rebloodlicans really get into it. Democrrips just tell ya you're racist.

^^The state has a .csv of municipal tax rates somewhere.

Thanks for the info. I was just curious, since I am not from the area and my friends said they moved because the taxes were too high and the schools weren't good.

^That's what's amazing -- the overall tax burden is pretty much the same everywhere in this area, but talk radio would have you believe living in Cincinnati is significantly higher.  You might pay higher property taxes for schools in one area versus another, but you still spend the same on state and federal taxes, which comprise the majority of your direct taxation. 

 

A buddy of mine was hassling me about living in town by insinuating that my property taxes were really high. Meanwhile, he lives over 20 minutes from any retail business of significance let alone other services. I'd rather pay property taxes than gas taxes.

 

Somebody with knowledge of taxation who actually hates taxes wouldn't be spending hundreds, even thousands of dollars in unnecessary gas taxes.

I hope you called him out on that.

Yeah, my parents live in a truly rural county 50 miles from their downtown. Their property taxes are extremely low, but they drive over 1,000 miles per week.  Oh, and their house has been broken into by hillbillies twice so far this year. 

I hope you called him out on that.

 

I did actually, saying something along the lines of, "I'd rather pay property taxes than gas taxes". We bust each others' balls all the time so it wasn't a big deal.

Chris Smitherman, a former Charterrite, announced this morning his intent to destroy the City Manager form of government.  So he wants a return of machine politics. 

^ That is really scary. I plan to do what I can to campaign against such an idea. I hope all those in favor of meritocracy and opposing the spoils system will join in that fight.

He's still listed as a current Charterite on the Wikipedia page. Someone with the time should update this page a bit. (e.g. Bortz is no longer on council)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_Party

Tax and budget discussion is on right now. Music Hall discussion got a bit chippy earlier.

Charlie how can you abstain and want the tax rate to stay the same at the same time? I can't believe I actually watched all of this.

  • 1 month later...

 

Hope he's okay. I guess he didn't go to the hospital, so maybe that's a positive sign.

 

I got mugged (not in Cincinnati) earlier this year, and managed to get pistol-whipped in the process. Not the nicest experience I've ever had.

That is terrible news. It doesn't sound like he was hurt too bad, but it still sucks. It also doesn't sound like they took any property from him (cell phone, wallet, etc), so I wnoder what promted the attack.

probably a COA Ter.....

I wouldn't be surprised if COAST, etc. hired someone to mug pro-city people. 

I know you two are joking, but remember it's a public forum.

James Dego commented on the WLWT article:

 

James Dego That's funny, he was so drunk he was removed from Bakersfield OTR after groping a male server earlier that night. 1 hour ago

 

James Dego He has also been banned from other bars in the Downtown area for his drunken rude conduct. He probably said something stupid to the wrong person and got what he deserved. 1 hour ago · Like

^If it was something personal, warranted or not, Seelbach should admit it and not make it look like rampant indiscriminate violent crime.

(In the tape, he admits he has been drinking.)

Scott Sloan of 700wlw having a field day with Chris seelbach. Using it to say the city is unsafe, how this never happens in the suburbs, etc. Then a fake caller from "Loveland" called in to rile up the conservatives and now the convo has devolved into the Bible and homosexuality

Via Reddit:

 

"Alright, although I am a bit hesitant to say very much because I'd like to keep my job.

 

On Monday night, Mr. Seelbach arrived at Bakersfield around 7PM. Shortly after his arrival he was seated at a table for two along the north west side of the restaurant, however, after he and his guest promptly finished their meal, he traded in his table for a pair of seats at the bar. Now, what he did for the next two hours is anyones guess, but he must've remained fairly low key because I didn't notice him. Fast forward to 9PM, Mr. Seelbach is slurring his words and insisting he be served additional drinks. Additional drinks are served

 

At some point throughout the night, he decides that it would be best to infiltrate the BOH prep area/kitchen and talk rather loudly on his telephone. This is a restricted zone for customers, however, the kitchen is open so it's a fairly common occurrence. Mr. Seelbach was asked to leave the kitchen area, and he explained rather hastily that it is 'OK, because he was a councilman.' After we informed him that Bakersfield is apathetic to his position/occupation in the community he huffed and puffed a bit and returned to the dining area. Then he grabbed our servers ass, and made several lewd comments.

 

At this point he has been officially cut off and our esteemed bartenders have made it clear that the situation is not up for debate. He concedes and makes a trip to the bathroom. To finish up his evening at the restaurant, he walks out on a hefty tab and hops in his car to begin an intoxicated adventure, presumably to Mainstay.

 

This of course was against the advice of our staff. So there you have it folks, with a few details omitted I am sure you can see why I am not at all surprised to find out he wound up in a bit of trouble. Although, I personally suspect he knew exactly why he had been assaulted."

Fake, all the old ladies I know who listen to 700 and 550 every day don't know that these callers are fake.  These old ladies' votes and checking accounts are easy prey for priests and politicians.  Meanwhile, I'm the villain for trying to explain to them that the callers are fake and the hosts don't actually believe what they espouse.  One of them is "praying for me". 

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