Fascinating new development reported by the Standard-Examiner this morning as Lame Duck Mayor Boss Godfrey announces his latest revolutionary city management concept, i.e., "Saving for a Rainy Day":
We at Weber County Forum will of course now be standing by with abated breath, awaiting what we anticipate to be Boss Godfrey's logically-next-in-order innovation, another landmark epiphanic moment in Godfrey's 11-plus years of Emerald City governance... "Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford":
Is Godfrey a slow learner? You be the judge.
Don't let the cat get your tongues...
12 comments:
The article raises two separate issues. One is the one you hit on : eleven and a half years into a twelve year term, Hizzonah suddenly discovers the virtues of fiscal conservatism and planning for economic bad times with a rainy day fund? With about six months left in his twelve year term, that counts as a death-bed conversion [term-wise], seems to me.The other question is whether the idea is a good one. It is. The problem is, sensible civic leaders use the revenue boom years to build rainy day funds. The Mayor did nothing when revenues were rising to salt a little away for the down swing of the business cycle. Now, following a historic economic crash, still mired in weak sales tax revenues, now he decides, "Hey, maybe we should save a little for the future, because, who knows what may happen with the economy down the road?" My my my. What has happened to the Matthew "Little Mary Sunshine" Godfrey who predicted steeply rising revenues from the can't possibly fail Junction project that would make it un-necessary, he said, for Ogden City to pitch in out of other revenues to pay the construction bonds? From Little Mary Sunshine to Gloomy Gus, and the Education of Matthew Godfrey only took 11 and a half years and cost the taxpayers of Ogden City millions. Imagine that.
imagine ... imagine if you will:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b5aW08ivHU
Ah, BB, you're making me feel old. That's the intro to the second series of TZ. The intro to the first one had the same music, but a different.... and much better I thought... text:
There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is know to man. It is the middle ground between light... and shadow, between science... and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears, and the summit of his knowledge. It is the dimension of imagination, the area which we call... the Twilight Zone."
Twilight Zone Season 1 intro
Twilight Zone Season 1 intro?
Twilight Zone Season 1 intro?
For many of those eleven and one half years, Godfrey would cut operating budgets of each division with special projects and take this money and use for his own purposes. He would still expect the divisions to find the money to run projects he deemed important. His micro-management skills lacked trust and sharing any information with workers and employees could no longer trust him. Now he wants to help employess? You sure he's not running again?
Godfrey found enough money to increase the 2011 budget by over $5,000,000. If he really wanted to create a rainy day fund or set aside money for a pay raise he wouldn't be increasing the spending this coming year by the above amount.
This is more about moving money from one city fund to another fund in order to keep his projects rolling and at the same time making it look like he's doing the right thing.
The $30,000 raise the next mayor gets could be thrown back in the pool.
I'm glad that Godfrey liked the suggestion I made during my last budget on the council. I also went to the budget hearing the first year I was off the council and asked the council and mayor to consider setting up a fund so that Ogden City employees could get a pay increase instead of always being the victims of poor planning.
But as you can see, Godfrey still can't bring himself to give them a raise while he's in office since he is setting the "rainy day fund" to pay out in the fiscal year 2013. What a cad! He's always been able to find the money from places that we could only guess for things that he wanted. I'm sure he will be fondly remembered by the employees.
Priorities Dorrene, What more can we say.
You Who,
You're right! It's always a matter of priority. The sad thing is that Godfrey's priorities never did take in consideration of the city employees nor the citizens/taxpyers of Ogden. His priorities were his wants - not what others wanted.
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