Regionalism, is it really time to give up and fold?

[Jim O'Bryan]

Some of Lakewood's leaders think so.

It has always seemed to me that one of the true bright spots of Lakewood is that it is a true bedroom community. Simply put a great place to live and raise a family. Safe streets with sweeping large porches, that allow for even safer streets as the great doctor of cities Jane Jacobs preached about in the "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" She loved and embraced that in a city, the porches, the residents, the corner bars, the walkable schools, every single bit. She saw that it was the safest best ways to keep cities together and growing and healthy.

What appalled her was shopping malls, apartments, office buildings and the vast empty and therefore dangerous streets these things created.

Yesterday at the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce's Leadership breakfast, I got to sit through another presentation on WHY LAKEWOOD NEEDS REGIONALISM. We heard how it was good for Cleveland, and Avon, and Youngstown, but not one single case was made for Lakewood, except that we needed it. The speaker often quoted the regional op, "Voices and Choices" which was nothing more than your typical "committee" that taught participants that if you did not become "regionalized" you would live next to black people, amongst crime and squalor, but if you regionalized your neighbor would be white with an SUV and happy.(This is an overstatement, but was the underlying premise based of the art that accompanied their presentations.)

We learned yesterday that this was the "future" for Cleveland, and that it was WORKING all over the world! Excuse me? Working all over the world? The region? Excuse me?

Now before my detractors strike me down for being anti-regionalism. I understand how it works in Columbus that was designed for it. Though they are having extremely tough times as I write this "regionally." I can understand how it might help 90% of Cleveland's suburbs, though even their charts underlined it was not a panacea. But how on earth does it help Lakewood? We get to pay for East Cleveland's police? We get to fund Rocky River's Fire Department (bad example we already do that!). How on earth does it help Lakewood? There are already buying groups that purchase "city items" in bulk. But how does it help the bedroom community of Lakewood that just built new schools and a new library?

Now I realize that some the leaders of LA are slaves to regionalism, and one would think, the about to retire Rocky River resident Director of The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, is all for it. But how does it benefit Lakewood, and if it does why did you work so hard to stop the schools from merging with Cleveland, and stop the Library from merging with the county?

Can a community leader serve two masters?

Is it really wise to embrace the anchor on the Titanic now, or watch the game of double dutch proceed and jump in later?

It would seem that unless someone is trying to replace tax paying residents with empty malls and empty offices, it would make more sense to maintain extremely clean, safe housing stock, for those working in the region to live.

An oasis for those that are looking for something clean, safe and different?

Always amazed at the rush to kiss the anchor.


FWIW



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[Bill Call]

Now before my detractors strike me down for being anti-regionalism. I understand how it works in Columbus that was designed for it. Though they are having extremely tough times as I write this "regionally."

Advocates of regionalism point to Columbus as a success for the regional model of government. They ignore THE one key fact: If Colubus were not the State capital it would still be a cow town. If we really want to make Columbus the model for Cleveland then make Cleveland the State capital. Instead of sending $1 billion a year to Columbus Columbus would send $1 billion a year to us.

I have yet to see concrete example of how regionalism benefits the people of Cuyahoga County. It's all theory. Give me one good example of how it would benefit this community.

We have a regional government in the form of the County Commissioners, a regional sewer district, a regional water district and a regional Sherriff's office. All are beset with cronyism, corruption and inefficiency. If they can't get the current regional model to work why trust them with a new model?

Westlake and North Olmsted are so fed up with the current regional water department they are seeking to breakaway:

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/st ... xml&coll=2

Recently, several suburbs sought to regionalize their fire departments. When it was found that the regional department would cost more than the seperate departments the response from regionalists was: "So what? It's still a good idea." Why is it a good idea? No answer.

Here is a little thought experiment. You want regionalism? OK. How about a regional 1.5% income tax to replace all the local income taxes. The money will be distributed according to population. The result would be Westlake, Solon and Cleveland taking a big reduction in income tax revenue. Will they take one for the team?

Talking about regionalism allows the power structure to avoid making real decisions about how their communities are managed. Talk about regionalism does not demonstrate leadership. It is the absence of leadership.

[Bret Callentine]

oh crap! It always makes me nervous when I agree with Jim.

But I still don't understand what the benefits would be to Lakewood.

The City of Cleveland is failing due to its leadership, not its resources.

Regionalism doesn't change that deficiency.

When a company was going under (back when the government used to let that happen), if it was at all salvageable, another company would take it over, not merge with it.

I would still like to see Ohio City re-incorporate into an independent entity.

When a city government can't handle what they've already got, you give them LESS responsibility and control, not more.

[Charlie Page]

Why add another layer of inefficient bureaucracy into an already bloated governmental system? Even if there were a few good reasons to regionalize, the cost of implementing and running a regional government would far outweigh any benefits. Regionalism is a bad idea.

Cuyahoga County government is, in effect, a form of regionalism. Look where this is at: nepotism, cronyism, inefficient, wasteful, bloated, etc.

At each step above the local level, governments become increasingly bloated and inefficient.

If Colubus were not the State capital it would still be a cow town.

I respectfully have to disagree with you on this. If it weren’t for The Ohio State University, Columbus would be a cow town.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Worlds collide!

All on the same page.

So if we all agree that regionalism is a nightmare for Lakewood, then why do we put up with civic leaders that are fueled by regionalism machines.

I mean it is out of control, and will be the death of this city.

Quoting "voices and choices" was pretty bad. The graph that shows we are not as far behind when the economy sucks was foolish, but the scatter charts!

At BP where I paid for a house doing charts the comment always was, if you cannot make the chart and numbers look better, which is nearly impossible for a good chart designer there is always the scatter chart!

.

[Bill Call]

[Dee Martinez]

It is my belief that regionalism will happen organically over time. It will never be a "top down" stroke of the pen thing.
There is already some regionalism in transportation education and emergency services.

At some point down the road Lakewood and Rocky River may decide to get closer. Maybe in 50 years it becomes one city and adds Fairview Park.
One thing I would like to see is a "non aggressoin pact" where local communities agree to work together to attract business rather than cut each others throats.

[Donald Farris]

Hi,
Well, I look at what the City did with it's collection of income taxes and I have to say I think RITA did a better job. I wish we really knew if the taking of this function out of regional control really does save the City money.

3 areas I would never want to see taken to a regional level are schools, safety (police and fire) and infrastructure. But it sounds like this is an area the Administration is planning to regionalize next.

[Charlie Page]

Hi,
Well, I look at what the City did with it's collection of income taxes and I have to say I think RITA did a better job. I wish we really knew if the taking of this function out of regional control really does save the City money.

3 areas I would never want to see taken to a regional level are schools, safety (police and fire) and infrastructure. But it sounds like this is an area the Administration is planning to regionalize next.

I rented in Lakewood for five years prior to buying a house that I could afford using a decent down payment. I had many renter friends that somehow escaped the clutches of the RITA tax man. That doesn’t happen as frequently now as the City’s tax people are on top of things. The City has also provided on-line filing of our local taxes, although you still have to mail the return in. I’m hoping that will change soon and become totally on-line.

Why do you believe that RITA does a better job?

I also agree that schools, police and fire should not be regionalized. Our local priorities would become lost in a sea of bureaucracy. Our schools would not see a dime in renovations without a fight with other localities. We would not have the extra police on our streets as we do now or maybe we would have to pay some kind of a surcharge.

[Gary Rice]

I see quite a bit of good with quite a few aspects of regionalism.

Once we remove the "political implications" of that word, and look to practical implementation of specifics, there's a lot of good that can be, and has already been achieved under some regional particulars to help improve our overall common good.

Communities can exponentially expand their collective buying powers, cooperate with regional sewer and electrical issues, work together with the county engineer's office on the roads and bridges stuff....etc. etc...

There are lots of ways we can all work together.

On the other hand, local autonomy with public schools, governmental control, and many types of city services seems to be preferential in our area right now, and that's fine by me too.

It should be noted that area safety forces, particularly in the law enforcement arena, already appear to coordinate very well.

I really like the unique aspect of Lakewood, as I do Rocky River, Parma, Bay, and the other independent neighborhoods around here. Even in Cleveland, there are communities like Old Brooklyn, West Park, Cuddell, Murray Hill, and others that retain their unique character, even though they are part of Cleveland.

It's fun to see these places "compete" too, whether with Friday night sports, or with the more complex liveability and commercial aspects.

Even sometimes-maligned Cleveland has shown some remarkable developments and improvements on Lakewood's eastern border.

All of these areas, together, bring a delightful flavor that makes our area an interesting place to live and work in.

While supporting local autonomy, I would hope that we always continue to explore areas of common ground with other neighboring communities.

That's not so much regionalism, as it is just being a good area citizen and neighbor.

After all, your home value, like it or not, WILL be affected by the homes around it in your neighborhood. The same type of relationship can be said to exist for Lakewood and it's neighboring communities.

The better they look, the better we all look.

[c. dawson]

one thing I'm detecting in the anti-regionalism arguments here is that all the suburbs would lose their identities utterly, and be completely dominated by Cleveland politicians. But frankly, I disagree. If "Cleveland" became a regional entity, such as all of Cuyahoga County becoming one big "Mega-Cleveland," the population of the outlying former suburbs in Cuyahoga County would have most of the population, and eventually, would come to dominate the government structure for that entity. The way it's presented here is that all the former suburbs would be completely subjugated under Cleveland. That's a load of manure. So what happens if a former Lakewood resident becomes the Mayor of Cleveland? Would things be different? Or a former resident of Beachwood? How would that change things?

I think too many people are using regionalism as a boogeyman, which it may not be ... yes, it could be, but frankly, it could go quite easily the opposite way.

More research needs to be done; we need to look at other areas that have developed a stronger sense of regionalism. Interestingly enough, when the PD ran an article about Louisville, KY which merged with its surrounding county to result in a city that went from the 67th biggest in the US to the 16th, what was found over time that the former independent suburbs came to dominate the new metropolis. In fact, one of the things that happened was a distinct loss of power among the African-American community in the city.

Of course, the article also points out that such a merger would be tough to accomplish, because the white suburbs have fear and mistrust of largely African-American Cleveland. And it's true. You see it here on the Observer Deck, where people complain that we're turning into "East Cleveland," "Cleveland," or a "ghetto." Guess what those are all code words for?

And I'm willing to bet there's one of the key reasons behind many peoples' fears of regionalism ... they white-flighted it out of Cleveland to escape ... and a giant Cleveland will bring everyone back together.

Interesting, interesting ... yet, I think that regionalism would be good, it would grow Cleveland ... and contrary to what Jim thinks, the region needs a strong Cleveland. Because the suburbs aren't gonna survive if the core city doesn't. But I think ultimately a mega-city region could work ... yes, everyone thinks that the Cleveland Public Schools are in sad shape, but couldn't they be fixed with an influx of new leadership from the former suburbs? Imagine what would happen if there'd be no more poaching businesses from neighboring cities ... reduced costs for police and fire protection (and upgrading of equipment), duplication of services going away ...

No, it's not a panacea ... but it's not the creeping horror that Jim touts it to be.

[Jim O'Bryan]

No, it's not a panacea ... but it's not the creeping horror that Jim touts it to be.

c. dawson

Creeping horror?

I just wondered aloud, how does it help Lakewood? To me I see very few pluses and many many negatives.

As I pointed out we already have many things regionalized, there is also a "regional" buying group to help cities save in bulk. I just wonder about the little things, the little things that other cities will benefit from and we will not, like the erosion of the good services we have with police, fire, schools, library, etc.

Gary touts yet another kumbaya moment for the region, but he would have lost not just his backyard pick-up, but many other things with very little say in the matter. Perhaps, like voices and choices this is just another step to bring us inline with the region and accept the bitter pill.

Again it is not darkness that descends over a city, that would be selling it the same way Voice and Choices and the PD sell it as a panacea to all of our ills.Just as they told us, the Convention Center would have been, the Jacob's Field, then Browns Stadium, I_X Center, Medical Mart, then on and on and on.

Mayor Tom George signed a non compete agreement, but only with cities that we might have benefited from businesses moving here. Not with cities we are losing out to! They would not sign. As pointed out, and one I love to mention, I am not sure I need any other cities emerging from the fray to "run the region" either. I know what many in the region think of Lakewood. Again, people who do not get it missing the point in a very great city with low self esteem. That is quickly slipping into beaten wife syndrome.

C.D. please point out where I have ever said we cannot benefit from a stronger Cleveland. I think I have always said the opposite. Lakewood would benefit greatly from a strong Cleveland, as one of the closest bedroom communities to Cleveland it would be great for jobs, etc. My point has always been, they cannot seem to stay afloat. They seem to be chasing rainbows, that always fall flat.

My point is, we cannot wait for Cleveland to get it's act together. We cannot wait for the empty promises of the past 15 years of regional drumming. To me regionalism is: 1) a quick way for a few to make money touting it why doing very little to make it happen, 2) a way as Bill Call said for many who should be responsible to cover up or even avoid accountability, 3) A way retain political control, while loosing close financial oversight. 4) A way to loose "home rule" completely.

Another reason we started the Observer was we had watched for decades what happens when outside reporters come to Lakewood to report. It becomes a hard hitting story that might be great for headlines, might be great for column inches or time, but almost always misses the point or more importantly how the story fits in Lakewood to the residents where it matters. Lakewood catching a pedaphile, becomes "Pedaphile farming local Lakewood coffee shops" The truth was he was farming Cleveland, Sharker, Cleveland Heights, River, Columbus, St. Louis, LA for decades. In Lakewood he was caught very quickly. In New York, it is "Lakewood build Robert Stern Library" in the regional paper, "Lakewood Builds Library... porn on computer..."

My point, I do not believe that the region understands Lakewood, nor do many of the residents. As the residents live here it is a little easier to accept. As I have written before, strictly from a marketing point. Does it not make sense to offer something different to all of the thousands moving here for the new jobs created by regionalism over the past 15 years?

What is the harm in waiting and seeing if the regional wonks can even deliver on their hype?

Is this a one time shot, we must rush to the bottom or lower levels of service right now?

Could we have a little self esteem, and wait until some cities that seem better off join in?

Could we continue to make Lakewood the best it could be, make the little alignments that make sense, as Dee mentions, and see how this works?

Finally, why are Lakewood's leaders pushing for it? I can understand why the Rocky River resident running the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce believe in it. Reasons above. I can understand how LakewoodAlive run by a person that gets paid by a regionalism initiative company has given up, on the city be all it can be. Though I do wonder why he and they fought to stop the regionalization of schools and library. I guess IF the mayor is looking towards county government future, why he would want to speed it along. But I cannot understand why the residents would just roll over for it.

As I said before in this thread, I can see why it would work in 90% of the cities in the region. I just cannot see where it helps Lakewood more than it would hurt it.

Bill

I believe that last year taxes collected by the city were higher than RITA, and they were doing a more thorough job. I do not know if it cost more or less.

CD

We all know what "Section 8" and "East Cleveland" are code words for - stupidity. I think a majority of Lakewood's section 8 are white elderly. And working in East Cleveland I see many flooding back in as Eric Brewer picks the city up with the help of their library director Greg Reese and are making it a better city on their own. I predict it will be the turnaround city of the next decade in Ohio. Many of the classic old homes are now going through beautiful restoration projects, the eyes of Case, The Clinic, and University Hospitals are on it, and soon they will have an Observer.

One last time, as it is a very slippery slope, and nearly impossible to ever undo. How does it help Lakewood? What do we loose? Don;t tell me about Kentucky, Avon, Akron, Columbus, that is their game. Tell me about my city. How it improves Lakewood? Our school that we just paid for? Our library that we just paid for? Our rec department? Our streets? Our fire department? Our police? Our neighborhoods?

If we stay out of the program, we can come and go as we please. Look at the taxes. We can jump back into RITA at a moments notice, with no penalties. That alone should underline one reason to keep all options open.

Regionalists, in Cleveland talk of dreams and theories. But then they get paid for that. It is their job to spin the web of dreams and cures. Where is the real FACTS?

To do something that cannot be reversed on wild eyed theories?!

FWIW


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[Bill Call]

Interesting, interesting ... yet, I think that regionalism would be good, it would grow Cleveland ... and contrary to what Jim thinks, the region needs a strong Cleveland.

Give some specific services that would be regionalized and why their operation under a regional entity would cost less. Just how would a regional government help Cleveland?

[Kenneth Warren]

Ironically and by the dialectical design ready made for history and psyche, regionalism hands-off the wheel of local power survivalism is similar to the hyper-local tribalism of the LO. Both are inflationary conceits designed to re-calibrate the desire that drives political economy and re-fashions buckets of authority, money, relations, responsibilities and, of course, space.

Race cards are dealt in the belief/projections/migrations involved in the re-fashioning of so many buckets. But race vastly oversimplifies the issues with a massive expansion of the projection screen upon which shadows dance.

Regionalism is a hypothetical appropriation, that is to say a meme, a viral thought-form gathered UP from places that from the spin of hearsay, marketers, etc. seem somehow to be less depressed. The hyper-local tribalism of the LO is a manic-panic inoculation rooted in the feral local yokel independent spirit of the Wood.

The premise behind the hyper-local tribalism of the LO was to compel depressed people in a region economically struggling to put it UP, including the lame brain-washers who underestimate the degree of paranoia needed to survive un-depressed in the post-industrial Cleveland + region.

Thus both inflationary conceits compete for the depressed mind shares of people battered by economic collapse unleashed by the moral disorder of corporate greed and globalization.

Given the bust-out of the Great American Empire and the sell-out of a decent productive economic model by Neo-liberal professional classes, the Wall Street FIRE economy ganiffs, depressed people are searching for, as Tim Hardin sang, “A Reason to Belief.â€￾ But remember the problem with belief, in a psychological sense, is projection, the root of the overvaluation and inflationary hysteria that drives boom/bust credit cycles.

Given the unwinding of a credit/deflationary depression, the reason to belief will remain, I believe, a psychological projection, drenched in the magical thinking that informs a human being’s traumatized identification needs.

"UP with people!" Didn't I hear that at the World's Fair, circa '65, when the go-go dancers pranced around the Mustang at the Ford Exhibit to evoke a whole new world of inflated drives, possibility, power and freedom.

You get the expansionary picture of desire and how to car-jack it.

Kenneth Warren

[Bill Call]

...in the feral local yokel independent spirit of the Wood.

I'll admit to feral, but yokel?