Third Amended Charter

[Amy Martin]

So, do the changes benefit us as voters or City Hall? The answer will determine my vote.

[Lori Allen _]

It appears to me, that it will allow the Council and Mayor to chose a committee of their "friends" , to continue to run the city.

In other words, I believe it will remain the Same, Lakewood being run by a bunch of corrupt criminals.

[Bridget Conant]

I wonder how much those REAMS of paper cost to print and mail?

Is David Anderson questioning this expenditure?

IMO, a more frugal, yet still informative, method would have been to mail a one page letter to voters explaining that the amendment may be on the ballot and directing them to the website where they could read the actual language. For those without computers or who do not like reading online, they could have offered to mail a paper copy to those who requested one by phone.

It seemed like overkill with that thick booklet, in multiple copies.

[Bridget Conant]

I have learned that the city approved the expenditure of $25,000 for printing and mailing the charter booklets.

[cmager]

Here's a chart of the modifications. http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... y-2017.pdf

A question to which I don't know the answer...perhaps someone else can advise?
Does this chart document ONLY the changes made by city council in July 2017? I ask because if the charter is completely rewritten, I would suspect that there are far more changes than those captured in that chart.

A detailed comparison might make for a good LO Deck series and LO articles.

[Dan OMalley]

Does this chart document ONLY the changes made by city council in July 2017? I ask because if the charter is completely rewritten, I would suspect that there are far more changes than those captured in that chart.

A detailed comparison might make for a good LO Deck series and LO articles.

Yes. The full list of changes proposed by the Charter Review Commission - with side-by-side language comparison - can be found on page 13 of this document: http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... t-2014.pdf

Council also made a few additional proposed changes, which were linked above.

[todd vainisi]

Is this true? Isn't this what Mark Kindt has been calling for? Why the silence on this possible victory?

It also has ethics requirements for elected officials, and requirement of attending some educational sessions on ethics. (Presumably that is why this charter did not go through Council's approval near the end of 2014, or by end of 2015, or by end of 2016.)

[Lori Allen _]

So it has more ethics requirements? Wonderful, but there are already ethics laws on the books that they don't follow. If these new ethics requirements are indeed implemented, who is going to hold them accountable? It seems like this is like a falling-down drunk enforcing a drunk driver's probation requirements.

Look at this:

5.10 Property Tax Levies - Taxation by Vote of Council -

In any calendar year, taxes may be levied upon the tax duplicate without a vote of the people for the current operating expenses of the city...

Levy for Police and Fire Pension Fund -

Notwithstanding any other provision of this charter, and in addition to all other levies authorized or required by law, but otherwise in the manner provided for the making of other municipal levies, council shall levy annually, without a vote of the people, outside the constitutional and statutory 10-mill limitation and outside the limitations provided by this charter, a tax upon all real and personal property listed for taxation upon the tax lists and duplicates for each year sufficient in rate to provide all moneys required to meet the city's obligations related to the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund and to pay debt charges on securities issued to support the fund.

9.3 L - Acts Preliminary to Referendum Election

In case a petition is filed requiring that a measure passed by council providing for an expenditure of money or a public improvement be submitted to a vote of the registered voters, all steps preliminary to the actual expenditure of actual execution of a contract for the improvement may be taken prior to the election.

What is the point of the referendum?

11.1 (d)

All contracts entered into by the city prior to the effective date of this amended charter are continued in full force and effect. All public work begun prior to the effective date of this amended charter shall be continued. All public improvements for which legislative steps have been taken under law in force at the time of the adoption of this amended charter may be carried to completion in accordance with the provisions of those laws.

If this passes in November, does this mean council and the mayor are going to refer to this and say everything they did was legal? Until all litigation and investigations into various matters are complete (e.g. voting) are settled, what happens? Right now, we do not really know if the position of mayor is legitimate.

The dead giveaway is the names on the Charter Review Committee. That should tell you all you need to know. Anything most of these folks want, you should read over very carefully. The same old names, the same old company. Don't kid yourself, rarely does anybody get on these committees without knowing and/or doing something for the mayor. If you think otherwise, I kindly suggest removing your head from your behind. If you are really doubtful, crack open a history book. Dictatorships do not typically come to power overnight. Rather, it starts with the slow, subtle dismantling of the people's rights. When people finally realize what is happening, it is too late.

I'm tired of everyone in this city tip-toeing around the mayor.

[Marguerite Harkness]

EMINENT DOMAIN - WATCH OUT, CITIZENS!!!

If the city wants to take a property, THEY TAKE ONLY 30 DAYS TO DECIDE; then IMMEDIATELY they contact the owner of the property and tell them the city wants the property.

There are no safeguards for the citizen, presented in the charter.

This doesn't even provide for 3 readings at Council!!

[Lori Allen _]

Thanks Marguerite for bringing this to our attention. I overlooked the bit about eminent domain.

I guess the hospital is just one piece of what is left to come.

Coming soon: soccer fields behind the vacant hospital site?

[cmager]

The Westerly will come down in time.

[Lori Allen _]

Perhaps City Hall is trying to push everything through in a hurry through this charter.

That's okay, if the non-compete clause is lifted and we get our new mayor, some of this can be undone.

[Marguerite Harkness]

Re: Westerly: The current manager collects salary for as long as he (and the city) wants, then he gets his nice new pension. City appoints the new manager, aka "the closer". Westerly goes, and folks are on the street.

Sound farfetched?

(Like Nature's Bin - new board + new manager = business closed. To be replaced by ANOTHER grocery store.)

[Dan OMalley]

Worth noting of course that the provisions Ms. Allen cites above are also in the current charter (Article XI, Section 29; Article XI, Section 30; Article XXI, Section 12; Article XXIII, Section 4).

I've linked to this twice before but here (on p. 13) is a table showing all changes proposed by the Charter Review Commission: http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... t-2014.pdf

Here is a table of the few additional modifications proposed by Council: http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... y-2017.pdf

[Dan Alaimo]

Perhaps City Hall is trying to push everything through in a hurry through this charter.

That's okay, if the non-compete clause is lifted and we get our new mayor, some of this can be undone.

Note the datg: 2014.
They waited three years. Perhaps the question is "why the stall?" rather than "why the hurry?".