The Observation Deck

Negative people might view the loss of 1,000 jobs as a bad thing.
But not the folks at Build Lakewood!
They just posted the latest missive from Jen Pae, who explains why losing our largest employer is no big deal.

Mrs. Pae uses the expressions "don't forget...And don't forget"

Don't forget that the hospital provided on average over $7M annually in charity care to the underserved.

And don't forget the University of California, San Francisco study that death rates will rise when you eliminate an ER that provides true cardiac and stroke care.

And don't forget that the City just gave away over $70M in value to CCF most of which will leave the City--value that helped the least fortunate among us.

And don't forget that the most loving thing someone can do is to help someone in need and less fortunate that yourself.

Mrs. Pae,

I won't forget.

Brian, Mike, Jenn

I am not as smart as the rest of your, but if you are losing $1 million in taxes and have savings to get through it, we are still losing $1 million in taxes a year.

I kept this simple as some say it is too complicated, or.

If you have 7 apples, it took 100 years to grow, and gave 6 to one person, and 1 to someone else...

... was it a good deal for the people that owned the orchard?

Mike, thanks for sharing. I was pleased to learn, as Jenn reported, that: "Any additional development on the hospital site, building permit fees, and property tax revenues are above what the City would have received if the status quo continued until 2026."

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_MvFaBL5KU

[quote="Corey Rossen"]Sorry, I couldn't resist!



Corey

One of the things that amaze people in other cities about Lakewood and the Deck is our use of videos, music, photos, etc. to make points and keep it "interesting."

A real brand builder.


.

I have no problems with Jenn Pae's statement.

After all, as a Lakewood City Hall person, she would naturally and understandably try and keep a positive face on all of this.

Lakewood's gonna need all the positive it can get, I would believe.

The problem I have, would be with making an apples to apples comparison...

...as to why I, (and I would presume, a few other Lakewoodites)

...feel so much like William Tell's kid.

You know that old story right? You're standing next to the tree with an apple on your head, hoping that someone you love and trust will shoot the apple off your head with the arrow, and not have that arrow accidentally strike a little lower.

I mean, apples to apples here, we're supposed to trust our representatives, the City government. Right?

But see, there's this little apple on our head, and we're a little bit nervous right about now.

But then again, I'm only thinking out loud here...

...wondering whether I'd rather be the kid under the apple...

...or the worm in the apple.

Back to the banjo...

Poor Ms. Pae.

She thinks this is all about the money. Sorry Ms. Pae, but that is only one facet of this mess and there are many more important reasons to have a hospital in Lakewood, come on!

It's about saving lives not dollars! It's about people caring for each other and supporting delivery of that care, right here in town. Can you believe that? We have had it all, and it was just handed over to people who also believe it's all about the money. It's a damn shame. Does anyone at city hall have a heart? Someone who feels, as many do, that this is a moral issue? You just don't work to kill a public institution for private gain. It's just wrong, on a very basic level. Hey I'd love to get $100+million for around $20 million too but not at this price.

Privatization stomps on and on because we all know what is important now, right? The almighty $ is more valuable than our own lives, and the lives of those who live around us. That is what the Cleveland Clinic, Mayor Summers and the whole of LHA is telling us.

Lakewood can still "have it all" if we would only fight for it.

Jim Kenny wrote:Mike, thanks for sharing. I was pleased to learn, as Jenn reported, that: "Any additional development on the hospital site, building permit fees, and property tax revenues are above what the City would have received if the status quo continued until 2026."

Fact Check:

Average of over $7M of annual charity care since 1996 is historical FACT. 11 more years=$77M projection based on fact.
$70M give away of hospital value is based upon the black and white terms of the Master Agreement and a professional valuation of actual i.e. factual historical sales of similar hospitals.

So that's a loss of $147M.

As JOB pointed out above, Jenn Pae is talking about tax revenues from property tax increases that we would have had in ADDITION to the $147M.

So Mike D's point is valid--Mr. Kenny and his friends are whistling Dixie.

Gary,

I think it best that you toss the apple aside and hide behind the tree.

Those of us thinking of the William Tell analogy SHOULD probably lose that apple on our heads and get behind a tree, I suppose...

But the way our luck's been going around here lately...

An apple would probably fall on our heads anyway...

I know that old saying about an apple a day keeping the doctor away,

but I'm not sure whether our present scenario is exactly what was intended by that expression.

And the thing is, getting clobbered with that apple would likely not be the worst of the problem either.

Getting an ambulance back to us from miles away could also be an issue.

(Hmmm...I wonder whether I could find a first-aid kit that would fit in the back of a banjo?)

I got it! Maybe if I used the back of that banjo as a helmet....

Back to the banjo.

Hello Brian: How are facts checked, yet others ignored?

The hospital, on average, has been losing 5% inpatient stays annually since 2005 and 8% last year. This trend began well in advance of any decanting plan. When losing patients at such a compounded rate there's increasingly less need for labor and less labor translates to increasingly less payroll taxes.

Knowing statistics, as I'm confident you do, we both know trends continue unabated without a disruptive force. And knowing this trend line as we now all do, we can understand how easily tax revenues from "Any additional development on the hospital site, building permit fees, and property tax revenues are above what the City would have received if the status quo continued until 2026."

I hope Jenn is right. I won't forget the assurances that this deal will allow the city to overcome the loss of payroll from the hospital. Outside of the schools, I don't expect, nor will I vote for a tax increase of any kind for at least a decade.

Jim O'Bryan wrote: ...... if you are losing $1 million in taxes and have savings to get through it, we are still losing $1 million in taxes a year.

I kept this simple as some say it is too complicated, or.

If you have 7 apples, it took 100 years to grow, and gave 6 to one person, and 1 to someone else...

... was it a good deal for the people that owned the orchard?

The increase in property taxes and the completion of a couple of housing projects will have a positive affect on the City budget. Rather than build on that positive news the Mayor has chosen to use the increased funds to make up for the lost hospital revenue.

The policy of the administration is to sell City assets to fund operating expenses. That policy will work well for awhile. Then what?

Bill:

There once was a mayor in Cleveland by the name of Ralph Perk. He sold everything he could to avoid raising taxes. I guess that is the reason our former Republican turned Democrat mayor thought it was a good idea.

Sorry guys, but Summers is a Democrat, along with Antonio who, apparently, was with Summers and Council all along. This one can't be blamed on the Lakewood republicans no matter how you try to twist it.