The Observation Deck

Jenn Pae spends a lot of time on FaceBook and social media during business hours.

Jenn Pae's electronic calendar at City Hall has been obtained pursuant to a public records request and reveals dozens of events and meetings that are marked by a privacy lock.

Despite my requests to "unlock" these events and meetings or explain how our public servant can justify hiding what she does during business hours, City Hall and Kevin Butler has failed and refused to provide an explanation.

If these "locked" items on Jen Pae's calendar are personal in nature, given the large volume of "locked" time slots, and given the amount of time Jen Pae spends on social media during business hours, it calls into question:

Does Lakewood really need of Full Time Finance Director.

Lakewood does not currently have a Planning Director and has aa part time Law Director.

According to City Hall, everything in Lakewood is just peachy and finances are a breeze since we don't have that ugly old hospital threatening the tax base.

Can such fine fiscal managers find even more ways to trim more and move Forward and Progress instead of being stuck gazing at the past.

Interesting question.

I've often wondered how her social media work is related to her finance duties. She insists that the mayor approves of her online "work."

I find it politically oriented and therefore potentially against election and campaign laws.

But hey, Lakewood is doing great. We don't need no million dollars a year in income tax revenue from hospital employees!

I believe that assertion will go down in history.

No, I don't believe Lakewood needs a full-time Finance Director. They won't release the locked items? Why? What is she hiding? I would file with the Ohio Attorney General's Office and request a mediation hearing. From what it seems, Summers appears to have his fingers wrapped around the Ohio Ethics Committee and Elections Committee. Hopefully he has not reached the AG yet. Just a wild guess: maybe our finance director is working on the seemingly corrupt land bank deals and dealing with the "money" that results from those deals.

I don't believe Lakewood needs a law department at all, let alone a law director. City Hall seems to hire outside lawyers for almost everything. They already farm out income tax collections and negligence lawsuits to outside lawyers. Why bother?

I don't believe Lakewood needs a planning director at all. I don't believe it is that difficult to decide where to place the next drinking establishment, smoke shop, e-juice shop, or shops to buy burner cell phones that drug traffickers and criminals yearn for.

Vote no on 64 on November 8th. We need to put a dent in these people's crusade for what appears to be their own self-interests and the interests of a few cronies.

I would say it would be better to make them not political appointments.

Between that and non-partisan elections, City Hall has gone nuts.

.

Here is one of several posts from Ms. Jenn Pae from the FB page of the Rebranded Dark Money City Insiders that are Lakewood Voters for Progress and Fraud. I've rarely seen such a tortured analysis from a "professional" Finance person. The bad analysis and writing are hers, not mine.

The assumptions are laughable...$100M from the MA, and two cents on the dollar. Her approach and use of these assumptions leads to a $5B value on the hospital. Hey Ms. Pae, make it ONE cent and call the hospital worth $10 BILLION DOLLARS. Specious argument. Cue Austin Powers.

If Lakewood is going to employ political hacks, less hours are better. Hire professionals.

Just for fun, note who immediately replies to Ms. Pae's post...

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Jenn Karaffa Pae
August 23 at 4:26am
Another argument that needs to be debunked is that the City received "pennies on the dollar" on the value of Lakewood Hospital by entering into the Master Agreement. It makes a good sound bite, but you really have to question this math too. The Master Agreement's value is estimated to be over $100 million in direct current and future payments and investments to the community. So if this is pennies on the dollar, let's say two cents to every one dollar, that equals 2% of the estimated value. So if $100 million is 2% of the value of Lakewood Hospital that means it was worth $5 billion dollars, or 75% of the total direct output of the economic impact of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Northeast Ohio in 2013 (see page 4: $5 billion divided by $6.7 billion: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/ccf/medi ... .pdf?la=en). This is a big difference from the $160.287 million in total assets listed on page 2 of Lakewood Hospital Association's 2014 audited Financial Report (http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... alStmt.pdf) I find this "pennies on the dollar" argument really hard to believe that Lakewood Hospital had that much value as some would say, just as long as you don't pay attention to the audited financial statements and don't question the math. You can learn more at: http://www.onelakewood.com/community-vi ... /hospital/

9 Likes 3 Comments 1 Share
Like · Comment Chronological 9 people like this.

Comments
Pamela Boden Smith Pamela Boden Smith Thanks. I'm printing it for a morning meeting.
Like · Reply · August 23 at 4:36am

Jay P. Foran Jay P. Foran The opposition will not hold back from any claim that they believe helps their cause. Our City Council did their due diligence, and more. Residents and taxpayers should applaud the work of our City Council.
Like · Reply · August 23 at 5:09am

Jay Carson Jay Carson Thanks for posting Jenn!
Like · Reply · August 23 at 6:13am

Do we need a finance director? This is just another subject to bring up when you are out and about in Lakewood. Everyday when I am out in Lakewood, I talk to many persons about the hospital and what appear to be illegal and immoral housing take overs that our Mayor apparently has approved. If you think people are upset about the hospital, you should see their reactions in regards to what appears to be the illegal take over of some of the residents homes here in Lakewood. We are hoping to have some of the victims come forward to tell the story of what really happened.People are furious, and not stupid, even though the mayor treats them like they are.

I predict that, if the election is not fixed, like it appears that the last Lakewood election was, the people who are trying to save the hospital should win. This, hopefully, will be the beginning of cleaning up City Hall. I believe it is time for Lord Lakewood and his Court to be stripped of their control over Lakewood.

I would say it would be better to make them not political appointments.

In Lakewood, the hiring process appears to be politically motivated for even low level jobs.

Congrats to our Human resource Department. It appears that they don't even know how to do back ground checks! Of Course, I believe that this is what happens when you hire your friends instead of truly qualified applicants. It appears to me that the Mayor knew exactly who he was hiring when he hired Rick and Colin!

What happened to Jen Pae? It appears she liked what they offered her and she took the bait!

cmager wrote:Here is one of several posts from Ms. Jenn Pae from the FB page of the Rebranded Dark Money City Insiders that are Lakewood Voters for Progress and Fraud. I've rarely seen such a tortured analysis from a "professional" Finance person. The bad analysis and writing are hers, not mine.

The assumptions are laughable...$100M from the MA, and two cents on the dollar. Her approach and use of these assumptions leads to a $5B value on the hospital. Hey Ms. Pae, make it ONE cent and call the hospital worth $10 BILLION DOLLARS. Specious argument. Cue Austin Powers.

If Lakewood is going to employ political hacks, less hours are better. Hire professionals.

Just for fun, note who immediately replies to Ms. Pae's post...

-------------------------
Jenn Karaffa Pae
August 23 at 4:26am
Another argument that needs to be debunked is that the City received "pennies on the dollar" on the value of Lakewood Hospital by entering into the Master Agreement. It makes a good sound bite, but you really have to question this math too. The Master Agreement's value is estimated to be over $100 million in direct current and future payments and investments to the community. So if this is pennies on the dollar, let's say two cents to every one dollar, that equals 2% of the estimated value. So if $100 million is 2% of the value of Lakewood Hospital that means it was worth $5 billion dollars, or 75% of the total direct output of the economic impact of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Northeast Ohio in 2013 (see page 4: $5 billion divided by $6.7 billion: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/ccf/medi ... .pdf?la=en). This is a big difference from the $160.287 million in total assets listed on page 2 of Lakewood Hospital Association's 2014 audited Financial Report (http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... alStmt.pdf) I find this "pennies on the dollar" argument really hard to believe that Lakewood Hospital had that much value as some would say, just as long as you don't pay attention to the audited financial statements and don't question the math. You can learn more at: http://www.onelakewood.com/community-vi ... /hospital/

9 Likes 3 Comments 1 Share
Like · Comment Chronological 9 people like this.

Comments
Pamela Boden Smith Pamela Boden Smith Thanks. I'm printing it for a morning meeting.
Like · Reply · August 23 at 4:36am

Jay P. Foran Jay P. Foran The opposition will not hold back from any claim that they believe helps their cause. Our City Council did their due diligence, and more. Residents and taxpayers should applaud the work of our City Council.
Like · Reply · August 23 at 5:09am

Jay Carson Jay Carson Thanks for posting Jenn!
Like · Reply · August 23 at 6:13am

jTmXHvGZiSY

cmager wrote:Here is one of several posts from Ms. Jenn Pae from the FB page of the Rebranded Dark Money City Insiders that are Lakewood Voters for Progress and Fraud. I've rarely seen such a tortured analysis from a "professional" Finance person. The bad analysis and writing are hers, not mine.

The assumptions are laughable...$100M from the MA, and two cents on the dollar. Her approach and use of these assumptions leads to a $5B value on the hospital. Hey Ms. Pae, make it ONE cent and call the hospital worth $10 BILLION DOLLARS. Specious argument. Cue Austin Powers.

If Lakewood is going to employ political hacks, less hours are better. Hire professionals.

Just for fun, note who immediately replies to Ms. Pae's post...

-------------------------
Jenn Karaffa Pae
August 23 at 4:26am
Another argument that needs to be debunked is that the City received "pennies on the dollar" on the value of Lakewood Hospital by entering into the Master Agreement. It makes a good sound bite, but you really have to question this math too. The Master Agreement's value is estimated to be over $100 million in direct current and future payments and investments to the community. So if this is pennies on the dollar, let's say two cents to every one dollar, that equals 2% of the estimated value. So if $100 million is 2% of the value of Lakewood Hospital that means it was worth $5 billion dollars, or 75% of the total direct output of the economic impact of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Northeast Ohio in 2013 (see page 4: $5 billion divided by $6.7 billion: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/ccf/medi ... .pdf?la=en). This is a big difference from the $160.287 million in total assets listed on page 2 of Lakewood Hospital Association's 2014 audited Financial Report (http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... alStmt.pdf) I find this "pennies on the dollar" argument really hard to believe that Lakewood Hospital had that much value as some would say, just as long as you don't pay attention to the audited financial statements and don't question the math. You can learn more at: http://www.onelakewood.com/community-vi ... /hospital/

9 Likes 3 Comments 1 Share
Like · Comment Chronological 9 people like this.

Comments
Pamela Boden Smith Pamela Boden Smith Thanks. I'm printing it for a morning meeting.
Like · Reply · August 23 at 4:36am

Jay P. Foran Jay P. Foran The opposition will not hold back from any claim that they believe helps their cause. Our City Council did their due diligence, and more. Residents and taxpayers should applaud the work of our City Council.
Like · Reply · August 23 at 5:09am

Jay Carson Jay Carson Thanks for posting Jenn!
Like · Reply · August 23 at 6:13am

Doctors Evils say it best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTmXHvGZiSY

Check out the salaries at City Hall. Meanwhile, the jailer only makes about 16,000 a year. It appears that Jen Pae is just one of many employees in the Mayor's "play and get paid" scheme!".

I don't think anyone with any kind of interest in the hospital deal has been able to work full-time at their regular jobs since sometime last year. When Council put off the referendum vote from March to November, that just prolonged the distraction and fostered more bad blood within the city. It caused a rift in our civic soul that will take a long time to heal. I don't think that gave the City any advantage in defeating the referendum that they didn't already have earlier this year.

That postponement was pure evil.

We need to vote "against" in the referendum if nothing else to send a message to the entrenched players that the old way of doing business is no longer acceptable to us.

Dan,
You better be careful speaking out against the Summer's regime. I belive they could come after your house next!

Let's not forget that Jen Pae set up the fake "Lakewood Community" facebook page.
She used to post on the "Lakewood, Ohio" page, but didn't like the fact that people questioned her there.

She promptly created the new page, which is designed to appear as an impartial neighborhood page.....even though it was founded and is controlled by City Hall.
Just as with the fake newspaper, there is no disclosure about the site's conflict of interest.

Here is another one of the several posts from Ms. Jenn Pae from the FB page of the Rebranded Dark Money City Insiders that are Lakewood Voters for Progress and Fraud. This one, too, is a beauty from a "professional" Finance person. The bad analysis and writing are hers, not mine. If Lakewood is going to employ political hacks, less hours are better. Hire professionals.

Key items that are laughable...
1. Ms. Pae posted this at 5:01pm. 5:01pm, just off the clock, that. It took less than 60 seconds to write this, eh?
2. From the bolded items (bold added)...
[*]"Fallacy" - Apparently lost economic activity is a fallacy...the Hospital provided little economic value, apparently.
[*]"Best I could come up with" - way to demonstrate depth of expertise, and display a command your numbers.
[*]"Just at the former Lakewood Hospital facility" - way to represent the best interests of the City of Lakewood. Avon thanks you.
[*]"And yes, the loss in withholding taxes is a big deal" - but apparently it's not, because lookie, overall collections are higher. Woot!
[*]"Taxpayer lawsuit has had a negative economic impact" - whoa...can't wait to see the %% analysis that supports this statement.
[*]"Has had a very positive economic impact on this community" - HAD. HAD a positive impact. Really, now.
It has to be rare that a Finance Director can so insult the thinking citizens of the City of Lakewood?

Just for fun, this post of Ms. Pae was shared on FB by Bullock, Stein, and Crampton.

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Jenn Karaffa Pae
August 22 at 5:01pm
It is time to debunk the claim of $100s of millions lost in economic activity because of the transition of Lakewood Hospital from an inpatient to an outpatient facility while still retaining an emergency department. This is a complete fallacy even though some claim that Cleveland Clinic's own economic impact study supports it. It is simply not true and must be challenged. This is the only April 2015 Cleveland Clinic Economic Impact Study I can find: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/ccf/medi ... .pdf?la=en. If there is another one I'm missing, someone please share. Not sure how the $300 million in economic activity was derived out of this report???? The best I could come up with is if there were 1,100 employees at the former hospital as claimed, that is 2.3% of direct employment in Northeast Ohio (not just Lakewood). This is from page 4 where it shows there were 47,940 direct jobs in Northeast Ohio, so 1,100 divided by 47,940 is 2.3% of the CCF workforce. The Northeast Ohio direct output was $6.7 billion in 2013. So 2.2% of that is a $154.1 million economic impact in Northeast Ohio, not Lakewood. And here is the thing: the reduction in jobs with the transition of an inpatient to an outpatient facility didn't mean the elimination of jobs in Northeast Ohio. Just at the former Lakewood Hospital facility. The vast majority of those jobs went to other Northeast Ohio CCF facilities. Therefore, the only economic impact based on this study is the $500,000 loss in withholding taxes to the City of Lakewood, but some other city in Northeast Ohio is now receiving those withholding taxes, so the economic impact of the transition of the facility is ZERO to Northeast Ohio if one uses this study as their basis. And yes, the loss in withholding taxes is a big deal but even with the transition, overall City of Lakewood withholding collections are higher so far this year than last. Take that back, the funds that the City has had to expend to defend the $400 million taxpayer lawsuit has had a negative economic impact on this community. These are funds that could have gone to city services instead of legal fees. The Master Agreement unanimously approved by an elected City Council on December 21, 2015 has had a very positive economic impact on this community and will so for years to come.