Secretary-Treasurer, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees,
Showing posts with label Sustainability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sustainability. Show all posts
New 15,000 sq foot Orange Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library coming to Pepper Pike
Read all about it here - it will be next to the Orange Senior Center. What do you think? What do you want? What don't you want? How should the old space be utilized - or not?
On Roads, Infrastructure and Safety
The Pepper Pike Road, Infrastructure and Safety Committee is a new committee. Its first meeting was on 4/4/12 and its next is Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 7:30pm. This column from Bloomberg News encompasses a whole lot of thoughts, in general and specifically, that I have had on the far-reaching subjects with which this committee is expected to deal.
At the first meeting, Councilman Tony Gentile (the council rep on the committee, serving with three residents) asked that Council consider, in regard to weighing what work if any should be done to Lander Road, "What do we want Lander Road to be?"
When I first heard the question (I was in the audience), I smiled, thinking, "What an existential question!" But in the Bloomberg piece, the authors concludes his discussion of problems and solutions with, "Beyond all these things, rising standards would help. We should expect our streets to shine, and if they don’t, we should hold the politicians responsible."
My first instinct is always to go to the taxpayers - what do you want Lander or any other road in the City "to be?" And do they need to "shine" - or something more? Something less?
At the first meeting, Councilman Tony Gentile (the council rep on the committee, serving with three residents) asked that Council consider, in regard to weighing what work if any should be done to Lander Road, "What do we want Lander Road to be?"
When I first heard the question (I was in the audience), I smiled, thinking, "What an existential question!" But in the Bloomberg piece, the authors concludes his discussion of problems and solutions with, "Beyond all these things, rising standards would help. We should expect our streets to shine, and if they don’t, we should hold the politicians responsible."
My first instinct is always to go to the taxpayers - what do you want Lander or any other road in the City "to be?" And do they need to "shine" - or something more? Something less?
Tonight's Pepper Pike City Council meeting & other updates
Sent this morning:
Good day.
A quick list of events and other information that may be of interest to you:
1. The regularly scheduled monthly City Council meeting will be this evening (Wednesday, 1/18/12) at 8pm in City Hall. The meeting is open to the public and you can find the agenda attached or here at the City website.
2. There is an opening on the Orange City Schools Board of Education should anyone be interested in applying or know someone you'd like to encourage to apply. The deadline is next Wednesday, January 25th, at noon. You can read more here.
3. At last week's Road & Safety meeting, Mayor Bain spoke about a few priorities of his. I do not want to mischaracterize anything he said and would urge residents to consult the meeting minutes on a regular basis (though be aware that they are often not posted for a couple of week, though you can listen to the tapes or request them from the Clerk of Council once completed and approved). Very generally, he addressed:
-an information technology (IT) upgrade to bring the City into the 21st Century, if not the current decade
-making the City campus "greener" (as opposed to more green in color, though that could be accomplished too!)
-putting a hold on a traffic light at Pinetree and Pinebrook
-putting a hold on removing the blinking light at South Woodland and Old Brainard
-looking at traffic issues related to Windy Hill Road
-adopting an ethics policy
Again, do double-check me with the minutes and of course, with contacting any of us (information to do that is here).
Good day.
A quick list of events and other information that may be of interest to you:
1. The regularly scheduled monthly City Council meeting will be this evening (Wednesday, 1/18/12) at 8pm in City Hall. The meeting is open to the public and you can find the agenda attached or here at the City website.
2. There is an opening on the Orange City Schools Board of Education should anyone be interested in applying or know someone you'd like to encourage to apply. The deadline is next Wednesday, January 25th, at noon. You can read more here.
3. At last week's Road & Safety meeting, Mayor Bain spoke about a few priorities of his. I do not want to mischaracterize anything he said and would urge residents to consult the meeting minutes on a regular basis (though be aware that they are often not posted for a couple of week, though you can listen to the tapes or request them from the Clerk of Council once completed and approved). Very generally, he addressed:
-an information technology (IT) upgrade to bring the City into the 21st Century, if not the current decade
-making the City campus "greener" (as opposed to more green in color, though that could be accomplished too!)
-putting a hold on a traffic light at Pinetree and Pinebrook
-putting a hold on removing the blinking light at South Woodland and Old Brainard
-looking at traffic issues related to Windy Hill Road
-adopting an ethics policy
Again, do double-check me with the minutes and of course, with contacting any of us (information to do that is here).
The changing role of government supports new mayor's emphasis on IT
No surprise, that headline, coming from anyone who has known me even just since I ran for Pepper Pike City Council, but Mayor Bain, at last week's Road & Safety meeting, made it clear that he aspires to bring the City into the 21st century, if not the second decade of it as well, too.
This article, "The changing role of government," backs up this prioritization. An excerpt:
What more should be done? But also - where do you draw the line?
This article, "The changing role of government," backs up this prioritization. An excerpt:
In Governing’s November 2011 edition (p 20), there was an article entitled “Full-Service Government Comes to an End,” by Paul W. Taylor. The article focused on the many requests that come through for government employees to resolve. In particular, he noted that in Longmont, CO, “an internal analysis showed that up to 38% of the police departments calls for service did not need a uniformed officer – they needed a neighbor.”
This is only one example, but it raises a large question: Should government become an “information clearinghouse,” helping citizens find and act on information, as well as be a service provider? Should local government become a significant information and services hub, linking citizens to the most appropriate community resources for their needs?If you received a robo-call from the City informing you about this week's garbage pick-up and that the City Hall is open today, then you know that the mayor is already trying to make good on the above.
What more should be done? But also - where do you draw the line?
TONIGHT (10/26): Composting Seminar at City Hall
On City Council, I've seen how recycling efforts how keep our land fill dumping costs down. So, when I read, several weeks ago, that Lakewood had hosted the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District's free seminar on composting, I thought we should bring it to Pepper Pike.
As you may already know from a recent mayor's letter and the City website's calendar, this seminar, which emphasizes the importance of rear-yard composting, and how easy it is to do so, will be given this evening (Wednesday, October 26) in the Council Chambers from 6:30-7:30pm. At this gathering, the Solid Waste District officials will provide helpful how-to-compost instructions and other information on rear-yard composting. They will also provide for sale two types of affordable composting bins as well as a kitchen collection container.
Why is this important?
The more residents we have composting, the more it helps lower the City’s land fill dumping costs, as well as help the environment. The seminar will last only one hour, during which you may also ask any questions you have on composting.
I will be there and I hope you will join me.
BONUS: Please - don't forget to vote. Election day is less than two weeks away. You can still request and vote by absentee ballot by going here, and of course you can vote on election day at your polling place in Pepper Pike (learn more here). In addition to voting on Pepper Pike Mayor, Pepper Pike Council (3 seats) and the Orange Schools levy, there are three statewide ballot issues on which you need to vote:
As you may already know from a recent mayor's letter and the City website's calendar, this seminar, which emphasizes the importance of rear-yard composting, and how easy it is to do so, will be given this evening (Wednesday, October 26) in the Council Chambers from 6:30-7:30pm. At this gathering, the Solid Waste District officials will provide helpful how-to-compost instructions and other information on rear-yard composting. They will also provide for sale two types of affordable composting bins as well as a kitchen collection container.
Why is this important?
The more residents we have composting, the more it helps lower the City’s land fill dumping costs, as well as help the environment. The seminar will last only one hour, during which you may also ask any questions you have on composting.
I will be there and I hope you will join me.
BONUS: Please - don't forget to vote. Election day is less than two weeks away. You can still request and vote by absentee ballot by going here, and of course you can vote on election day at your polling place in Pepper Pike (learn more here). In addition to voting on Pepper Pike Mayor, Pepper Pike Council (3 seats) and the Orange Schools levy, there are three statewide ballot issues on which you need to vote:
- State Issue 1 - Judicial Retirement Age Constitutional Amendment
- State Issue 2 - Referendum on Senate Bill 5
- State Issue 3 - Health Care Freedom Amendment
The 2011 State Issues Report includes the official ballot language, explanations, arguments for and against and the full text of the proposed constitutional amendments and referendum. You can read it at the Secretary of State's website, www.OhioSecretaryofState.gov when you click on the "Statewide Issues Information" button.
BONUS #2: Pepper Pike resident, Dr. Roxanne Sukol, wrote this wonderful item about composting and wanted to share it with other residents interested in doing the same.
BONUS #2: Pepper Pike resident, Dr. Roxanne Sukol, wrote this wonderful item about composting and wanted to share it with other residents interested in doing the same.
ONN in the 'hood
Ohio News Network's Jim Heath is coming to the area today:
Heading to Pepper Pike (that's just fun to say). Interviewing mayors today on consolidation efforts.Ironic given that consolidation might mean we won't have it to say forever.
Trash Talkin' in Pepper Pike
It's nothing new - from learning in the fall of 2009 that the refuse collection system would be reshaped and involve scooters, to the question now regarding a fee for service structure in order to protect the continuation of rear-yard pick up.
In fact, the issue of fee for services has been raised multiple times in the 18 months I've been on Council, starting well over a year ago when City Council Member, Gail Mayland, introduced the idea of exploring this in regard to garbage pick-up. Then, last summer, resident, former City Council member and potential mayoral candidate Rick Bain, listed fees for service as an alternative revenue stream (alternative to an increase in the City's income tax rate) in this letter to the editor. (For those who've been following City doings closely, the April 2011 Financial Review Committee Report is silent on fees for service related to rubbish removal - that document was signed off on by seven residents, including potential City Council candidate Jim LeMay.)
During the June 2011 City Council Meeting, the mayor raised the issue again. His remarks in support of the need to implement a $25 per month fee for all Pepper Pike residents will of course be in that meeting's minutes. But the discussion resulted in a desire by some Council members to survey the residents to determine the preference: if you had to pay an additional $25 per month to preserve rear-yard garbage pick-up, would you pay the fee to keep that service?
In fact, the issue of fee for services has been raised multiple times in the 18 months I've been on Council, starting well over a year ago when City Council Member, Gail Mayland, introduced the idea of exploring this in regard to garbage pick-up. Then, last summer, resident, former City Council member and potential mayoral candidate Rick Bain, listed fees for service as an alternative revenue stream (alternative to an increase in the City's income tax rate) in this letter to the editor. (For those who've been following City doings closely, the April 2011 Financial Review Committee Report is silent on fees for service related to rubbish removal - that document was signed off on by seven residents, including potential City Council candidate Jim LeMay.)
During the June 2011 City Council Meeting, the mayor raised the issue again. His remarks in support of the need to implement a $25 per month fee for all Pepper Pike residents will of course be in that meeting's minutes. But the discussion resulted in a desire by some Council members to survey the residents to determine the preference: if you had to pay an additional $25 per month to preserve rear-yard garbage pick-up, would you pay the fee to keep that service?
City Council Presentation Tips From The Top of Tech
From Luke Fretwell, at one of my most favorite sites/projects, GovFresh, in "How to present to your City Council like Steve Jobs":
Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently presented to the Cupertino, CA, city council on the company’s plans for building a new campus. Jobs is deferential and tells a great story about Apple’s history and its relationship with Cupertino.Be sure to click over to the post to see not one but two instructional videos, complete with Jobs making his presentations, five years apart, but in the exact same shirt.
Next time you present to your council, wear a black mock turtleneck and consider this an instructional video. You may never be your city’s largest taxpayer, but you could win their vote.
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Ohio Chambers of Commerce Release Redesigning Ohio Report on State Government (WCPN broadcasts on it tomorrow)
Just as scrutiny of public employees and their wages and benefits hits a fever pitch and Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich is about to take office, several chambers of commerce have released their report on how state government should be redesigned. The stated goal is to make state government, "become more flexible, adaptable and innovative -- searching constantly for new ways to improve services and heighten productivity."
Sections 6 (Civil Service), 7 (Pension Benefits), 8 (Health Care) and 10 (Local Government) in the executive summary are worth noting (I've not read the full report or press releases yet but you can read the Crain's Cleveland Business article about it, out today, here).
Section 10 gives a hint at where the Kasich administration and/or the Ohio General Assembly will go with the Local Government Fund:
I've not looked but the full report may have examples of what is meant by "local government reform demonstration projects" - I'm assuming joint districts and other forms of regionalism, perhaps technology-oriented as well.
Read more and listen to the WCPN/Ideastream Sound of Ideas show on this topic tomorrow, from 9-10am here.
Sections 6 (Civil Service), 7 (Pension Benefits), 8 (Health Care) and 10 (Local Government) in the executive summary are worth noting (I've not read the full report or press releases yet but you can read the Crain's Cleveland Business article about it, out today, here).
Section 10 gives a hint at where the Kasich administration and/or the Ohio General Assembly will go with the Local Government Fund:
Strategically redirect the state’s Local Government Fund toward buying better results by earmarking 15 percent of the fund in FY 2012 and 20 percent of the fund in FY2013 for local government reform demonstration projects.As a reminder, Pepper Pike has received about $125,000 from this fund each year. I'm not of the total amount of the fund available for statewide distribution but this section's recommendation is to reduce that by 15% and then 20% and redistribute it for "local government reform demonstration projects."
I've not looked but the full report may have examples of what is meant by "local government reform demonstration projects" - I'm assuming joint districts and other forms of regionalism, perhaps technology-oriented as well.
Read more and listen to the WCPN/Ideastream Sound of Ideas show on this topic tomorrow, from 9-10am here.
TOMORROW (1/5), 10-11AM, WCPN: State Budgets and Public Employees
The Diane Rehm show's first hour tomorrow is on state budgets and public employees (I blogged about the spate of articles here and here just in the last week and I know that it's a hot topic around Pepper Pike given the mayor's financial review committee's work).
It looks like they're still adding guests and she usually does have anywhere from two to four or more contributors during any one hour. I've called in before, over the years, and gotten on. So if you've got a question or comment, consider contacting the show by email, phone or Twitter. Here's how:
If you miss the show when it airs, you can listen later on the computer or via podcast that you can download and listen to on your iPod etc.
Fiscal problems in many states are prompting new scrutiny of public employee salaries, pensions and benefits: What shrinking state revenues could mean for the bargaining power of public employees.
Guests
Join the show:To listen live over your radio, go to WCPN, 90.3 FM. To listen live on your computer, go to either wcpn.org and click on the "listen live" buttons at the top of the page, or go to drshow.org and do the same (you will see buttons that say "listen" and/or "listen to wamu.org" - that's the station over which her show is broadcast; you can also go directly to wamu.org and click on "listen live").
If you miss the show when it airs, you can listen later on the computer or via podcast that you can download and listen to on your iPod etc.
[audio] WCPN Sound of Ideas on Regionalism
Want to know what others in our region are saying about regionalism? According to Mike McIntyre, who hosted WCPN's Sound of Ideas program this morning on the topic:
Hattip to Mike McIntyre on Facebook for heads up on this show. As he suggests, take a look at the comments at WCPN's page for this show. Add yours there or here.
I have to say we had a lot of e-mails, calls and Web page comments from people who aren't very interested in the concept of sharing.I have not listened to Shoring Up The Core yet but I am going to shortly. Here's the blurb:
As residents move out and businesses close in older cities like Cleveland, Akron and the inner-ring suburbs around them, they have little chance of renewal without help. So say some mayors in the region who are advocating that tax revenue be shared across city and county boundaries. Burgeoning Avon helps prop up withering Brooklyn? A pipe dream, or a partial solution for saving Northeast Ohio's older and newer communities? The debate Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. on 90.3.
Thomas Bier, senior fellow at Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State UniversityNow, WCPN also provides a link to the Regional Prosperity Initiative ("RPI") and without listening to the show, I wont' declare RPI RIP, but its website needs some resuscitation - last news item is from December 2009 and last report (only report I see) is June 2010. Virtually demonstrating a regional concept would be a win-win. A website can be a terrible thing to waste.
Stephen D. Hambley, Medina County Commissioner
Lynn E. McGill, Mayor of Aurora
Hattip to Mike McIntyre on Facebook for heads up on this show. As he suggests, take a look at the comments at WCPN's page for this show. Add yours there or here.
The Answer Is Not Blowing in the Wind, Yet, In Small Town CT or Ohio
So our local paper had this article recently about blowback against wind turbines and legislating them locally. And today I read this article about variations on the same theme.
So. Not. Unique.
So. Not. Unique.
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