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Roldo was right Roldo makes an excellent point (Does Cleveland Really Need A Garbage Tax?). The stimulus money coming in should indeed help the mayor balance his budget. As an employee of the city of Cleveland for 22 years I am offended by the Mayors request for concessions. He wants us to give up 2 weeks pay and longevity checks. These are payments given of varying amounts depending on how long you have worked for the city.

The longer you work here the greater your longevity check. Thus he is asking those who worked the longest and have given the most to the city to shoulder the heaviest load is his attempt to balance the budget. This is patently unfair, not to mention offensive. AFSCME Local 100 members met with the finance director Sharon Dumas and the Mayor recently to show why the city's budget was in trouble for 2010. It was stated that close to 60% of the city's income is from income tax and that the majority of those paying it don't even live in the city.

One gentlemen suggested the tax be raised a 1/2 percent. The mayor dismissed that because his budget had to be balanced by the end of December and council couldn't do that until May. However if he had gone for that back in May of 2009 then the budget problems would not exist as they do presently (I don't believe it would take a genius to realize 2010 was going to be a challenge financially. Is not Ms. Dumas trained to deal with money and budgets?).

But as he had an election coming up there was no way he would bring up a tax increase. So you have a mayor who put his own political expediency before the welfare of those people who do the work of the city. In the same way he waited to bring up the "Garbage Tax" until after the election. It is selfish act and it just disgusts me. We vote on Thursday to accept/reject his concession proposals.

Despite his thinnly veiled threat that the unions who don't vote for his concessions will be who he lays off first, I hope this is rejected by us workers. It was not our inaction, ineptitude and blatant selfishness that put the city where it is. We should not be forced to solve this problem. from Cool Cleveland reader Hank Wait hankwaitATyahoo.com

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