Saturday, April 19, 2008

Looking for Block Watch Captains in these areas on the West Side and South Side

Hello,

Currently we have the following Block Watches

Idora Park (encompasses from Glenwood west to Volney, Canfield road north to Old Furnace)

Fosterville (Glenwood east to Fernley, from Warren South to Midlothian)

Indian Trails area

Lanterman Mills (Getting back together, from Aden area west to Hopkins, Canfield South to Midlothian)

Bears den/Hermosa ( Bears den from Canfield rd to Kirk, including streets off Kirk, Hermosa, Meredyth, etc.)

Looking for:

Kirk to Decamp, From Bears Den West to Meridian Rd
I would like to split them up from Bears Den West to Schenley, from Kirk North to Decamp

Schenley West to Meridian and Kirk North to Decamp

If you are interested, please call me at

330-550-2283 and thank you

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Ohio Gas Mart Hearing on Monday at 11am City Hall

There will be a hearing for the denial of a liquor license for the Ohio Gas Mart at 11am, sixth floor of City Hall.

South Side Town Hall Meeting May the 14th

Hello all,

I will be having a 5th ward town hall meeting at the Rescue Mission on Glenwood Avenue at 6pm. There will be the heads of all departments there to answer questions and to meet all of you. I encourage all of you to be there or be square. :) Here is the format for the meeting:

Introduction
All of the department heads will take 1-2 minutes to introduce themselves and what they do
I will make some quick announcements about what blockwatches are in full force and what else is going on in the area
We will have a breakout and all the dept heads will separate and you may speak to them about what issues they handle in a more organized matter.

Water Department Raises to be discussed this Wednesday at Council

City Council will consider the 3 year approximate 8.7% total raises on Wednesday. Everyone is entitled to a raise and just for the record, the water department has their own budget with a surplus. This raise is not to bad, it equals less than 3% per year.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Looking to add roads to be repaved

I have a few suggestions but if you feel that your road is in dire need of being paved please email me at pauldrennen5thward@yahoo.com or call me at 234-855-1175

Saturday, April 5, 2008

We need to have a more Regionalized approach, I am talking about the JEDDS

In the very near future, the City of Youngstown will have more public meetings and be educating the surrounding townships about the great JEDD program proposed. Let me tell you, if you "actually read" the study, you will see that the program is a win win for everyone, not just Youngstown. The problem is you have trustees that don't even want to look at this program. Here is what the program will bring to the surrounding townships

More money from a JEDD tax that will be imposed on employees that work at businesses that use Youngstown Water.

A City match of funds for economic development projects. The city will not just keep the money for themselves that they receive, they are going to use that money for township wide projects.

A regionalized approach and national recognition. The federal government is more apt to give funds to city's and townships that are working together for a regionalized approach rather than ones that decide they would like to be on their own.

Those individuals that live in Austintown and Boardman that already work in Youngstown will see an immediate reduction of at least .50%.

The individuals that utilize Youngstown Water right now will see a reduction in Water rates immediately.
There are many more positives to this initiatives which will be explained. Don't forget as well, this will only affect the employees that work at businesses that use Youngstown water.

How long do you think Boardman and Austintown will survive on their own withouth ever imposing a tax on their residents. Let me tell you this, if they ever try to create their own city, there is cost involved and how do you think the township will make up for that cost? That is right, a township tax.
Just some information, more to come.

The Youngstown City Budget

The City of Youngstown is looking at a large deficit going into 2009 and there is no current way around it. A 5mill check is not going to fall out of the sky so there are cuts that need to be made.
If you take the average workers salary of 60k and look at 900 employees, if you were to cut everyones salary by 8% that would equal out to an average of 4800x900= $4,320,000. Along with raising the contribution to health insurance from 10-20% and that would be a problem solver right there. As a City worker, are you willing to do that?

Let's say that you are not willing to do that and the unions decide they are not going to work with the city on this issue. Ok, the next solution is layoffs and here is what I would do.
I would first look at the positions in the city the are "not needed"(you know, the assistant to the assistant to the assistant administrator). Let's say that we find 20 jobs doing that so there are 40 to go.
I would then look at performance reviews and the amount of people that use sick time. I believe that if someone uses over 80% of there sick time throughout the year that person does not really want to want to work for the city. Working for the city is a privilege folks and if you feel the need to call off all the time and not want to be working here, maybe it is time for you to find another job. Let's say that we find 25 jobs with this method, which I am sure that is an underestimate.
I would offer some voluntarily layoffs with them being the first on the list to come back once we are out of this crisis. A lot of people would like to spend time with their families, start a family, etc. And last but not least.
The City of Youngstown and the surrounding townships need to have a more regionalized approach and work together. For example, if Boardman was on board with the great JEDD program, they would not be in a crisis either at this point. Austintown is boasting now that they do not need us, but they will be in the same situation in a couple of years.

Friday, April 4, 2008

South Side Town Hall Meeting Next Thursday

April 10th Martin Luther Lutheran Church at the corner of Hudson and Clearmontat 6pm. I will be there, Janet Tarpley the 6th ward councilwoman will be there. Also present will be members of the safety forces, administration and several of the city departments.

City goes with Ticketmaster

Finally, a deal that will make the city some money