I seldom call an an idea stupid… but this is stupid.

Indio Councilman Glenn Miller would like see the formation of a Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee that assists and keeps a close eye on city spending habits.

“It’s more of an advisory committee to help us with making some decisions,” Miller said. “I think it’s vital that we’re very transparent and open and I think this is the best way.”

He envisions a committee of about five to seven residents who may have a background in finance.

Councilman Miller, keeping an eye on city spending is what you were elected to do. You weren’t elected to appoint 5-7 number crunchers to watch city spending. You are suppose to do it. Appointing such a committee is shuffling off your responsibility to someone else.

I can hear it now “don’t blame me it was the Blue Ribbon Committee …”

Stupid.

Are you paying your share of property taxes?

That’s a loaded question isn’t it. I suppose it depends on the definition of “your share.”

Anyway the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future believes there are certain groups that aren’t paying their share of property taxes and they are coming after you if you are in one of these groups.

 * Huge health-care systems that are non-profit

* Real-estate speculators who abuse agricultural assessment

 * Owners of billboards assessed at a fraction of their value

*  High-income seniors in tax-exempt housing

Legal loopholes allow certain groups of people to reduce/eliminate their property taxes. That is a fact.

My question is …  if someone does take advantage of those legal loopholes, does that make them guilty of not paying their share of taxes?

I have long described myself as a devout capitalist. For that reason I have no problem with this idea.

New Berlin — With the economic downtown continuing to put a financial squeeze on municipalities, one Waukesha County community may allow advertisements on its Web site as a way to generate new revenue.

If New Berlin does permit such ads, it could become the first municipality in southeast Wisconsin and perhaps the state to allow advertising on a municipal Web site.

“As far as I know, no other municipality in Wisconsin does something like this,” New Berlin Ald. Ron Seidl said. “We’re just trying to come up with a different way of generating revenue for the city. I don’t believe raising taxes is always the way to generate extra revenue.”

Even if ads do show up on newberlin.org, it won’t be a get-rich-quick venture for the city.

The hoped for ads, from local businesses or national chains with stores or restaurants in New Berlin, likely would raise only about $7,000 annually for the city.

“Obviously, it’s not going to be a huge amount, but we’ll do anything we can to help the city,” Ald. John Hopkins said.

While I believe this is a good idea, others may disagree.

How about it students?

What to pay the Mayor?

I don’t care if the position is defined as part time or full time … it is full time. There is only part time pay.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently ran an article on the pay of their suburban Mayors.

Quite frankly the pay is all over the place as is the PT/FT designation.

I have heard all the arguments about how people should serve for little or nothing. It’s a bunch of BS. Those expounding paying a pittance have never served. It is easy for them to demand others not get paid.

To answer the question “How much do you pay your Mayor?” … Not enough in my opinion.

Same with Council, County Board, Whatever.

But as always I will listen to other views in the Political Philosophy class and via written comments.

I like a good city council election. Problem is getting one. So many local elections are unopposed.

Since there are so few actual races city council candidates find no need to state what they stand for.

Then there is Trenton City Council candidate Daryl Mikell Brooks …

My name is Daryl Mikell Brooks and I’m running for City Council at Large. I’m a young man who believes in participatory democracy and equitably representative government. The Trenton City Council election in 2010 is both a job opening and a job review.

My campaign mission is to help establish a City wide Community Coalition that helps foster a greater sense of community by organizing a critical mass of residents committed to civic participation, government accountability, community responsibility and good neighborliness. I want Trenton to work together and will facilitate greater cooperation based on our common interests. We all share a human experience so we can identify common ground.

I envision a proud, cooperative, healthy, clean, safe, vibrant, and peacefully diverse city –a multi-cultural, inter-generational and mixed income community. I envision an organized and effective City Wide Community Coalition that works together to successfully: (1) overcome the foreclosure crisis, (2) reverse economic disinvestment and (3) foster opportunities for: (a) viable youth development, (b) family stability, and (c) educational and economic advancement for all. That is my campaign platform, encapsulated.

It does not matter if I agree or disagree with Mr. Brooks platform. I don’t live in Trenton. What impresses me is the fact Mr. Brooks is willing to state what he believes is best for Trenton. Very few city council candidates do that. They should.

Lobbyist … Scarlett L?

Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Even at the local level of government, lobbyists are ever present making sure their members or client’s views are considered as solutions to problems.

How lobbyists are identified varies from one city to another. What brings this issue up is the City of San Jose…

Working Partnerships a non-profit association does not object to disclosing their lobbying efforts but they object to the term “lobbyist.”

Are there bad apple lobbyists? Of course.

Are there bad apple priests and ministers? You betcha.

There are there bad apple every things.

Come on Lobbyists … say it loud … I will lead this cheer … a few bad apples won’t silence us …

I’m a Lobbyist and Darn Proud of It!

Sheila Murphy Cockrel.

A relic from the past.

Cockrel is a relic of Detroit’s past. She is the only white member of the city council and, when her term ends in late December, she could well be its last. Even though she is personally popular, she is leaving the council partly because she is tired of the scandals that have rocked the city lately. Her departure is a significant moment in the history of Detroit, the largest majority-black city in America. In the 1950s, when Detroit’s population reached its 2 million peak, nearly 1.6 million white people lived here. In 1990, though whites were still represented in several major elected posts, they comprised only about 20% of the population. Now, whites make up barely 8% of the city’s estimated 912,000 residents. 

It use to be news when the first blacks were elected to local office. 

 Now in Detroit it is news when they aren’t.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is doing his best to bring the Weak Mayor – Strong Mayor issue to the forefront.

With California’s capital city in deep economic trouble, Mayor Kevin Johnson wants to call the shots, just as he once did as a star point guard for the Phoenix Suns basketball team. But there’s an obstacle: Sacramento has what is known a “weak mayor” system, making its mayor, in effect, just another city-council member.

Mr. Johnson says Sacramento needs a “strong mayor” arrangement — with the mayor as head of the government — as do a majority of big cities such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco. To get there, Mr. Johnson is campaigning for a controversial ballot measure that would boost his powers to lead this city of 480,000.

“If you have to do everything by committee, it gets bogged down and you miss a ton of opportunities,” the 43-year-old Democrat said during an interview in his City Hall office.

But those who oppose the measure accuse Mr. Johnson of making a power grab. “This initiative, if it passes, will put only one seat at the table,” says Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy. “The checks and balances are lopsided” in Mr. Johnson’s proposal.

The same old tired arguements that are always used when this issue arises.

However, since the Political Philosophy 101 Class has not discussed his issue in a while, it will be soon.

I will be giving my same old philosophical view that Strong does not mean effective … nor does Weak indicate ineffective.

It’s not the system that makes or breaks a Mayor.

A couple of articles wove together for you today.

From Bellingham, WA  News Tribune we read … 

For the first time in 52 years, there will be no women on the City Council.

Now, the council looks more like it did in 1958.

And how about this from the Waterloo/Cedar Falls (IA) Courier …

Twenty-two candidates ran for city offices in Waterloo and Cedar Falls this fall. Every single one of them was a man.

I call this the old white guy syndrome.

Sure, there are a few minorities … and an even smaller pool of women … and an even smaller pool of minority women serving in local government across the nation, but for the most part it is old white guys like myself running local government.

I’ve never thought this was a good situation but I honestly don’t have a clue what to do about it.

There has to be some voodoo philosophical reason for this situation that I don’t understand.

So, a panel of voodoo philosophers have been invited to discuss this issue at the next Political Philosophy 101 Class.

Any comments from women on this issue? 

Hello?

I was having coffee with my normal crew of non-political junkies.

That morning we were discussing politics. We were discussing a very young Mayoral candidate.

One guy said he thought this candidate could go far in politics if he didn’t p#ss off too many people.

I agreed somewhat.

In politics you will p#ss off people sometimes. Even, or especially, if you do nothing you will p#ss off people.

So, it all comes down to the definition of “too many people.”

Sounds like a discussion for Political Philosophy class.