Tt post nov 16, 2016

Blade :

A three-year contract signed in 2015 with Toledo Firefighters Local 92 increased the department’s “minimum manning” requirement from 103 to 107. It will go up to 110 on Jan. 1, 2017, further increasing the city’s costs.

Why would the city agree to a contract that increases the minimum manning requirement when the city's population continues to decline?

In the 15 years that I have lived in Toledo, the city's population has decreased by nearly 34,000 people.

The 2015 estimated populations for the cities of Sylvania and Maumee total approximately 33,000.

More from the Blade:

The city expects $4.3 million in 2017 — $2 million from the stationary cameras and $2.3 million from the handheld devices.

... the city expects to issue more than 23,000 tickets generated by [the stationary camera] devices.

Proof that the traffic cameras are a money-grubbing, revenue stream because it's expected revenue in the city's budget. The city needs dangerous drivers to help balance its budget. If everyone drove safely or obeyed the law, whichever makes sense, then the city would have a budget hole.

The mayor’s proposed budget predicts meager economic growth for the city next year — a 1.46 percent increase in collections from the 2.25 percent payroll tax, increasing from $170.7 million expected this year to $173.2 million in 2017. The income tax is considered a key economic indicator for the city.

The proposed 2017 Toledo budget again will leave nothing for residential street repaving, require more capital improvement money to pay for daily operations, and earmark more funds for salaries.

In November, 2015, Ms. Hicks-Hudson said she would have to move $10.4 million out of the capital budget into the general fund for 2016 costs. The amount increased to $11.1 million this year — about a 6.7 percent hike. She plans to take $11.5 million in 2017, a $400,000 increase.

#toledo #politics #moronism