Saturday, August 27, 2005

Courier-Journal says: "Change in sanitation legal."

Lapping the absentee Tribune, today's Courier-Journal reports:

The way apparently has been cleared for New Albany Mayor James Garner to proceed with his plan to privatize the city's sanitation department.

Change in sanitation legal, say attorneys; New Albany mayor plans to hire private trash hauler, by Ben Zion Hershberg, bhershberg@courier-journal.com (short shelf life for C-J links).

The C-J’s Hershberg continues:

Lawyers for Garner and the City Council agreed this week that the mayor is within his authority in negotiating a contract with a private garbage-hauling company.

But, as always, there’s darkness on the horizon:

His union will file suit against the city if it completes the contract with Industrial Disposal, (union president Mickey) Thompson said. He said it doesn't believe Garner followed state requirements for privatizing, and he thinks Garner failed to negotiate in good faith when he completed a new contract with the union last month without saying that he planned to privatize.

Naturally, the scenario would not be complete without vaudevillian grandstanding by our local legislative body’s most consistently dim bulb:

Councilman Dan Coffey said he plans to propose an ordinance at the next council meeting that would make the sanitation department's budget a part of the city's general fund, removing it from the sewer board budget.

That would require budget cuts in other departments, Coffey said, but would keep sanitation a part of city government, as the public wants. He said he doesn't know yet how much support the ordinance will get from other council members.

Perhaps CM Coffey and his “no progress at any price” obstructionists on the council might donate their yearly “discretionary” district income to the sanitation bail-out.

Surely the council also possesses some form of travel stipend that could be thrown into the pot.

Of course, the 3rd District’s Steve Price remains diligently on the hunt for nickels and dimes, this morning joining the bemused catfish for a stroll on the bottom of Silver Creek.


7 comments:

  1. Maybe Bill (and Anna, of course) Schmidt could forgo their junkets to Indy. Isn't the council budget for travel and conferences supposed to be split nine ways?

    I met with the Lt. Governor at the capitol earlier this year and under the broadest stretch of expense report padding, my costs didn't exceed $125.

    Schmidt's budget would cover 40 of those trips a year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Roger, you are on real thin ice with the blog link.
    I strongly suggest you remove it promptly, or you will be hearing from my attorney.
    You are a real low-life.
    You're not only an athiest, you are downright evil.

    ReplyDelete
  3. East Ender,

    As the Chinese proverb reminds us, “One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”

    Here are two helpful links.

    First, a description of “Low Life,” the marvelous book about New York City, written by Luc Sante.

    Low Life

    And, for more up-to-date details on the evil atheist conspiracy, go to:

    Evil Atheist Conspiracy

    Does that help?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Can I still borrow Low Life? (winking and knowing how busy you are)
    Yours in atheism (and that other a-ism as well) - jon

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ceece

    The stillness of civil discourse was shattered by an anguished scream, and the unmistakable sounds of bogusness imploding.

    (crickets resume chirping, sounds of pins dropping).

    Which is to say, you missed nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ceece-
    Try clicking on the link to the Speak Out Loud NA blog from this blogsite and see where it takes you.
    It is slanderous and malicious.

    ReplyDelete
  7. "I want the people who genuinely want to use this blog for its intended purpose to make an effort to discuss city issues, and simply ignore the nasty remarks that are put here to entice folks into anger ...

    " ... To those who disparage this blog and find no use for it, please just refrain from visiting here if it upsets you so. Why expend so much time and energy on something you dislike so much? It makes no sense to me."

    L. Oates, July 20, 2005

    ReplyDelete