| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Home
Member
97 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2007 : 10:10:06 AM
|
Not to mention the MILLIONS of dollars that had to be paid to the retirement fund starting THIS JULY when the Mayor had NO CHOICE because it was so underpaid for years! And this is all just the beginning.
NOT TO MENTION THAT THESE RETIRES' ARE ALL THE MAYORS SCHOOL CHUM FRIENDS AND NEW HIRES. |
 |
|
|
massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2007 : 10:37:49 AM
|
I can remember at a recent meeting Mayor Hanlon saying he will ask for money from "free cash" and the "stabilization fund" to offset a prop 2.5 over ride. If the city council says "no" we are in big trouble.
Carol Ragucci was never McGonagle's campaign manager. Please go to city hall and look at the paperwork. From the very beginning his campaign manger was another person. Carol Ragucci does help with McGonagle's campaign, no one has ever tried to hide that. Look at his pictures, she is in some of them. McGonagle does have some former Ragucci people supporting him but his core group for his campaign are the same people that have been with him since he first ran for political office back in 2001. McGonagle also has former Hanlon supporters, like myself, supporting him.
Please show me your proof that McGonagle is making campaign promises to anyone. And speaking of lies, how many times has the mayor down right lied to all of us? You can start way back in the beginning of his administration with his untrue statements accusing the city council with an open meeting law violation. Then you can jump to this past Spring, when he lied to everyone on the facts of the bogus forensic audit. What about ignoring the letter from the IG's office about Foresteire? And there is so much more. It is mind boggling the amount of missteps that have taken place in only 20 months.
Everyone, please vote in the primary for the candidate of your choice.
|
|
|
|
Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2007 : 1:15:18 PM
|
Keanu - you really have no idea what you're talking about. The four million dollars that was transferred from the stabilization fund in FY 2003 (the same year that the state CUT local aid by 3/4 million bucks in the middle of the year) has no bearing on the financial morass that Mayor Hanlon has created with his new hires and their corresponding benefits of healthcare and pension.
You can only make a statement like "The mayor was forced to raise taxes because the former mayor raided the stabilization fund to offset the tax rate during and election year of 4.5 million which was wrong" ONLY IF MAYOR HANLON REPLACED THE ENTIRE 4 MILLION DOLLARS WITH NEW TAX MONEY. Which he did not. Please, Keanu - stop - because it's all on the DOR website.
The mayor's budget is that it is. The $13 million dollars isn't a lie; was reported in the Globe here:
You must be logged in to see this link.
|
|
|
|
massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2007 : 1:31:31 PM
|
This is the article Court is referring to.
EVERETT
For Hanlon's challengers, issue is money
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff | August 2, 2007
A year marked by a heated budget process, federal subpoenas of current and former city employees, and a city-funded audit that found purchasing irregularities is about to get even more contentious in Everett.
Three city officials have stepped forward to challenge incumbent Mayor John Hanlon in the Sept. 18 primary. Alderman at Large Carlo DeMaria Jr., Ward 3 Common Councilor James A. Keane, and Ward 6 Alderman and board president Joseph W. McGonagle are running, and all are taking shots at Hanlon over everything from the number of people he's hired to low morale in the city.
The overriding issue, though, is money, and the Hanlon administration's management of it.
Hanlon, 72, said he is in the midst of putting the city on a sound financial track, and accused the Board of Aldermen and Common Council of playing politics.
"I have not been able to accomplish what I wanted," said Hanlon, who served as city clerk for 16 years until 2005 and 11 terms as an alderman. "When you have a City Council that will not work with you on one single solitary item, it's too bad. It's because of politics."
After taking office, Hanlon commissioned an independent $60,000 city-funded audit of certain departments that found shoddy record-keeping of some bids and contracts. Hanlon said he is still waiting for the second part of the audit, focusing on the School Building Commission and its handling of building projects. If reelected, he will continue his plans to stabilize city finances, he said.
Most recently, the aldermen and council criticized Hanlon over his proposed $125.9 million budget for fiscal year 2008, which started July 1. His figure was $13 million higher than the previous year's, and the critics accused him of offering inflated salaries to too many hires.
"I didn't dream up new positions. Those were here before they were all cut and there are departments that needed them to work," Hanlon said. Of the budget, he said, only "$800,000 was my responsibility. The rest of it was uncontrollable costs, nothing we can do about it."
Early this year, Hanlon eliminated a 20 percent property tax exemption for owner-occupied homes that was initiated by his predecessor as mayor, David Ragucci. Criticized for the move, Hanlon said he is considering whether to reinstate it.
DeMaria, 34, said that after 14 years as a common councilor and alderman, he no longer likes what he's seeing.
"The division, finger-pointing, no one taking responsibility for anything," DeMaria said, adding that Hanlon alienated some members of the council when, just a few months into his term, he accused them of violating the state's Open Meeting Law. "That kind of set the tone for the administration for the next two years."
If elected, DeMaria said, he will focus on dealing with issues such as an increase in illegal rooming houses. DeMaria also favors the residential tax exemption and, like all the challengers, wants to get the city's first teen recreational center built.
He also would like to model a redevelopment authority after Malden's, where it serves as its economic development agency. He has his sights set on the old city public works lot, now vacant. DeMaria favors converting the old Everett High School into senior housing, and retaining its field house for a teen sporting center.
Keane, 49, has been in Everett politics for less than two years, but already has carved out a reputation for outspokenness, starting his term by insisting the city tote up the costs of city services to illegal immigrants, which he called a financial burden. He is in favor of charter reform, has publicly said that elected officials should not be eligible for health insurance, and that 25 elected officials is an excessive number for a city of Everett's size (about 37,000 residents and 3.36 square miles).
"It gets diluted," Keane said of the way the council conducts business. "Things have to go back for three or four readings. What are we, the pope?"
Keane knows he doesn't have the name recognition of the other challengers. "I don't have a big campaign, which is good because I won't owe anybody jobs," he said.
"My first two years in government have been really eye-opening, and I've come to one conclusion: With as many problems as we have, my word would be to the citizens of Everett: You get what you deserve. . . . When I watch people putting in the same elected officials year after year thinking they're going to get change, I think how can you expect change when you put the same people in over and over?"
McGonagle, 47, has spent six years in city government, first as a common councilor and then as alderman, and is a third-generation elected official. He has been one of the most outspoken critics of the Hanlon administration, but said the problem is not Hanlon.
"Mayor Hanlon is a nice man and a gentleman, but I think he's got unqualified people running the city," McGonagle said. "Our budget has gone up $24 million in the past two years and that's a cause for concern."
McGonagle said city morale is low, there are too many new hires at City Hall, and development has remained stagnant. If elected, he said, he will put together a five-year spending plan that will tackle fixed costs such as the retirement system and health insurance, as well as set up a capital improvement account.
"I want to know how this current mayor can tell me how in the past two years, $24 million has benefited the residents of Everett," McGonagle said. "It's just mismanagement from the top down. I will straighten that out."
McGonagle said he would reinstate the residential tax exemption. He also favors turning the old Everett High School into senior housing, and he doesn't think the old Devens School should be sold.
If elected, McGonagle said he would audit the mayor's budget books.
"We're going to have another increase in taxes," he said. "People are outraged."
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com.
|
|
|
|
Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2007 : 9:37:36 PM
|
| And Keanu - one more thing. Mayor Ragucci left more than 4 million dollars in free cash as he left office. So, why not give us a factual analysis as to how the current mayor had to raise taxes in FY 08, when in fact the money wasn't replaced in the stabilization fund and the former mayor left nearly the same amount in free cash? I, for one, really can't wait to see this. |
|
|
|
massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2007 : 9:47:15 PM
|
| Court, you know what is sad, how long is the Hanlon Administration going to blame everything that is wrong with this city on Dave Ragucci? I did not support Ragucci and I know it is not true. I'm sick of listening to it. |
|
|
|
justme
Advanced Member
1428 Posts |
 Posted - 08/28/2007 : 10:29:26 PM
|
Yes massdee, it's sad isn't it? I can't recall anything that's gone wrong since he took office that hasn't been blamed on someone else. It's mostly Ragucci but when that doesn't work (like with the budget) they blame the council, auditor, even the city charter has taken a hit. After all, "it's in the charter, we're just following the laws of this city". Who cares that they spent weeks poring over the charter to find a hole to worm their way through?
It's long past time for hanlon & crew to accept responsibility for their actions and decisions. |
|
|
|
massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2007 : 10:36:41 PM
|
| Justme, you are so right. It's disgusting. |
|
|
|
Ellen
Senior Member
173 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2007 : 07:58:16 AM
|
| There is just one more week to the primary. My hope is that there will be a big turn out and the voters send a message that all the candidates will heed. |
|
|
|
Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2007 : 09:11:11 AM
|
| The thing that is first and foremost on people's minds this election are taxes. Just take a look at how many "hits" this section of the forum has received - this section has been read by nearly 16,000 times. While there are clearly multiple hits from the same people, it's presumable that this level of interest in the budget tells me that people are concerned about the budget and the tax rate. This might explain why Mayor Hanlon is so busy running against David Ragucci instead of Carlo and Joe. |
|
|
|
massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2007 : 09:50:15 AM
|
| The budget and the tax rate are exactly the reasons I feel Hanlon will not be allowed a second term. Of course, there are many other things that have happened since Ragucci left office, way too many to mention. I am sure we all remember most of it. Hanlon should be campaigning against DeMaria and McGonagle not the ghost of Dave Ragucci. It is time to move on, and it seems the only way to accomplish that is to elect a new mayor. |
|
|
|
Fedup
Member
86 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2007 : 4:56:23 PM
|
| From what I understand, Hanlon and DeMaria are both campaigning against McGonagle. They have been getting pretty cozy. I like Carlo, however, we will still be in a mess if he wins and Hanlon and his people will remain a part of City Hall. Scarey stuff.........I really hope that hanlon gets knocked out in the primary and Joe wins in November. Some type of mandatory budget meeting for all department heads is scheduled for tomorrow. Should prove interesting. |
|
|
|
Ellen
Senior Member
173 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2007 : 7:49:30 PM
|
| If Hanlon gets knocked out in the primary to which candidate do you think his supporters would go? I figure it will be Carlo. If Carlo gets knocked out in the primary where will his supporters go? Joe or Hanlon? Where would Joe's supporters go? Carlo or Hanlon? A week from tonight should be very interesting. |
Edited by - Ellen on 09/11/2007 7:50:20 PM |
|
|
|
justme
Advanced Member
1428 Posts |
Posted - 09/12/2007 : 05:35:57 AM
|
I don't know why you say Carlo and hanlon are getting "pretty cozy" but I think you're way off base, Fedup.
There's no way Carlo (or anyone else) is going to keep hanlon's people if he wins the election. Carlo got into the race to improve things in the city and that means eliminating the incompetent, overpaid, political hacks hanlon brought onboard. What sense would it make for him to split the vote if everything is going to be status quo?
|
|
|
|
Ellen
Senior Member
173 Posts |
Posted - 09/12/2007 : 08:08:53 AM
|
| justme, I think you might of misunderstood my post. I was talking about after the primary and where will the vote go in the general election. I didn't mean jobs at city hall. |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Budget
