Follow up on the Greene County cutting allowance to the DDC
I first wrote about this back on Jan 22nd– patting the Greene County Commission on the back, for taking a stand for their taxpayers.
On Jan 28, 2010- the Dayton Daily News called them on the carpet:
Greene County’s commissioners are either being petty or they’re lost in the financial weeds.
Last week Commissioners Marilyn Reid and Alan Anderson approved a $44.7 million operating budget, in which they cut funding to the Dayton Development Coalition to $25,000.
The coalition is an economic development organization that is funded with contributions from local governments and area businesses.
Commissioner Rick Perales voted no, in part, because he wanted to guarantee that the coalition will receive $50,000. A Greene County development agency may yet decide to kick in another $25,000.
You’re reading all of this right. Greene County has an almost $45 million budget, and elected officials are haggling over peanut shells — not even the peanuts. But there’s more.
Last year, Greene County contributed $50,000 to the coalition, while in 2008, the commissioners allotted $195,000.
The commissioners paint the reductions as a statement about cost-cutting. But that’s not serious.
via Editorial: Greene County snubs its best advocate | A Matter of Opinion.
Why do our politicians feel incapable of lobbying directly? Isn’t that what the layers of government are supposed to do? Move things up the food chain?
Greg and I have a little discussion for you on this- questioning how this group of lobbyists gets a virtual free pass from the Dayton Daily News- and we wonder why?
It’s about time our politicians started doing the lobbying for us directly. Otherwise, why bother electing them at all- we can just cut the checks directly to the DDC and cut out the middle men.
David:
I nearly fell out of my chair. You know what else is almost as funny? That the DDC takes credit for the BRAC jobs coming to WPAFB:
http://www.getmidwest.com/2009/annual_report/smallBusinessInvest.php
What a joke. I think that’s like tripping over a rock and then taking credit for gravity.
The Dayton Development Coalition? Aren’t they like the Titanic Quick Patch Repair Team? Or the Mount Saint Helens Restoration Project? Seems to me that perhaps the good folk out in Greene County have witnessed the deterioration of our fair city and decided that ain’t the direction they wanna’ go. Or perhaps, like Warren County, they want to pursue a path to prosperity different and divorced from Sodom on the Miami. That very strategy has worked for cities surrounding Chicago. The good citizens of Rockford will tell in a hot flash that they are not Windy City burbs, and that the City of Big Shoulders is a deterrent, rather than a boon to their economic success. So it really doens’t matter if the folks outta’ Xenia only ponied up 25K. The Old Bandito has a crackhead for a nephew and the Bandito won’t give him five bucks…….
the DDC is the punchline of every bitter joke told by small business owners that have to give them money.
to quote a man who runs a business within their SID: “the 20, 000 a year i pay them is one less person i can afford to hire.”
maybe a fellow who has been unemployed for a year (shouldn’t be too hard to find one of them in Dayton) should go, cap in hand, and politely ask for his paycheck from the person making 6 figures to take his job from him.
to some up, the PEOPLE are the DDC, and we work for NO FEE.
@the editor- I think you are confusing the DDC with the DDP- the DDC isn’t funded with a Special Improvement District tax- the Downtown Dayton Partnership is.
David,
I was doing some research on another Rick Perales scam and came across the video in this post……outstanding and 100% on target……5 years gone by and nothing has changed.
Mitch / ohiocitizensgrandjury.com