The comment section over at the Eagle Tribune is a very popular section of their online edition, with folks given a chance to comment on the story of the day and mix in praise and criticism of public officials and usually have a robust debate about the issue at hand. Many times the critcism of elected officials is done anonymously. I try to read them as much as possible, and I do take some pretty hard lumps occasionally (ok maybe it is more than occassionally). My prior posting today had to do with my contention that Mayors ought to have more authority in dealing with school collective bargaining agreements. Frequent mayoral critic Jack Burke posted some criticism in that section, which I have “liberated” from the ET website. That full comment by Jack is below. From the Eagle Tribune:
Can someone explain to me how adding more staff and giving out continuous raises to employees is getting “spending under control”?
The Mayor doesn’t need more power.
He needs to exercise the Administerial powers we elected that individual to perform.
The mayor likes to point out that he is “Chief Executive Officer” of Methuen. just as the CEO’s of the automakers are out of touch with their constituency, so are you Mr. Mayor.
I was always taught that responsibility is not a thing that is given, but a thing that is earned. Time for you to “earn” that part of your job.
Don’t be fooled by all the numbers in this article. The average raise in pay for city workers was $10,989 and for School workers has been $12,379 over those 4 years. The $1300 difference could be accounted for by the higher educational requirements for school personnel.
The bottom line is spending has not been adequately controlled. That spending is under the control of the Mayor.
He oversees the Municipal budget process for presentation to the City Council and sits (as a voting member and chairperson) on the School Committee that approves the school budget.
Maybe the correct step would be to remove the Mayor as a member of the elected School Committee. This would allow the mayor to not be confused between his administrative duties to the city and the legislative responsibility as a school committee member.
Jack’s generic criticism is fair enough, but like Walter Mondale I must ask “where is the beef”? Yes, Yes, responsibility and authority must be earned. We get all those platitudes Jack. The question is who should be accountable for collective bargaining contracts that MUST be funded by the City taxpayers. On the City side the Mayor is responsible for negotiating the Agreements, and the City Council must approve them. As the Mayor and Council must set the mechanisms of finance for all school spending the question is who is accountable for asking the taxpayers to fund agreements that require expenditure of taxpayer money? You never answer that question. Instead you say “The bottom line is spending has not been adequately controlled. That spending is under the control of the Mayor.” Well that is just the point Jack! Well over 50 percent of the municipal budget IS NOT under “my control”. I might add that at budget time City Councils have the right, by majority vote, to reduce any line item in the city budget. They DO NOT have that authority when it comes to school budgets. And maybe they should not have that authority! But if they do not can they be blamed for ever increasing property taxes? If there is no line of responsibility to Mayor’s and City Councils then how can the critics reject increasing that responsibility and then holding people accountable? Does not make much sense to me. Lets take a look at what Jack casually dismisses in terms of overall numbers for school spending over a five year period.
School Net School Spending Number over 5 years. (Does not include Transportation costs, which are fully funded by the City outside of this number and which total over $3 million per year)
FY 2004 $43,466.798
FY 2005 $47,400,726
FY2006 $49,832,512
FY 2007 $52,094,405
FY 2008 $55,651,898
FY2009 $57,848,039
I do not post those numbers to be critical, but rather to point to the increase in the budget on the school side, much of it with state chapter 70 money. But not all of that increase is from Chapter 70. Much comes from property taxes.
Finally there is an implication that I have “added positions” or given out raises willy nilly. Come on critics, be fair. What specific instances are you referring to? And finally let me say that there is no confusion in my mind about the roles as Mayor and Chair of the School Committee. I sponsored, as a legislator, the charter change that made the Mayor (then Dennis DiZoglio) the chair of the School Committee. That change was ratified by the voters of Methuen. I would guess that given the opportunity the voters would make the same choice today.
My best wishes to Jack for a happy Christmas and a productive New Year. I look forward to a New Year filled with debate. I can only hope that the debate centers on empirical data, and not pre-ordained political positions.
Bill Manzi.com 
Your Honor,
A political management entity, such as Methuen, is subject to many political forces which jockey for positions of influence and power.
The voting public should be the city’s board of directors ready to fire or retain the CEO (that’s you) depending on the job performance.
This does not function properly as the voters (1) do not vote,(2) become involved with the fight for power and influence or (4) worse of all, are ignorant of the affairs of the city.
One way elements in the city influence their power is move the problem to a higher level, such as the state, where they can attempt (often successfully) to remove you from the issue by making it state mandated and controlled, ie. Teachers Unions.
As in a death by a thousand cuts, the CEO looses control over his charge, and this power shift happens out of the sight of the voter. But, guess who catches hell when property taxes are raised? YOU of course.
Our political system is designed to maintain our freedom, but gives rise to corruption.
The same cancer also infects the relationship between states and and the Federal Government. As the states go begging for assistance, conditions are attached that slowly diminishes states freedom of action.
Case in point. Massachusetts enacted a mandatory health bill that requires all citizens to have health insurance. Even though many people pay their own way there are enough that require assistance from the state and make the bill unsustainable without federal assistance or a heffty tax burden added to that we all ready have.
Bottom line; if we don’t fix the dysfunctional way we manage the state and city entities the costs increases you listed above will continue to rise. There is nothing you can do to stem the tide short of firing all city employees.
Your arguments above are meaningless without curing the patient.
Note: You are one of the better mayors and I support your efforts (except raise my taxes).
Jules
LikeLike
Wow, he must be among the very few who are allowed to post over there without censorship.
Every time I ever tried posting, my comments wouldn’t show unless I first ‘raised my hand’ and asked Ken whatshisface for his indulgence to post my comments. Maybe it’s the squeaky wheel that gets all the attention over there.
Finally it got to be too annoying, and I just dropped the attempts at posting just as I had already previously done with discontinuing my purchase of their birdcage liner….
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain (Burke)…nobody else is.
LikeLike
Jack Burke continues to blather to the paper and to the public at Council Meetings. Most often his assertions are determined to be incorrect. But he continues to deliver them as factual. It never ceases to amaze me that the man that screams for transparency and accountability in municipal government continues to rant with misinformation. In addition I find it hilarious that the group he helped create and is part of that calls themselves Citizens for Better Government does not post thier agenda on their website and do not make the minutes of their meetings available to the public either. How transparent and accountable is that Jack?
LikeLike
In response to “Summer”, I thank you for your continued participation in the political process. I just need to correct two inaccuracies.
1. I did not create Citizens for Better Government. I manage the website and have become an active participant, that is true.
2.The meeting agenda’s and minutes are (and always have been) posted as they are either generated and/or approved. Please follow this link to read those: http://www.mymethuen.org/index.php?title=CBGG
Summer, I agree that it would be hypocritical of me to chastise our government for minutes and agendas and then not provide that information on a website that is for all the citizens.
LikeLike
Jack once again you should check your facts. The Agendas for the May, Nov. and Dec. 2008 meetings that were held were never posted. The minutes from the meetings held in May, Oct., Nov. and Dec. 2008 have never been posted. I repeat they have NOT been posted. Again, I say How transparent and accountable is that Jack? I must agree with Jim,, pay no attention to the rantings of Jack….because aptly put no one else is.
LikeLike
Mr. Speaker:
I was following your line of reasoning, but it appeared to me to stop short … given your own beliefs, what does the cure for the patient entail?
“Bottom line; if we don’t fix the dysfunctional way we manage the state and city entities the costs increases you listed above will continue to rise. There is nothing you can do to stem the tide short of firing all city employees.
Your arguments above are meaningless without curing the patient.”
I am genuinely curious …
-FM
LikeLike