Mike Martin claimed he was a "budget hawk" during his campaign. Results prove quite another thing. Keep in mind that Martin took office in January of this year with a surplus of nearly $120,000 GUARANTEED!! How could that be? Because there was one less police officer and no city clerk when Martin took his oath of office. The combined savings in salary, benefits and retirement total that $120,000 in "locked-in" savings. Martin has still not replaced the police officer or the city clerk. Despite the fact that the cost of both positions was included in last year's city budget.
Finance chairman Mike Pope shocked the council at the recent caucus meeting when he announced there was NO SURPLUS for the last fiscal year. None. Zip. Nothing. Living in his own reality, Pope took the standard hack politician approach of blaming the previous administration.
We suspect that the Von Lehman accounting firm who kept track of the city's books and the Van Gorder Walker firm that audited them prior to the arrival of Martin, Pope and bookkeeper Cordelia Schaber will take strong exception to Pope's claim.
Oh, by the way. Martin and Pope always claimed to be big on "transparency". But guess what? You would never know about the huge waste of your money if we didn't report it to you. Why? Because Martin no longer allows the caucus meetings to be televised. Add to that the fact that the Kentucky Enquirer and Community Recorder are asleep at the switch-so Martin, Pope and Schaber get to operate in the dark. We guess when a minimum of $120,000 of YOUR money simply evaporates-we understand why.
SO WHERE HAS YOUR MONEY GONE?????
