Tomorrow's Tease: The Break-Up

Dial up tomorrow's Martin Chronicles to read about what has caused long-time Mayor Martin ally, Councilman Mike Pope, to suddenly shut down his "alternate reality" website, grow strangely silent and avoid process servers by wandering aimlessly around the Cincinnati Convention Center.

I Can't Comment. But I Will Anyway.

The Martin Chronicles has to admit that Villa Hills Mayor Mike Martin has been great for readership. We are experiencing unprecedented growth to our already substantial audience. We certainly have mixed emotions about the reasons why. There is nothing better for political writers than to cover a phony hypocrite like Martin bungling from pillar to post displaying to those who are paying attention what a disaster he is. But we are also aware that Martin’s scandals do damage to more than himself.

It is hard to believe that it was just June 2010 when Villa Hills was designated the best city in Northern Kentucky resulting from a thorough study done by Cincy Business magazine. Martin’s mayhem makes it seem like many years ago. Now the taxpayers are facing serious liability for the misadventures of their mayor.

The Martin Chronicles’ staff takes comfort in the old saying that people get the government they deserve. They did elect Martin, after all. So they have earned the result.

We have no plans to offer Martin any advice. He portrayed himself as an epic “man of the people” possessed of great leadership skills. While the results have betrayed that depiction as false advertising, he deserves the same fate as those who elected him.

Believe it or not, we actually find some humor in Saturday’s The Kentucky Enquirer article covering Mike Martin’s Villa Hills headlined “Letter claims illegal conduct”. Let’s explore that.

The Kentucky Enquirer reporter writes that Martin said, “At this time I cannot comment.” For those readers who think we do nothing but criticize the mayor, you may feel faint. The Martin Chronicles believes Martin was right not to comment. This is a very serious matter that exposes the taxpayers to great liability. In this case silence is “golden”.

But, of course, Martin simply couldn’t help himself. So, he continued. “Right now, there’s just a letter saying there looking into something.” The Martin Chronicles has confirmed that the “something” being looked into was Martin’s persistent refusal to take the concerns of an employee seriously.

Martin also said he discussed the matter with the city attorney “on a very limited basis”. The Martin Chronicles has also confirmed that Martin is lying about that. The mayor and the city attorney actually met with the employee many weeks ago. The offshoot was a commitment by Martin and the City Attorney to keep the allegedly harassing councilman out of the City Building and away from the employee. We have also confirmed that Martin quickly endangered the city by walking away from that commitment. He is the CEO, after all.

Now the taxpayers are staring another serious lawsuit right in the face. There are witnesses to the alleged harassment. These witnesses will take any case out of the realm of “he said-she said”.  Martin’s lies are quickly making the situation far worse. We are currently working a story that the city has been notified that the current limits of their policy might not be enough to cover the judgments Martin may have provoked. If that proves to be the case, the remaining balance will come right out of the collective pocket of the residents of Villa Hills.

Remember, there is the now-infamous “Martin Way” of dealing with problems. The residents of Villa Hills should not be at all surprised if Martin rallies his diminishing hillbilly lynch-mob to hurl all manner of allegations against the employee who has been complaining to the mayor for months now about harassment. While that is a dreadful and dangerous tactic, it would not be the first time Martin resorted to such a move. A similar Martin attack is what provoked another serious lawsuit. The residents should remember that this strategy could backfire yet again, leading to an even greater judgment against their collective pocket.

Yup, elections have consequences. And it might take as long as 1,007 days for the voters to fix the current “problem”. But The Martin Chronicles doesn’t think that is so.

BREAKING NEWS: Allies Leaving The Sinking Ship?!?!?

The Martin Chronicles has just obtained an e-mail from Villa Hills' councilman Jim Noll announcing that he has filed his papers to run in the Democrat primary in what Noll himself describes as a "long shot" attempt to grab the State Senate seat being vacated by Jack Westwood. Given the fact that the dinosaur newspapers have finally decided to play "catch up" with us on the sexual harassment allegations in Villa Hills, the timing of Noll's announcement is very interesting.

Noll's stated intentions are to remain on Villa Hills council for a "productive 2012". Given the current state of affairs in the City, that hope for a "productive 2012" may be an even greater long shot than Noll becoming this district's next State Senator. Unless of course by productive Noll means the removal of the biggest problem facing the City.

In any event, the "smart core" of Villa Hills City Council should now consider offering Noll an easy way out. The rigors of a State Senate campaign may be too much for the first-term city councilman. He may want to consider stepping down from his council seat to devote more time to that campaign. What's the teenager's expression? "Whatever!"

While The Martin Chronicles is disinclined to care, getting Noll out of the picture helps the City's position in any potential sexual harassment lawsuit. Then the City Attorney's bogus "Chinese Hackers" are taken off the table. 

What remains? Well, the man who disregarded all the complaints from the harassed employee. Namely, Mayor Mike Martin. With Noll out of the picture, all eyes turn to Councilman Mike Pope in any vote to remove the beleaguered mayor from office. Sources tell us that Pope has already seen and heard too much. Just how far will he be willing to go to defend the indefensible at this point?

The time has come for the majority of council to press the attack to defend the City.

The "State" Of The City

The Martin Chronicles spends a good deal of time reading Kentucky revised State (KRS) 83A.130, titled “Mayor-council plan – Powers and duties of mayor and council”. Subsection (3) contains some interesting language that gets our imaginations running. It reads, “The mayor shall report to the council and to the public on the needs and conditions of city government as he finds appropriate or as required by ordinance, but not less than annually. He shall make any recommendations for actions by the council he finds in the public interest.”

What do we imagine? Suppose a different mayor other than Mayor Martin was reporting on the needs and conditions of city government? What proposals and recommendations for actions by council might this different mayor make?

·         Perhaps a different mayor would suggest council propose guidelines speaking to how Open Records requests should be handled.

·         Perhaps a different mayor would suggest council establish guidelines for the removal of city property in the midst of litigation.

·         Perhaps a different mayor would suggest a different method of handling records retention that did not involve burning, shredding or otherwise “bagging” documents in the midst of serious litigation.

·         Perhaps a different mayor would suggest council propose an ordinance dealing with the proper use of city personnel and resources regarding a ballot initiative.

·         Perhaps a different mayor would recommend taking all employee concerns expressed regarding sexual harassment, hostile work environment, workplace retaliation and other forms of illegal conduct seriously.

·         Perhaps a different mayor would propose city staffing levels that don’t lead to an explosion in far costlier overtime expense.

·         Perhaps a different mayor would recommend council enact strict guidelines regarding the hiring of personal friends to do work for which they are unqualified.

The Martin Chronicles thinks all of those recommendations have merit. But there is one, colossal problem. Villa Hills doesn’t have a different mayor. The mayor is Mike Martin. Martin is the reason why the taxpayer would benefit from all of the preceding proposals.

Absolute worst case, the taxpayers of Villa Hills will have little say in the mess Mayor Martin is making for another 1,009 days.

"Dear Mayor"?!?!

The Martin Chronicles needs a very brief break from all the current lawsuits, document destruction, computer removal, special counsel investigations, sexual harassment, finger-pointing, tax increase proposals, lies, fear and loathing. So, we are going to examine the words and actions of the suddenly-elusive Councilman Mike Pope. Once ready and willing to shoot his mouth off at the drop of a hat, Pope has almost completely vanished from the radar screen.

Ever since the rumor mill has been spinning about the pending class action libel, slander and retaliation lawsuit against Councilman Mike Pope, he has transformed into the will o’ the wisp. Even his “alternate reality” website has disappeared. Unlike Martin’s libelous, dirtbag mayoral campaign website, Pope or a legal representative has carefully ensured that no trace of the “alternate reality” exists on Al Gore’s World Wide Web. That’s why it is a great thing that numerous attorneys possess “screen shots” of the libel Pope’s vanished site contained.

We have obtained a copy of a recent “Dear Mayor” e-mail Pope sent designed to cover his tracks since having a complaint filed against him for his antics as Chairman of the City’s fouled-up Finance Committee. As is The Martin Chronicles’ policy, we have reprinted Pope’s e-mail in its entirety and left in all misspellings and grammatical errors. ENJOY!

Dear Mayor…

Recall our conversation at the Finance meeting regarding the funding of special counsel from reserves. While the council may be able to cause funds to be expended from reserves with a simple resolution (although that is being questioned), there is some concern that it takes a BUDGET AMENDMENT for you to be able to actually spend more than what was approved in the original budget.

The same arguement would in theory apply here. You might fund the radios from surplus, but when you spend that money it will count against your existing budget for the year and in the absence of a budget amendment you would have to reduce spending in some other area so as not to exceed your budget.

PLEASE don’t spend any more money other than what is specifically budgeted in the current budget without a budget amendment. A budget amendment requires public notice and two public readings from the ordinance.

Going from memory, I think the police department has overspent or spent everything allocated for the year for several budget items as of the end of December.

Thanks,

Mike

Here is what is so funny about Pope’s ridiculous e-mail. THERE IS NO APPROVED BUDGET FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR! Mayor Martin has carte blanche to spend roughly $3 MILLION any way he wants. Given the fortune Martin has wasted in overtime alone, the mayor is spending with gusto.

By the way, a BUDGET AMENDMENT is typically enacted at the end of the fiscal year. A sane Finance Committee Chairman would not recommend the enactment of a costly budget amendment every time a particular line item is overspent.  But then, sanity is not an issue for Mr. Pope.

Attorneys representing the soon-to-be-plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit against Pope are also particularly thrilled that Councilman Pope once again decided to single out the police department for baseless criticism in his e-mail.

Welcome Aboard To The Main Stream Media!

The Martin Chronicles has to laugh. The dinosaur Northern Kentucky newspapers are just now starting to wake up to the mountainous scandal that is Mike Martin's Villa Hills. Why do we say that? Because The Martin Chronicles first story on the harassment problem in Villa Hills was posted on October 21, 2011. MORE THAN FULL THREE MONTHS AGO.

The Kentucky Enquirer-January 28, 2012-Dateline: Villa Hills. Headline: "Letter claims illegal conduct". Subhead:Villa Hills employee alleges harassment. TRANSLATION: MORE BIG TROUBLE for Mayor Mike Martin and others!

Our publisher called an "all hands on deck" staff meeting this morning to discuss how The Martin Chronicles will proceed with this unfolding story. Following are some of the comments made by our reporters:

• One reporter wondered if Martin was reading this morning's The Kentucky Enquirer at the breakfast nook and said to his wife, "Look honey! I got Villa Hills more press coverage today. Isn't this GREAT!"
• Another wondered if Villa Hills' top vote-getting councilman in the 2010 election-Jim Noll- has had a "heart-to-heart" sit down with his family yet?
• One of our favorite reporters (his first name is Ed) wondered when the City's insurance carrier was going to have their own "heart-to-heart" sit down with Martin about the fact that the City has had so many "accidents" that the carrier has to drop them.
• Another reporter chuckled that after Martin was quoted saying, "At this time I cannot comment." and then went on to make several foolish comments about the very serious allegations.
• Our publisher is wondering when the City Attorney is going to advise Mayor Martin to "put the shovel down" because he has dug a very deep hole for the taxpayers. He also wonders what the City Attorney will do to save his already-damaged reputation if Martin once again disregards his legal advice.

A huge sign that the letter from the employee's attorney will evolve into a full-blown lawsuit will come if the aggrieved employee takes a leave of absence. The Martin Chronicles is poised on the watchtower.

Human Shield II: The Overtime Fiasco

The Martin Chronicles has already reported Mayor Martin’s emetic efforts to blame the hapless interim city clerk for his January 5 destruction of City records. What will the “CEO” do next to absolve himself from his abject failure.

We have also already reported the shocking news that Martin’s bungling mismanagement and meddling has led to an explosion in Villa Hills Police Department overtime that would make J. Robert Oppenheimer proud. The taxpayer tab for Martin’s negligence and nitwittery? Well in excess of $100,000!!

Acting as if his vocational school certificate and low-level supervisory experience at the now-defunct cookie factory made him a law enforcement expert, Martin exercised his dictatorial leadership over the police department. Martin announced before God, council and the cameras that the “first thing” he looked at was the police department.

Martin scheduled the police shifts. Martin scolded the officers if they set the thermostat too high or too low. Martin suggested the police officers purchase their own uniforms and equipment. Martin has delayed the replacement of the department’s embarrassing fleet of “rust buckets”.

Martin’s most controversial move regarding the police? Martin refused-and continues to refuses-to fill the opening for the eighth police officer. The Police Chief stated and re-stated the logical case for the eighth officer at several council meetings. In his Third World Dictator management style, Martin ended every discussion with his patented, “I’m the CEO. It’s MY decision. Deal with it. We’re moving on!”

Here’s the key. Martin would shrug his shoulders and say, “I’d rather pay a little overtime.” We are guessing the Tea Partiers, Liberty Leaguers, Civic Clubbers and other tri-cornered hat-wearing numbskulls were cheering Martin. The government-hating club has learned that Martin has squandered well in excess of $100,000 of their money in overtime pay. The whiners and wingnuts liked Martin’s move then. But they don’t like it now.

Despite the chest-beating CEO’s perpetual self-aggrandizement, he seems incredibly timid about taking responsibility when anything goes wrong. And brother, have things gone wrong. SO who will Martin lay blame on for his “six-figure squandering”?

The Martin Chronicles is convinced that the mayor will point his stubby finger at the Police Chief. The City only has about a dozen employees. Martin is going to go through people to sacrifice in a big hurry at this rate.

Start By Telling The Truth

The Martin Chronicles wonders if the city employees Mayor Mike Martin plans to use as human shields will finally decide to defend themselves. One in particular, the interim city clerk, is in very serious trouble. Martin has already tipped his hand that he is most willing to sacrifice the long-time clerk over the document fire pit in order to avoid taking any responsibility for what he did.

What was Martin’s emetic comment in The Kentucky Enquirer? “It wasn’t my decision (to destroy City records-but of course, it was). But I won’t point any fingers because the buck stops here”? That noxious spin had reasonable people all over Villa Hills reaching for air-sickness bags.

Even though Martin’s comment is a complete fabrication, it should also give the interim city clerk a very queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why? Because if she does nothing to defend herself Martin is going to railroad her. State statute does identify her as the custodian of records after all. She is the logical donkey upon which Martin can pin the tail. Martin hilariously views himself as “the indispensable man”. The interim city clerk? The mayor views her as nothing more than a convenient piece of cannon fodder.

If the interim city clerk thinks the Martin crony who appears to have signed-off on a listing falsified by the mayor to cover-up what documents were actually burned will be held accountable, she had better keep thinking. While the interim clerk is slowly being brought to a boil in Martin’s cauldron of corruption, Martin’s crony is sunning herself like a shifty lizard on a rock in Florida.

So what should the interim city clerk do? Telling the truth would be a great place to start. Even if that truth exposes her to some liability. Because no matter the extent of her involvement in the City records destruction and subsequent cover-up, the truth will cause her far less harm than playing the role of Martin’s scapegoat.

Tomorrow's Tease: "Will The Employees Defend Themselves?"

The Martin Chronicles has been reporting the many very serious problems facing Villa Hills' Mayor Mike Martin. Martin is now lining up the "human sacrifices" necessary to save himself.

How long will it be before we hear, "I didn't know that then, but I know it now"? When will Martin begin to lay out another massive-but completely baseless-conspiracy theory targeting him for destruction? What will the mayor's intended scapegoats do to save themselves?

We'll begin to explore that question in tomorrow's post.

Now What?!?!?

The Martin Chronicles is hearing very strong rumors that more legal action is forthcoming in the saga that has become Mayor Mike Martin’s Villa Hills.

From what we have learned in our fact-gathering, the legal action being strongly considered will involve an issue that has been reported in a few posts over the past several weeks. It will present more serious problems for the already-beleaguered mayor and of course, the taxpayers. If more legal action is taken, it will be another example of problems created by Martin’s lack of attention to pressing problems.

Given the struggles Martin has created for the police department, the burgeoning overtime problems, the current serious lawsuit, the numerous complaints, the short-circuiting of the City’s previously well-running street program and the abject lack of communication, Martin’s mismanagement of the City will come under even closer scrutiny.

Also, despite Martin’s weak attempt to push blame for the recent destruction of documents on to the interim city clerk, sources tell us that an outside law enforcement agency is also ready to move in to take action. The timeline that is being developed points to a willful effort to eliminate incriminating records and an after-the-fact effort to cover-up what was discovered.

As has been our practice since launching last year on October 8, we won’t report the details on the new legal action that is being considered until it has been confirmed by multiple current sources. If it is true, it will take an already messy situation to a whole new level.

Circumstance may leave city council with no choice other than to take action to protect the taxpayers. All of our reporters and sources are hearing “chatter” indicating that the public is waking up to the grim fact that Mayor Martin has brought something not even closely resembling his promised “truth and integrity” to his office at 720 Rogers Road.

The City attorney has to be deeply  concerned. He has represented several cities over his years of service. How will he be able to explain his role in everything that has been unfolding if nothing is done to minimize the taxpayers’ exposure in this growing mess?

Even the City’s Ethics Board has been embroiled in the growing controversy. As they ponder the latest complaint that has been brought before them, they have to be worried about the re-examination of their other recent rulings that is sure to come. The current board is composed of reasonable people who have been pulled into turmoil they have not been faced with for more than a decade.

It isn’t going to be easy. Far from it. We are receiving indications that Martin plans a very dirty pushback. Martin's history proves he is willing to do just about anything to hold on.

City Council elections are just 284 days away. The council members who have been fighting a holding action for some semblance of good government have to understand that no matter how compelling the evidence, ill will is bound to be generated. There will be enclaves at places like the Civic Club that will cause great trouble for those standing for re-election. The longer the delay, the tougher it will be.

We hope that Special Counsel is close to reporting at least his initial findings. Too much is at stake now for the residents for any further delay. The public must, in fact has an absolute right, to know what has really been going on over the past thirteen months that has put them at such great risk. The Martin Chronicles believes it is getting very close to the time for the council to take some difficult decisions.

Tomorrow's Tease: ANOTHER LAWSUIT?!?!?

The Martin Chronicles is developing leads that tell us that yet another serious lawsuit against Villa Hills' Mayor Mike Martin and others is in the works.

What is going on? What are the ramifications for the poor taxpayers?

Check out tomorrow's post!!!!!!!

The Torch Has Been Passed

The publisher of The Martin Chronicles had a wonderful lunch with a very long time resident of Villa Hills. In fact, the publisher’s lunch partner has lived in the area many years before Villa Hills was even a city. Our publisher asked his guest for permission to use quotes on background. It was readily granted and extensive notes were taken. Food was chewed. But no words were minced.

“There is no question that prior to January 1, 2011, Steve Clark would have to be considered the worst mayor in the short history of Villa Hills. If for no other reason than things got so bad he decided to resign after a little more than two years in office”, began the long-time resident.

“But in just a little over a year, it’s very clear that Mike Martin has taken that title away from Clark. Clark was a whole lot smarter. Good Lord, at least Clark could string a sentence together. Clark was a more honest guy, despite that mess with the $25,000 check. Clark actually got some things done. Clark just misjudged how the public would react to his firing of Chief Brown and that city clerk. I don’t remember her name.”

“This guy Martin is a disgrace. He wraps himself in Jesus Christ, Haitian orphans and 911 victims and treats his own employees like dirt. He got elected by making himself out to be some kind of victim who had been persecuted just because he was doing things out of love for the city. What a phony.” Our publisher decided it was the perfect time to order a cold draft beer.

“And this whole road tax thing. Yeah, I know it was Kilburn’s crazy idea. But Martin had to go and lie about it. It wasn’t a vote to repeal that (EXPLETIVE) sticker tax. The vote was to raise our property tax. Worse than that, Martin didn’t even have the guts to give the guy who asked him about that flyer in the Voice a truthful answer. [EDITOR’S NOTE: There was a pro-road tax flyer distributed in the Voice of Villa Hills the weekend prior to the November, 2011 vote that is now the subject of a complaint before the Ethics Board.] Martin is a dirty liar.” Our publisher decided it was time to order another cold draft beer.

“Here is what I want to know. Didn’t Martin whine that he came into office and there were no records left for him? Didn’t he boo-hoo to anyone that would listen that he wasn’t left with even a paper clip or Post-It Note? Then why did he decide to burn a bunch of documents that he whined didn’t exist smack-dab in the middle of a lawsuit and when all kinds of people are complaining that they can’t get open records filled? What was the rush? That doesn’t make any sense. Unless the guy was up to no good. The bad thing, Martin’s mess could end up getting some employees and even the council in trouble as well.” At this point, our publisher ordered a third cold draft beer.

The floodgates remained open. The city was doing just fine before this sawed-off runt got elected. Now nothing is getting done. I’d feel better if Steve Clark was still mayor rather than having Martin in there destroying the city. It’s a disservice to call Martin stupid. He isn’t very bright. But he’s smart enough to know he is up to no good. I don’t care if Martin resigns, gets impeached or leaves in handcuffs. He is terrible for this city. I hope he gets creamed in that lawsuit.”

At this point our publisher, while in complete agreement with everything his lunch guest was saying,  tried to change the subject to the upcoming Reds season, ordered himself a fourth cold draft beer and a cab ride home.

Yes, the torch has definitely passed.

More Gems From The Last Council Meeting

The Martin Chronicles got a kick out of watching the light bulbs popping on over the heads of Villa Hills Mayor Mike Martin and “the father” of the UNFAIR STICKER TAX, Councilman Greg Kilburn. Not surprisingly, these two fellows revealed that the hadn’t quite thought the move of the UNFAIR STICKER TAX collection to County Boss Steve Arlinghaus court house all the way through.

Folks who renew their vehicle registration in January received their notice to do so in December. If any of these people paid prior to Boss Arlinghaus’ poor underlings getting prepared to collect the Villa Hills’ UNFAIR STICKER TAX, guess what? They joined the list of people-already including out-of-state plated “free roaders” and residents who drive company cars-handed a free pass on the UNFAIR STICKER TAX thanks to Martin, Kilburn, Pope and Noll.

The best part? At the last council meeting, Martin and Kilburn assured residents that if they have already renewed their vehicle registration it’s okay to come to the City Building to pay the UNFAIR STICKER TAX. The dynamic duo said the City would be willing to take their $40 payment. Gee, thanks fellas.

What follows won’t shock you. Several sources say that residents already spared from paying their UNFAIR STICKER TAX have not been beating the doors of the City Building down to surrender their $40. Perhaps Martin and Kilburn should have said, “Pretty please!”

We have to confess that nothing Martin does now surprises us. The mayor has taken “clueless” to previously undiscovered country. But as we’ve written before, The Martin Chronicles can’t understand what has happened to the previously steady and dependable Councilman Kilburn.

Another interesting exchange took place between Martin and the Chairman of the City’s Code Enforcement Board. The Chairman took the podium to discuss ways to improve communication between the City’s administration (READ: Mayor Martin) and this important board. Keep in mind that another one of the phony “planks” in then-candidate Martin’s dirtbag 2010 mayoral campaign was to “improve communications”.

So how did Martin respond to the chairman’s request for improved communication? The mayor immediately shut the chairman down by saying, “We aren’t going to discuss this now. Send me an e-mail or call me to deal with this.” The chairman responded that the last time he tried that approach it took 30 days to get any kind of response at all and then walked away from the podium.

The Martin Chronicles can only conclude that the mayor has a far different definition of “improved communications” than most of the rest of us. Things are not going well at all in the land of Martin.

Time To Begin

Yesterday, The Martin Chronicles quoted a local official saying, “Let’s finish this thing.” We wholeheartedly agree. We should move past the end of the beginning and closer to the beginning of the end. Special Counsel Phil Taliaferro was retained in late summer last year to investigate the suspicious activities of Mayor Mike Martin. After a marathon executive session into which Taliaferro and an assistant carried a 5 inch thick binder of information, council voted to expand special counsel’s investigation at the December council meeting.

The time has come for the facts to begin to be reported. That would be a great start. By now the 5 inch thick binder has surely grown much thicker. Given the recent document burn and subsequent ham-handed attempt to cover it up by the mayor, it is clear to anyone paying any attention that the taxpayers continue to sink deeper into Martin’s quicksand of liability with each passing day.

There is a court proceeding this morning that will deal with several pleadings in the serious lawsuit Villa Hills now finds itself embroiled. One pleading involves the spoliation of evidence. Spoliation of evidence is defined as “the intentional or negligent withholding, hiding, alteration or destruction of evidence relevant to a legal proceeding”. In part, this involves the January 5 burning of City records and the suspicious documentation “justifying” the destruction strong evidence says was ginned up after-the-fact.  

Keep in mind that this incredible turn of events took place after council voted to expand the scope of the special counsel investigation in December. Who knows what else will happen if the special counsel investigation drags on for several more months? Given the past thirteen months, it is reasonable to assume that Martin will continue to behave in a way that further weakens the City’s position. What’s the old saying? Enough is enough.

The Martin Chronicles isn’t suggesting an end to the investigation. We aren’t suggesting an immediate vote for removal. We do believe it is time for the findings to begin to be publicly reported.

It’s time to begin a public exploration of Martin’s questionable business “lapses”. These “lapses” are extremely relevant to his fitness to lead the city. It’s time to hear the truth about the cause for the persistent failure to fulfill Open Records requests. It appears a conscious decision was made to stonewall. It’s time to hear the facts regarding the blatant cronyism. Too much taxpayer money has been doled out to friends.

Shouldn’t the public be offered the opportunity to hear why committee heads and employees have been hindered in doing their appointed tasks? That activity builds a strong case for misconduct. Isn’t it time for a public airing about why computers were removed after-hours, including those from employee work stations, from the City Building? Shouldn’t the public know what the mayor may have been trying to either cover or trump up? Since the taxpayers share in the liability for the mayor’s refusal to take concerns about sexual harassment seriously, don’t they have a right to know exactly what happened? If nothing else, the capability to effectively manage the City, or any enterprise for that matter, are called squarely into question.

If even a preliminary report is not presented soon, public confidence could begin to erode when they hear bilious blowhards like County Judge Executive Steve Arlinghaus or friends who spend their evenings enjoying several rounds of Keystone Light at the Civic Club offer up mindless opinions on the work of special counsel. The Martin Chronicles says shame on any councilman who is reluctant to proceed because they fear getting the cold shoulder in the Civic Club Golf League or at eleven o’clock Mass at St. Joe’s. Their reward for such timidity should be a resounding defeat in the upcoming November election.

We have a couple of questions for all those who complain about money being spent on the Special Counsel’s investigation. How would you feel if the City is hammered in court because of the reckless behavior of the mayor with a council who stood by and did nothing to protect the taxpayer’s interests after discovering what had taken place? Would you rather spend thousands of dollars now to save millions of dollars later?

We’ve heard Martin’s rapidly-refuted explanations for his suspicious behavior. We’ve witnessed his shuck and jive as he shuts down discussions and lays blame on others. None of it holds water. None of it flies. Again, enough is enough. It’s high time for the facts to begin to see the light of day.

Sunday Commentary

The Martin Chronicles has been reporting the strange twists and turns in Villa Hills since early October, 2011. We will aggressively continue to pursue every lead and work our large network of sources. Some events have been mostly a matter of hypocrisy. Others have been examples of hubris leading to a revelation of incompetence. More have betrayed a startling absence of the mythical “truth and integrity” banner then-candidate Mike Martin waved during his dirtbag 2010 mayoral campaign.

Every now and again we wonder if we will run out of stories to cover. Then another scandal train pulls in to what has become a very crowded station. Setting aside the lies, slander and defamation that Martin and his hillbilly lynch mob spewed during his dreadful drive for the mayor’s office, the events since January 1, 2011 have slowly but surely evolved from mostly funny stories of an inarticulate little fellow babbling about "five-sided octagons" to extremely serious concerns about deceit and cover-up. The January 5 destruction of City records has moved the story beyond Martin’s unfitness for the job and placed the entire city in legal jeopardy.  It now seems quite clear that those who speculated Martin’s mayoral run was nothing much more than a push for vengeance were exactly right.

Looking back over the first thirteen months of Martin’s “administration”, we see someone who loves to play the “CEO” card when it affords him an opportunity for chest-beating and self-aggrandizement. But the same person pushes the blame to others the very instant that the responsibilities of leadership present any problem.

Let’s go all the way back to Martin’s ridiculous decision to use a back hoe to crush open the City safe. The “CEO” went so far as to tell The Kentucky Enquirer that, after weighing all his options, he “felt good about his decision (to destroy City property)”. Then this destruction became part of a complaint to the City’s Ethics Board. A member of the ethics board told the complainant that Martin advised the board “he never told the public works director to crush open the safe” at a hearing held a couple of months later. Inexplicably, the board was not bothered by the disparity between Martin’s comment to the newspaper and his statement to them.

The past year has seen an all-out assault on the Villa Hills Police Department. The department currently finds itself 25% (two officers) below its’ proper staffing level. One opening is the result of an officer retiring because of Martin’s unprofessional meddling. The mayor wasted months trying to circumvent the City’s Civil Service ordinance-that he considers a personal affront to his “CEO” authority-trying to fill that position. The City’s Civil Service Commission has now rounded up candidates for the position. But Martin’s unprofessional interference has created unnecessary turmoil and delay at a time when the city is dealing with a significant spike in crime.

The debate over the eighth officer has been even more telling. Despite putting $80,000 in his budget proposal (that has never been enacted) to fund the position, Martin announced that he was not going to hire an eighth officer. Ignoring the fact that the police chief publicly stated the eighth officer was needed, Martin would end the debate by saying, “I’m the ‘CEO’. It’s MY decision. We’re moving on. Get over it.” Martin would say that the money could be better used for the street repair program. Acting as if he was still a supervisor at a cookie factory, the mayor would add that he would rather “pay some overtime” and save the rest of the money for roads.

Now we learn that Martin’s decision has led to the taxpayers funding far more than “some” overtime. The reality is that Martin’s mismanagement has led to overtime costs well in excess of $100,000. Worse yet, Martin admitted he has never talked to the police chief about effective cost containment.

Cronyism is not a good indication of “truth and integrity” either. The mayor has handed out jobs and contracts to friends (for items as innocuous as fire extinguishers) and wasted taxpayer money doing so. In one instance Martin was asked why he was not enforcing the terms of a contract he signed with a personal friend. Martin dismissively responded that he would simply “re-write the contract”. The Martin Chronicles cannot confirm that the contract was ever re-written.

Martin’s “after-hours” removal of computers from the City Building in the middle of Special Counsel’s investigation has added more fuel to the fire. As has become his pattern, the mayor sloughed off his actions to the media. He claimed he just innocently took computers that were “in storage”. Special Counsel has affidavits proving that computers were removed from employee work stations. Dots are beginning to connect.

The incredibly deceptive way Martin’s road tax proposal was presented to the public was a disgrace. A more than forty percent increase in the property tax rate was falsely sold as a vote to eliminate the $40 sticker fee. Fortunately the voters saw through Martin’s tax tale.

We also learned that Martin used City personnel and equipment to produce a road tax flyer to distribute in the Voice of Villa Hills the weekend prior to the road tax vote. When a resident asked Martin if he knew who put the flyer in the Voice, the mayor dishonestly replied he “had no idea.” If Martin felt what he was doing was proper, why did he lie?

The Ethics Board is now reviewing a complaint against Martin for his misuse of City personnel and resources for advocacy. Regardless of how the Ethics Board rules, Martin’s actions were improper. No state in the union allows such use of taxpayer-funded personnel and resources.

Martin has been complaining for months that he couldn’t fill Open Records requests because there were no records left for him. Suddenly these records became so bountiful that many of them had to be burned. All this happening in the middle of a very serious lawsuit and a Special Counsel investigation. We have and will continue to report on this very serious matter. Other media outlets are now digging into the story as well. The key? The “CEO” once again sloughs off the whole affair by shamelessly blaming it on the interim city clerk. It appears The Martin Chronicles is no longer the only media outlet that can see through Martin’s “stories”.

By his actions, Martin has pulled the taxpayers into the very serious problems he has created. One official recently told The Martin Chronicles, “It’s time to finish this.” While covering this “train station” has been an interesting challenge, we agree.

The Martin Chronicles believes that at least the debate over whether Martin is massively incompetent or spectacularly dishonest should be finished. Why? Because the events of the past thirteen months give witness to the fact that Martin is both.

Martin Playing "Patsy" Cake

The Community Recorder published an online article Thursday night on the Martin “records barbecue”. While we can be critical of other media outlets, we believe the reporter did a pretty good job of spelling out the very serious problems Martin is now facing. The best part though was Martin’s cloying version of what took place. Evidently the mayor consulted a Grade F “spin doctor” to develop a comment. Not surprisingly, it was dreadful.

“It wasn’t my decision. But I’m not going to point any fingers because the buck stops here.” The Civic Club Piltdown Men and Women, members of St. Joe’s Heavy Drinking Men’s Society and a smattering of other hillbillies, cat-haters and religious fanatics will probably think that sounds pretty good. There is one problem. It is a COLOSSAL LIE.

As The Martin Chronicles has reported, Martin was contacted about the document burn by the public works director on the afternoon of January 5. The mayor instructed the public works director to proceed with the destruction of city records. There is a sworn statement to that effect. Therefore, it absolutely was Martin’s decision. To say otherwise is ridiculous.

Besides, can any reasonable person believe for even a fleeting second that the interim city clerk who has been willing to go so far as to violate Kentucky Open Records statute rather than risk upsetting "CEO" Martin by releasing documents prior to mayoral review would suddenly get the wild notion to burn a bunch of documents in the middle of a serious lawsuit without the mayor’s approval? If you do buy that, a civic club membership is in your future.

When Martin was twice asked at the January 12 caucus if all the burned records were properly documented he unequivocally answered “yes”. The online article portrays him as a tad less certain. “I think so. But I can’t be sure.” The reality? Both of Martin’s comments are lies.

All the burned records were not properly documented. We have solid evidence that Martin actually doctored up the alleged documentation on the afternoon of January 6 in a bungling attempt to cover his tracks. This after Martin was unsuccessful in getting the police chief or public works crew to reveal what was recovered by law enforcement. Furthermore, Martin knows full well exactly what was burned. We also have solid evidence that he is the one who picked what documents that were to be destroyed.

It's funny that Martin’s comment about not pointing fingers actually does point the finger directly at the interim city clerk. Martin did that intentionally.  He is setting up the interim city clerk to be the patsy. The Recorder article correctly points out that the records cookout could rise to the level of a Class D felony. Martin obviously prefers the thought of the interim city clerk in deep legal trouble instead of him. It appears they may both end up there.

More News And Notes

Have you checked out the OFFICIAL City of Villa Hills website? “Under Construction”? Still? After nearly 13 months of Martin’s “Reign of Error”? Didn’t Martin promise to make the website a more effective communication tool? Instead of hiring all of those expensive website consultants and computer companies and squandering gobs of taxpayer dollars, Martin should have just announced that Mike Pope’s “Alternative Reality” website is the OFFICIAL website of the City of Villa Hills. It would have been a whole lot cheaper. Much Weirder. But a whole lot cheaper.

While on the subject of “under construction”, have you been by the city building lately?  The new city parking lot is still an orange cone-covered, concertina wire-draped, dangerous-ditched mess. The only thing missing are a few machine gun nests. You may recall our report that Martin chose Election Day 2011 to pour concrete for the expensive new lot. We wonder if that had any impact on the voter’s rebuke of Martin’s proposed road tax. Perhaps Martin plans to open Villa Hills’ version of Sanford and Son’s Salvage Yard at 720 Rogers Road.

Back to computers. As you recall, The Martin Chronicles has been reporting on the mayor’s suspicious “after-hours” removal of computers from city property. Remember? The ones he was “storing” at employee work stations? Martin then squandered taxpayer money on “new” computers. As Green Acres’ indecisive County Agent Hank Kimball used to say, “Well, not exactly new. In fact, they aren’t new at all. They are used. But they are good. Well, not exactly good. In fact, they don’t work at all.” Not to worry. Martin has a bead on some Commodore 64’s to replace them!

Did you notice that the interim city clerk abruptly left Wednesday night’s council meeting? Rumor has it she was told a process server entered the building. We are told the interim city clerk missed work on Thursday as well. There are two possibilities. One, she was hiring an attorney. Two, she went somewhere to get the Martin-driven bus tire tracks removed from her back. Martin now blames her for the document destruction? Is that right?

While on the subjects of “missing in action” and “process servers”, rumor has it that Mike Pope ducked the council meeting and has begun some slick “evasive action” that would put a WWII US Navy Destroyer to shame to avoid being served his lawsuit papers. He better consider laying down a smokescreen as well.

Rest assured Mike Martin’s own ship-of-state is well past “evasive action”. Look for a spread of torpedoes to hit it broadside very shortly. It appears some of the crew is already abandoning ship.

Tomorrow's Tease: Random News and Notes

The Martin Chronicles reporting staff is fanning out all over tiny Villa Hills, gathering more information on a number of stories.

We have confirmed that The Kentucky Enquirer and The Community Recorder are developing major investigative pieces on the mess Mayor Martin is making. Why? Because they read The Martin Chronicles. We are happy to help.

That's okay.Why? Because we are several light years ahead of them.

Don't miss tomorrow's post!

Meeting UPDATE: Here Comes The Bus

We really don't like to pat ourselves on the back, but The Martin Chronicles predicted this would happen weeks ago. Now sources are telling us it has begun.

What do we mean? Well, it appears Mayor Martin is beginning the process of throwing the endlessly-interim city clerk under the wheels of the speeding bus.

How? We are told-and will work hard to gather additional confirmation-that Martin was approached by a reporter after last night's meeting. The mayor was overheard saying that the "records barbecue" was all the interim clerk's fault. "She's just the interim city clerk. She really doesn't know what she's doing."

Oh really? Didn't the civic club pal Martin handed a crony job to-not the interim city clerk-sign the document allegedly listing what records were burned? The interim city clerk has worked for Villa Hills for nearly twenty years. And she still doesn't know what she's doing?

By the way, if Martin has such doubts about the capabilities of his interim city clerk, why didn't he stop the public works crew from burning more records when they reached him by cell phone on the afternoon of January 5? Wouldn't a reasonable person have told the crew to stop burning until the mayor had time to personally review the documents? Instead, Martin told the crew to continue their destruction of city records.

The only way that makes sense is if the mayor already knew what was being destroyed.

As we have been suggesting for some time, the interim city clerk should seek legal counsel. She is about ready to be run over by a bus. And it ain't Ralph Kramden at the wheel. It's Mayor Mike Martin.

Martin's "Double-Dip Deception"

Villa Hills Mayor Mike Martin and his crony Dale Schaber both find themselves on the wrong end of a very serious LIBEL, SLANDER and DEFAMATION LAWSUIT filed by a city employee. One of the many reasons for their legal troubles is Martin’s false claim the employee was “double-dipping”.

“Double-dipping” occurs when a government employee retires and is rehired to do the same or similar job. A number of taxpayers find the practice offensive for many reasons. Not the least of which is the grim fact that this practice is putting a huge strain on government retirement systems all across the country. This financial strain is passed on to those taxpayers. Despite the fact that “double-dipping” is perfectly legal, Martin, Schaber and other fellow travelers have been trying to damage the city employee’s reputation by dishonestly playing to taxpayer anger.

How? By telling a bold-faced lie. You see, the city employee has not retired and been rehired. So what is the city employee “guilty” of? Well, he works multiple jobs to support his family. That is not “double-dipping”. The arrangement this employee has with the city was crafted by the city attorney and is perfectly legal.

Martin, Schaber and a host of others in the mayor’s hillbilly lynch mob have been spreading the “double-dip deception” now for years. Again, “double-dipping” is legal. Nearly twenty City of Erlanger police officers-including one of Martin’s closest allies-are doing it.

Dale Schaber willingly joined Martin in the mayor’s bubbling lawsuit hot tub by accusing the city employee of doing something that would be quite illegal. Namely, Schaber wrote a LIBELOUS letter that says “IT IS A FACT” that the city employee is doing work for the cities of Ludlow and Bromley while on the clock in Villa Hills. In other words, Schaber accused the city employee of THEFT.

Schaber’s letter went door-to-door. Schaber’s letter went on Martin’s dirtbag campaign website. Schaber’s letter was published in The Voice of Villa Hills. Unless Schaber can prove his LIBELOUS CLAIM-and he can’t-he has committed LIBEL WRIT LARGE.

Perhaps this explains why Martin hired Schaber’s woefully unqualified wife Cordelia and the taxpayers are forking over $47.50 an hour to her to demolish the city’s books. The Schabers have to come up with the money to cover their legal troubles somehow. Why not let the taxpayers fund it?

[PUBLISHERS NOTE: We will be also be reporting the events from last night's council meeting in upcoming posts.]

Tomorrow's Tease: "Double-Dip Duplicity"

Does anyone else smell that? Is that the aroma of documents burning?
The Martin Chronicles will explore Mayor Martin's multi-year attempt to spin a false tale of "double-dipping" that may have been done to throw the city's building inspector off the trail of Martin's alleged illegal business practices.

Mayor Martin's deceptive "double-dip" disgrace has led to the current very serious lawsuit facing Martin, his pal Dale Schaber (yes, the husband of $47.50 per hour clerk/bokkeeper Cordelia) and the taxpayers of Villa Hills. You don't want to miss it!

LATE BREAKING NEWS: IS POPE DOING A "DUCK AND COVER"?

The Martin Chronicles has just learned that close Martin ally and member of council, Mike Pope, is not going to be in attendance at tonight's council meeting. The interesting part of this breaking story is that the announcement came very late in the day.

The rumor mill is already grinding. One source describes Pope's absence as "suspicious". Others are wondering if Pope has determined that the mayor has been lying to him about the "document barbecue" and/or has suddenly come to realize that Martin's incessant whining about the absence of records left for him has been a deception. Others speculate that Pope is now feeling the pressure of the complaint filed against him, realizing that it is the prelude to a lawsuit.

The Martin Chronicles is willing to extend Pope some benefit of the doubt. Despite Pope's incessant antics and previously reported e-mail support of Open Records and Open Meetings violations. Perhaps there is a business or family schedule conflict. It is the flu season after all. The late notice is what has caused the rampant speculation.

Our publisher has assigned multiple reporters to this story. We will try to determine the real reason for Pope's "late scratch" from tonight's council card. Odds are it will make for an interesting report.

Maybe this meeting will now end on the same day it starts.

Our TOP TEN Reasons To Watch Tonight

The Martin Chronicles suggests you consider either attending tonight’s Villa Hills City Council meeting or watching it LIVE on Insight Channel 16. There are so many things going on it is truly hard to predict what will happen or how long the meeting will last.

Here are our TOP TEN reasons why you should watch tonight’s meeting -

10. Will the issue of Martin’s January 5 city document burning be discussed? There seem to be several conflicting reports about exactly what was burned. This one should cause a few folks to squirm.

9. On a related note, will Martin offer up a plausible-or much more likely an implausible- explanation for records he previously claimed didn’t even exist suddenly becoming so unmanageable that he felt compelled to burn them in the middle of a serious lawsuit?

8. Will Martin offer up yet another excuse for how his mismanagement has led to police overtime expenses well in excess of $100,000? Given the fact that he never once talked to the Police Chief about controlling costs over the past year, the mayor will be hard-pressed to blame his predecessor. But blame the little rascal will.

7. Will Martin explain how despite his self-proclaimed impressive performance before the mysterious NKAPC “president Paul DePaul” (See our Wednesday December 14, 2011 post) defending the city’s sidewalk ordinance, he now wants to reverse field and allow the developers to do whatever the heck they want?

6. Will City Attorney Mike Duncan advise council that all of them should retain personal legal counsel?

5. Will any warrants, complaints, judgments or subpoenas be served on live television? And if so, will the interim city clerk begin weeping uncontrollably?

4. Will the camera-hogging, scandal-mongering, pompous County “Boss” Steve Arlinghaus come to the council meeting to offer yet another mindless opinion not even remotely resembling anything based in fact and truth?

3. Will the stupefied pinheads watching in a drunken stupor at the Civic Club bar once again ask shout at the TV, “Why don’t them there council guys like Martin? He’s the gal-danged mahrr. Them laws don’t counts for him! He better not be a’leavin afore I get me one of them there city government handouts like some of my good buddies have a-got!”

2. Will Councilman Greg Kilburn propose yet another massive tax increase to raise the bazillion dollars he claims the city needs each year for street repair?

And now, THE NUMBER ONE REASON TO ATTEND OR VIEW TONIGHT’S COUNCIL MEETING:

Will Martin propose any more new, outside-the-jackass-in-the-box, “cost-saving” measures that end up needlessly costing the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and lead to more councilmembers calling for his resignation? We hope not. The taxpayers are pretty much tapped out.

SEE, YOU JUST HAVE TO BE THERE OR TUNE IN TO INSIGHT CHANNEL 16 TONIGHT!

Yet Another Infamous "Tease"

Be sure to either attend or watch the broadcast of the January Villa Hills Council Meeting on Insight Channel 16 tomorrow night.

Now for the "TEASE". This despite the fact that a good broadcasting friend of The Martin Chronicles hates those TEASES!

Check tomorrow morning's post that will list the TOP TEN REASONS why you absolutely cannot miss attending or watching tomorrow night's VILLA HILLS' CITY GOVERNMENT EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!

The "Document Barbecue" Timeline

The Martin Chronicles reporters are hot on the trail of the story of Mayor Martin’s now-infamous January 5 document burning. Here is what we have absolutely confirmed and reported to you so far.

·         The police recovered a large quantity of records from Martin’s attempt to burn numerous documents on the afternoon of January 5. This event is problematic because the document destruction took place in the middle of an ongoing lawsuit and with pending Open Records requests. These facts are important because they potentially fly square in the face of State statutes.

·         Martin confirmed his go-ahead to the public works employees to burn the documents after the Police Chief instructed the Public Works Director to place a cell phone call to Martin on the afternoon of January 5.

·         We have obtained a document alleging what was burned that was compiled and signed by the temporary clerk, again allegedly, on January 3. The temporary clerk’s list contained documents ranging in date from 2007 to 2010 (Remember that date range). This despite the fact that Martin has maintained that he was left with not even a “Post-It Note or paper clip”.

·         We have confirmed that Martin contacted city employees early in the day on January 6, after some of the records were burned, to inquire about what documents had been recovered by the police.

·         Martin was asked by a councilman at the January 12 caucus meeting if the list provided by the temporary clerk listed all the documents that had been burned. Martin said “yes”, signifying that the temporary clerk’s compilation was a complete listing of the documents destroyed.

·         The Martin Chronicles can also confirm that one of our reporters has seen some of the documents the police recovered. Some contain a 2011 date. This fact already throws the claims of Martin and the temporary clerk into doubt.

We are also attempting to get final confirmation on what one source tells us. We have been told that the document created and signed by the temporary clerk, allegedly on January 3, was actually prepared on the afternoon of January 6. Our source tells us that Martin actually prepared the list himself and then asked the temporary clerk to sign and date it after the mayor was unsuccessful in his attempts to have the city employees identify the documents that had been recovered by the police on January 5.

If this final piece of the story is confirmed, it places the Villa Hills taxpayers in a very precarious position in the current lawsuit. It also calls Mayor Martin’s actions leading up to the January 5 document burning and his after-the-fact moves into serious question.  

What could have been contained in some of those documents targeted for destruction that Martin made such a high-risk move burning them and why did he tell such easily-revealed falsehoods in the burning’s aftermath? Perhaps more importantly, what could have possibly possessed the temporary clerk to sign and post-date a document, if it is absolutely proven that the document was created and signed after the fact?

“Broad powers” only extend so far. They may have run right into the law.

The Big Winner?: "Free-Roaders"

Yes, we know. The Martin Chronicles has posted about this before. And we are sure we will post about it again many more times. Why? Because we are now totally convinced that the $40 STICKER TAX is nothing more than a colossal taxpayer rip-off.

How does STICKER TAX “creator” Greg Kilburn now justify his brainchild? How can Mike Martin, who voted for Kilburn’s STICKER TAX proposal five long years ago, tell people with a straight face that they aren’t being hosed? We wonder if Mike Pope has been visiting a chiropractor after the Olympic “10” score flip-flop he pulled off coming out IN SUPPORT OF THE STICKER TAX after years of phony campaigning against it? What about Jim Noll? Never mind. Nobody cares about Jim Noll.

Kilburn’s sell-out vote to move the collection of the STICKER TAX down to Boss Steve Arlinghaus’ County Court House makes it even more UNFAIR than it ever was. Kilburn and the other three “men of the people” have signaled to state-evading “free-roaders” and drivers of company cars that they no longer have to pay the fee. Despite the very real fact that the very ordinance Kilburn authored creating the STICKER TAX in the first place REQUIRES THAT EVERYONE PAYS THE TAX. We suspect these four “pander bears” have opened a legal Pandora’s Box of challenges to the STICKER TAX from people who have always played by the rules, obeyed the law and now find themselves being punished for their efforts.

Even folks like these four flip-floppers have got to have enough sense to see that the $40 STICKER TAX has outlived its usefulness. It should be repealed. The voters simply aren’t buying Kilburn’s clap-trap about needing a bazillion dollars a year for street repair. They said so quite loudly last November.

Martin likes to say he is an “outside-the-box” kind of guy. Yeah, like the garish bobbing clown head that pops out of a child’s Jack-In-The-Box toy. Can’t you just hear it now? “Pop Goes That Weasel Martin”. If the city is truly so desperate for cash like Martin, Kilburn, Pope and whatever the other guy’s name is keep saying, we have some simple yet bold ideas even they should be able to grasp.

First, repeal the STICKER TAX.

Then, cut loose the incompetent, unenforced contract clerk/bookkeeper. She’s worse than useless. She’s dangerous. Also, say a PERMANENT goodbye to the inept TEMPORARY clerk who was allegedly brought in for a tax season that ended months ago. All she has done is eat taxpayer-funded lunches and help provide cover for Martin’s document destruction. The taxpayers should also not be funding any more of her extended trips to Florida.

Next, quit building new city parking lots, buying new computers and hiring multiple website consultants.

Then, don’t give seventy-five dollar Christmas gifts to the employees or throw taxpayer-funded going away parties for police officers who Mayor Martin browbeats into retirement.

Now batting, cancel any plans Martin may be ginning up to have taxpayers fund any of the 911 Memorial. If these folks need $150,000, let ‘em go beg for it like everybody else.

Following, quit using the public works crew to clean up PRIVATE PROPERTY if for no other reason than it is ILLEGAL.

Next, quit having the public works crew plow the civic club’s parking lot when it snows or change the toilet paper at the Civic Club or Villa Madonna ball fields.

After, let the pinheads at the Civic Club pay the guy the several thousands of dollars a year the taxpayers currently pay to cut their grass and drag their ball fields. If the civic club can’t afford to pay, perhaps they should charge more at Spaghetti Night or just go out of business.

Then, tell the mayor to quit doing insane things that provoke costly lawsuits and complaints. Perhaps the mayor should consider sitting down with the police chief sometime to discuss cost containment. Better yet, hire the eighth police officer. Results prove that would be a whole lot cheaper.

Here’s an “outside-the-box” idea for Martin. Perhaps the mayor should consider selling the city building and moving the two remaining clerks to the police department. The city would receive an influx of cash to spend on roads and permanently reduce utility, insurance and other related costs.

Then, if there truly are roads “in crisis” as the perpetually-alarmist Kilburn says, raise the money through assessments. Why not? The people who live on those streets should pay for their repair. Wouldn’t they pay if the sidewalk in front of their house needed replaced? Why not pay for the street repair in front of their house as well?

Not to worry. If you have a car registered in Villa Hills and fail to comply with the STICKER TAX, the city now plans to sue you.

VHPD Update

Several months ago Mayor Martin announced that the first item on his "Fresh Start" agenda when taking office was an examination of the Villa Hills Police Department. Given the fact that Martin was suing not only the taxpayers, but two police officers when he took office, that tidbit really comes as no surprise. But the results have not been good.

The police department is down 25% (two officers) from its proper staffing level. The Civil Service Commission is currently conducting a search for a replacement for an officer who retired because he grew tired of Martin's unprofessional meddling. This important search was delayed by several months as Martin looked for a way to do an end-run around the civil service ordinance. When council presented Martin with thirty days of emergency powers to conduct his own search, he bungled the time away.

If the commission can only find candidates who will be required to attend the Police Academy in Richmond, many more months will pass before the new officer is ready to patrol the streets alone. In the meantime, the already spread-way-too-thin department will be forced to continue to contend with the city's rising crime rate. The situation could move beyond salvaging if another discouraged officer decides to leave.

Martin also continues to refuse to hire an eighth officer. Martin has said that he would rather pay overtime than incur what he contends will be an additional $80,000 in salary, retirement and other benefits. Martin portrayed that decision as a smart, cost-saving business move.

Additionally, Martin has suggested that the life of the VHPD's fleet of "rust-buckets" could be extended by dropping new engines and transmissions into them. Again, Martin was attempting to depict himself as a Tea Party-minded budget hawk.

Reality has now loudly settled in. First, we learn that the cost of purchasing new vehicles for the police department is actually less than the new engines and transmissions proposed by Martin. But Martin's other cost-saving "stroke of genius" has proven to be far worse.

Martin has finally revealed that his "smart, cost-saving business move" to eliminate the eighth officer has led to an Alamogordo-magnitude explosion in overtime costs well in excess of $100,000. What is even more troubling is that Martin also admitted that he has not met with the Police Chief even once in the course of the past year to discuss any methods of cost containment.

Martin's mismanagement has proven very costly. The Martin Chronicles hopes the police department can soldier on until some help arrives in the next several months.

Sadly, it may take until January1, 2015 until common sense is fully restored.

Forget The Cave Dwellers

The Martin Chronicles publisher recently had breakfast with a couple of old friends. During the discussion, one of the diners expressed frustration that there are people who actually think that shrill Judge Executive Steve Arlinghaus correctly described the special counsel investigation of Mayor Mike Martin as a “witch hunt”.

When pressed for more detail, the bothered breakfast guest identified the people who believe that are mostly folks who hang out in seedy places like the Villa Hills Civic Club and other local dives. What concerned him more was that these cave dwellers are often the only source of information for generally uninformed people who are busy just living their lives.

“The last thing Martin deserves is sympathy”, said the friend. The results of the last year speak for themselves. This is a Class A disaster.

Our publisher thought about his own frustration. He looked at his friend with sympathy. Then he decided to offer some advice. “You can’t worry about a pompous blowhard like Steve Arlinghaus. As the facts about Martin are laid out, Arlinghaus will be the first one to volunteer to throw the match on the gasoline-soaked kindling to burn Martin at the stake. Arlinghaus will also say he always knew Martin was up to no good. Forget that guy.”

The publisher could see a flicker of hope on the face of his beleaguered buddy. So he continued. “And as for those civic clubbers, c’mon. What can you say about people who spend several nights a week with their pointless rear ends parked at a crummy bar? Big deal. Martin is one of them. What do you expect?”

Why stop now? “Most importantly, here’s what you need to ask the people who just don’t take the time to stay informed. Martin wrapped himself in the Bible, 911 victims and Haitian orphans and portrayed himself as some faux-good government guy who was set up in some massive conspiracy. He told people that is why he was arrested for forgery. But was he able to prove even one of his claims in court? No, he wasn’t. Not a single one. His lawsuit against the taxpayers was summarily dismissed by one judge and then three more when he appealed it. It was so bad that the appellate court wrote he was barking up the wrong tree.”

Our publisher concluded, “The facts are coming faster than Martin is able to burn them. The truth will show Martin for the kind of fellow he really is. Council needs to make sure that the facts are out there where most people will understand. But there will still be some animal skin-wearing, log-thumpers who refuse to accept it. You can take some solace that Martin will still have a place to hang out, commiserating with his fellow pinheads during spaghetti night at the civic club after this is all over. And that day is coming.”

It turned out to be a very nice breakfast.