Interestingly, Cincinnati.com posted a story on December 20 about a pretty significant event that took place at the December Villa Hills City Council meeting held on December 11-nine full days earlier. Readers of The Martin Chronicles knew this event was coming for several weeks. Why? Because we have been reporting on it for those past several weeks.
So what was this "pretty significant event"? The fact that the City Council voted 4 to 2 (with Councilmembers Baehner and Balson voting "NO") to increase the budget for taxpayer-funded legal fees BY A WHOPPING ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT PERCENT.
Sadly, the Cincinnati.com compounded the lateness of its report by failing to probe beyond the mendacious Martin's evasive explanation for that incredible increase. In this case, two wrongs definitely do not make a right.
Martin simply said "the funds allocated to legal were getting low". He deceptively went on to explain that the skyrocketing legal costs were to pay his personal-and now City-Attorney Toad V. McMurtry and for the hiring of an attorney who specializes in human resources to evaluate the City's employee handbook.
But Martin intentionally avoided listing the many other reasons that created the need for the huge taxpayer-funded increase. For example:
- Martin intentionally avoided mentioning the cost for the lawsuit the City filed against its own Civil Service Board.
- Martin intentionally avoided mentioning that he has been using taxpayer money to pay an attorney to sue residents who have failed to pay the UNFAIR $40 PER CAR STICKER TAX.
- Martin intentionally avoided mentioning the cost for the lawsuit the City filed against a City employee.
- Martin intentionally avoided mentioning the cost of the legal preparation for the many hastily-convened-no-longer-so-special-Special Meetings that were either held or abruptly canceled in an effort to convince City Council to vote to spend taxpayer money to bail Martin out of a personal lawsuit.
- Martin intentionally avoided mentioning all of the taxpayer money that is being wasted to pay his personal-and now City-Attorney Toad V. McMurtry to investigate the investigation of the State Auditor's investigation of the State Labor Department's investigation of Martin's refusal to pay overtime to employees that resulted from his own abject mismanagement.
Oh, the reportage of Cincinnati.com and Martin's deceptive dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge is even worse. You see, TWENTY-NINE THOUSAND TAXPAYER DOLLARS WERE STRIPPED OUT OF THE PUBLIC WORKS BUDGET-you know, the Public Works budget is part of the sacrosanct street repair and replacement program-to pay the SKYROCKETING LEGAL FEES. Plainly, money was diverted away from street repair to fund Martin's personal vendettas.
Cincinnati.com didn't even question the wisdom of such a move or press Martin on what is clearly A BROKEN PROMISE. How so? Martin promised to repeal the UNFAIR $40 PER CAR STICKER TAX and find the additional money needed for street repair and replacement in the City's current budget throughout his dirtbag 2010 mayoral campaign.
How do we know that? Because he was quoted saying so in The Kentucky Enquirer in August, 2010. Hey, you can go to the library and look it up. Remember?
In point of fact, the misdirecting Martin is doing exactly the opposite. Martin is taking money out of the City's current funds for street repair and replacement and moving them to the line item that funds the legal costs of his personal vendetta against the people he blames for his 2007 FORGERY ARREST.
While we are still a little less than a fortnight away from publishing our 2014 predictions, Villa Hills taxpayers can rest assured that Martin will have to ask City Council to amend the budget for legal fees yet again (READ: More wasted taxpayer money). Why? Because Martin's ongoing mismanagement and malevolence are going to generate even more lawsuits in the weeks and months ahead.
Worse yet, Martin's intentional misbehavior has led insurance carriers to inform the misdirecting mayor-and other so-called City "leaders"-that they will not underwrite any settlements that may eventually have to be paid. So, the taxpayers will be asked to dig deeper in to their wallets to cover the expense of Martin's continued misadventures.
Villa Hills voters still have to wait 315 days to decide whether or not they want to put a final end to this empty-headed foolishness.
