We talked to several long-time Villa Hills political observers in the aftermath of Martin's brazen request to City Council to give him unfettered authority to spend THREE MILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS ANY WAY HE SEES FIT in the upcoming fiscal year. How would that happen? Martin wants City council to pass what is sometimes referred to as a "bottom-line" budget. No line items. No individual department budgets. In other words, no accountability. JUST THREE MILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS FOR THE MISMANAGING MARTIN TO SPEND IN ANY WAY HE WANTS.
The observers we spoke with told us how much Martin's view of the City budgeting process has changed since the bygone days when he was a lowly, ineffectual councilmember. Now-Mayor Martin is clearly intoxicated with the power a razor-thin majority of voters granted him in 2010.
We heard hilarious stories of then-Councilmember Martin demanding to go over every single line of proposed City budgets. People recalled Martin fussing and fuming over a hundred and fifteen dollars for office supplies or three thousand dollars annually for fuel for police cruisers. Then-Councilmember Martin's yearly exercise in budget nitwittery would generally eat-up several pointless hours over three or four very lengthy council meetings. In short, it was a colossal waste of time.
Quite simply, then-Councilmember Martin would absolutely despise now-Mayor Martin for his complete unwillingness to work with him or anyone else on City council. Oh, now-Mayor Martin would also absolutely despise then-Councilmember Martin for daring to challenge his absolute authority.
We would pay a very high price for the opportunity to see the spectacle of then-Martin versus now-Martin just once. It would be the incomprehensible force meeting the obfuscating object. A true classic by any definition.
Given Martin's dreadful fiscal track record of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS BEING WASTED ON OVERTIME, MISMANAGEMENT, SHAMELESS SELF-ENRICHMENT, CRONY HIRES, LAWYERS AND LAWSUITS, City Council seems reluctant to simply hand Martin THREE MILLION DOLLARS. That reluctance is more than a little wise.
Think about it. Martin has SQUANDERED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS PAYING HIS CRONY CORDELIA SCHABER $47.50 PER HOUR TO TOTALLY SCREW UP THE CITY'S FINANCIAL RECORDS.
Council needs just think back a few months ago. Martin was desperately attempting to have council approve HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TAXPAYER MONEY to free him from PERSONAL LIABILITY IN A LAWSUIT HE INTENTIONALLY TRIGGERED.
Oh, yeah. It hasn't been all that long ago that Martin himself signed a City purchase order TO PAY HIMSELF MORE THAN TWENTY-THREE THOUSAND TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
It's just been announced that Martin has pissed away ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND TAXPAYER DOLLARS-NOT INCLUDING WHAT YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY MARTIN'S PERSONAL-AND NOW CITY ATTORNEY TOAD V. MCMURTRY TO "RAILROAD" FORMER POLICE CHIEF DAN GOODENOUGH INTO RETIREMENT.
So now Martin wants City Council complete free reign to spend TAXPAYER MONEY ANY WAY HE WANTS? We just outlined a few of the many ways Martin has squandered YOUR TAX DOLLARS. Will City Council now grant Martin a license to steal. We sure hope not.
What did Forrest Gump's momma tell him? "You can't fix stupid." Well, "You can't fix corrupt" either.
But you can vote out "stupid" and "corrupt" in just 157 days.
| "Hell yes, I'm lying through my teeth!" |
