Posts Tagged “Marty Bender”

By Jim Sack

Beans.

The Republicans at city council last night were anxious to get through the short agenda and onward to their bean dinner in the suburbs. The coming primary is foremost in their minds and judging by the recent haircuts and sartorial dress at council last night more than a few are girding for the last hectic week before the fates decide. The agenda was to a necessary distraction. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

So the big item on the agenda last night was a $30 million bond proposal to further clean our drinking water. One council member after another offered appreciation to the administration for the way in which the project was structured and for the recent briefings the administration gave to council members leading up to the committee vote.

The usual suspects who most often support the administration voiced their approval: Karen Goldner, Tim Pape and Glynn Hines. Even John Shoaff said it was wise and appropriate. Mr. Shoaff is usually to bonds as a mongoose is to cobras. He doesn’t like them for a variety of reasons, mostly the additional cost, but last night he express approval and appreciation of the project. Other council members around the table asked a few questions and made a few comments, but nothing unusual until Liz Brown, candidate for mayor in the Republican primary, and councilwoman-at-large, jumped in. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

The star of last night’s council meeting was a citizen, Phil Marx. It was a dose of reality after an evening of mud-wrestling.

What Mr. Marx vividly and dramatically detailed to council was a litany, a long-long litany, of the abuse he and his neighbors had long endured and against which they had fought and defeated in order to take back neighborhood from thugs. Mr. Marx read police statistics for just one street, his, that were simply amazing -knifings, screw-driver to the head, shootings, assaults, false 911 calls, battery, vandalism…jeez, Louise. The list went on and on and on to the discomfort of all members of council and everyone in the audience. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Scott Harrold and Elissa McGauley sat before council last night as an example of city-county economic development cooperation and left nearly everybody in the room scratching heads to try to understand the tangled and intricate proposal they had introduced.

Harrold and McGauley are both economic development specialists with the county and city, respectively. McGauley, who called Howard her “counterpart” at the county, works to help businesses gain tax abatements and to oversee their compliance with the promises they make to the community in exchange for your help.” (The tax breaks they receive means you will have to pick up a share of their abatements, and millions in tax “incentives” are handed out each year in the hope the company will 1) keep its promises, 2) create jobs and, 3) add to the economic viability of Fort Wayne and Allen County.) Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Mitch Harper was on time, in plenty of time, but is still getting his sea-legs.

Marty Bender was mercifully silent.

Sampson and Udris were stellar.

Mrs. Brown had her attack collar on again.

Mr. Howard clarified with a smile.

Mrs. McGauley went on and on and on.

And the smell or a rat was detected. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

It came as a bit of a surprise to John Shoaff when he was nominated for vice president of Common Council. But, it underscores how non-partisan, at times, our council can be. Shoaff, despite being of the minority party, was moved, seconded and unanimously approved by all five Republicans and the three other Democrats in about seven seconds. Electing Mitch Harper to the presidency a scant minute and a half before, by comparison, took well over 30 seconds. Shoaff looked mildly bewildered. But these things are worked out before the meeting, which saved everyone time. Someone, however, might have warned him. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Here’s what I have learned from sources high and low.

The benefits and problems of instituting a local city court had been researched by City Clerk Sandy Kennedy for months before its introduction. Fort Wayne had such a beast in the past, and before which I once had to pay my dues to society. $49 and costs.

The five “signators” to the introduced ordinance included as least one member of council who was surprised to see he had “signed” on. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Glynn Hines woke everyone up at the end of a moribund council meeting: net year is election year and we may want to move the budget process up. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Fire Hydrants? $2,9 million? Well, that’s what Mitch Harper wanted to cut last night from the city budget and it passed, to almost everybody’s surprise, even for Mitch a bit.

More than four hours after a rejuvenated Marty Bender gaveled down the meeting and turned the budget hearings and process over to Finance Chairman Tom Smith the process of cutting the mayor’s budget was still ambling along. Council members, the media, guests, citizens, employees were all a bit slap happy when it came to the matter of Fire Hydrants. It was one of 24 proposed budget cuts voted on in last night’s Marathon session. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

The Marty Factor was in play last night for most interchanges between council and city, council and council. That factor being a renewed gentleness at the table in light of the recent reminder of the fragility of life in the person of Marty Bender, council president.

City Clerk Sandy Kennedy who is very close to Marty Bender told people that he is coming around and probably watching council proceedings from his hospital bed which prompted a call from Council Vice President Mitch Harper for a round of applause for Bender from all gathered in the room last night. The recognition from the table and the audience of some 30 folk, a large crowd by regular council standards, was heart felt and prolonged. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sack

Last nights extraordinary city council meeting stated on a somber note: City Clerk Sandy Kennedy, tears in her eyes, told a few of us before the meeting that Marty Bender, council president, had suffered a seizure during dinner with his daughter and was hospitalized. She was quite distraught.

A subdued Mitch Harper, council vice president, eased into the president’s chair and quietly started the meeting with comments on Mr. Bender’s situation and his wishes that President Bender would quickly recover. He then gaveled open the rare Thursday session to resume oversight of the mayor’s proposed budget, focusing last night on use of CEDIT dollars, the County Economic Development Income Tax, a $19 million stream of revenue for the city. Controller Pat Roller parsed the pile of money: some goes to maintenance of the parks, much to debt service, some to the Board of Works and over $4 million to Economic Development, the department chaired by John Urbahns who was on hand last night, passing out notepaper to one forgetful reporter and cough lozenges to a coughing writer as he awaited his turn at the table. Nice guy. Read the rest of this entry »