GREEDY CEDAR RAPIDS MAYOR TO SPEND

If one were to add up the total taxpayer dollars given to, or committed to be given to, the city of Cedar Rapids for flood related issues etc. to date, the amount would likely exceed $200 million. We doubt the mayor has shown the interest to add it all up. But the greedy mayor is still not satisfied!! He wants at least $400 million more, not fully counting inflation.

That's throwing $600 million down the river, to foolishly re-occupy the disastrous Cedar River flood plain--and waste money on downtown Cedar Rapids.

Enough is enough, Mayor Corbett!! You can stop lobbying state legislators and Congress for more money to waste, as well. The time for such waste is over, and you ought to know that!

The contents of this post provide overwhelming evidence Mayor Corbett’s intention to impose a 17% sales tax increase, on metro area shoppers, is unneeded, ill-advised and irresponsible. Why does the mayor want to abuse area shoppers in this manner? There is no good answer to that question.

Had he followed through on his campaign commitment, to improve C. R. government operating efficiency by 15%, he would have demonstrated integrity--and would also have demonstrated he had the judgment to refrain from re-occupying the disastrous Cedar River flood plain. This obviously disastrous flood plain has yet to experience its worst ever flood, which Iowalive forecasts to be at least 44 feet, about 2063. No one has claimed to have better numbers.

As shown in the following table, the 15% efficiency improvement the mayor promised in Cedar Rapids alone, would annually make $8,151,538 available to vacate the disastrous flood plain, provide tax relief, and improve the Cedar Rapids metro area economy by at least 4% as well. The mayor’s tax increase costs shoppers $18 million annually for Cedar Rapids alone. The mayor wants to use $9 million of that for partial flood protection, which could be nearly offset by the city’s $8,151,538 efficiency improvement, the mayor committed to make. But by vacating the flood plain, there would be no need for the full $9 million for partial flood protection at all.

There is no need for a sales tax increase. There is great need for the mayor to douse his greed and do what he committed to do.

THE MAYOR NEEDS TO DO WHAT HE COMMITTED TO DO—AND FORGET THE SALES TAX INCREASE!

WASTED MONEY IN LINN COUNTY OUGHT TO BE USED FOR TAX RELIEF & FLOOD AVOIDANCE
INSTITUTION	BUDGET, YEAR 08-09	AVG. OPERATING EFFICIENCY, YEAR TO DATE, JULY 30, 08	MONEY WASTED ANNUALLY, BASED ON 08-09 UDGETS	MONEY WASTED ANNUALLY, BASED ON 10-11 BUDGETS & OPERATING EFFICIENCYS.	15% OF MONEY WASTED
CEDAR RAPIDS SCHOOL DISTRICT	$214,826,682	28%	$60,151,471	$61,956,015	$9,293,402
CEDAR RAPIDS, CITY	$177,593,424	30%	$53,278,027	$54,343,588	$8,151,538
KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE	$111,313,854	44%	$48,978,096	$50,447,439	$7,567,116
LINN COUNTY	$104,638,951	39%	$40,809,191	$41,625,375	$6,243,806
GRANT WOOD AEA	$23,943,125	23%	$5,506,919	$5,672,126	$850,819
TOTAL	$632,316,036		$208,723,704	$214,044,542	$22,813,279

The leadership from meeting his commitment would influence other public institutions, listed in the table, to make similar improvements—that would result in boosting the metro area economy by at least an additional 8%--for a grand total, national news worthy, 12% increase!! In contrast, Corbett’s 17% sales tax increase will decrease the Cedar Rapids metro area economy by at least 3%, at a time when metro area businesses are far from thriving and growing—and 25% of metro area residents are struggling to make ends meet. The mayor’s 3% hit on the downtown area would be the crowning blow to any notion that it can, or will be, revitalized.

The following table shows what can and should be cut from the budgets of the institutions in the above table. Organizations, such as Rockwell-Collins, make continuous improvements to such issues. Metro area taxing bodies, in the table, should improve and perform accordingly.

1/20/2010
PRIORITY	WHAT TO CUT/STOP TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS POSSIBLE
1	The belief the organization is operating at, or anywhere near, 100% efficiency, with little room for improvement.
2	Any beliefs that performance can't be measured or improved.
3	Use of unneeded or ineffective consultants
4	The cost/tax growth.
5	Making equal, across the board pay raises.
6	Distrust and resistance to improve.
7	Cycle Times
8	Trying to make efficiency improvements without a comprehensive efficiency improvement plan, and the name of the person in charge.
9	Use of ineffective processes
10	The notion that everyone is in charge of performance improvement.
11	The belief that working hard equates to working efficiently or effectively.
12	The belief that more spending and taxing is better.
13	Over-compensation for positions held and results achieved--especially for organizations having the most prestige or political influence--or having weak performance measures.
14	Laws and regulations that significantly increase costs--for little benefit.
15	Paying lobbyists.
16	Organizational empire building

The following table shows the troublesome decline in the integrity of the mayor’s decisions and behavior. It is not too late to abandon the sales tax increase and start the trend in a much better direction. The mayor is strongly urged to do so.

THE MAYOR IS STRONGLY URGED TO DUMP THE TAX INCREASE & IMPROVE INTEGRITY OF HIS ACTIONS AND DECISIONS

MAYOR CORBETT'S INTEGRITY RECORD, AS MAYOR OF CEDAR RAPIDS
DATE	ACTIONS CORBETT EITHER PERFORMED, INITIATED OR SUPPORTED	Integrity Index Level On Scale of 0 to 1,000, Where Significant Integrity Starts at 300
2009	MAYORAL CAMPAIGN	720
FEB ‘10	ORGANIZED COUNCIL INTO COMMITTEES	900
FEB ‘10	IMPLEMENTED VOTE ON LIBRARY	550
MAR ’10	INCREASED FLOOD PAYMENT TO 107%	850
MAR ‘10	HELD BETTER LINE ON CITY BUDGET	450
VARIOUS	HELD MANY PUBLIC FORUMS ON FLOOD RECOVERY & PROTECTION	875
MAR '10	DECISION TO RETURN TO CITY HALL	710
MAR '10	HAVE GREG EYERLY REPORT DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL RATHER THAN CITY MANAGER	720
MAR '10	HAVE CITY MANAGER FOCUS ON JOB CREATION--THE BEST CHOICE AVAILABLE	5
MAR '10	RESISTED BUYOUT DEDUCTION	20
MAR '10	FAVORS HOTEL TAX INCREASE	110
MAR '10	CHANGING 1 WAY STREETS TO 2 WAY FOR MED CENTER---IF CORBETT FAVORS IT!!	210
MAR '10	MODIFY CALCULATION OF FLOOD PROTECTION COST/BENEFIT RATIO TO GET MORE MONEY FOR C. R. FLOOD PROTECTION	40
APR '10	ACCEPTING RESIGNATION OF CITY MANAGER	750
APR '10	STARTED OVER ON CITY FLOOD PROTECTION PLAN	810
APR '10	HIRING A BETTER CITY MANAGER WITHOUT USE OF A SEARCH FIRM	600
APR '10	HIRING EVENT-CENTER DEVELOPER JOHN FREW., FOR A NO-BID, 6%, $4 MILLION FEE, WITHOUT SERIOUSLY SEEKING OR CONSIDERING OTHERS FOR THE $65 MILLION EVENT CENTER & U. S. CELLULAR CENTER PROJECTS	15
MAY '10	AGREEING TO CLOSE 2ND AVE. FOR A MEDICAL COMPLEX	60
MAY '10	HIRING THOMS AS INTERIM MANAGER TO APPLY FOR STATE I-JOBS MONEY	105
MAY '10	FAILURE TO EFFECTIVELY PURSUE TIMOTHY HANSON AS CITY MANAGER	200
MAY '10	INTENTION & EFFORTS TO HAVE OTHERS PAY FOR FLOOD RECOVERY AND TO PAY FOR CEDAR RAPIDS TO OCCUPY THE CEDAR RIVER FLOOD PLAIN	5
MAY '10	HELPED GET HIGHWAY 100 ROAD PROJECT ON 5-YEAR PLAN	280
JUNE '10	PROPOSED CITY PURCHASE OF CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL	15
JUN '10	BRIBING BUSINESSES TO LEAVE HIAWATHA ETC. TO LOCATE IN DISASTROUS CEDAR RAPIDS FLOOD PLAIN	15
JUN '10	METHOD USED TO HIRE POMERANZ AND TO PAY HIM $225,000 ANNUALLY, AT START	10
JUN '10	DECISION TO DEMOLISH SINCLAIR SMOKE STACK	750
JUN '10	CONTINUED PURSUIT OF BUSINESSES TO OCCUPY DISASTROUS CEDAR RIVER FLOOD PLAIN	1
JUN '10	REFUSAL TO ACCEPT CORPS' GUIDELINES FOR FLOOD 'PROTECTION'	15
JUL' 10	DISPUTING FEMA'S REFUSAL TO PAY FOR BOGUS FLOOD DAMAGE CLAIMS	3
JUL' 10	ACCEPTING FREW'S RECOMMENDATION TO BUY DOWNTOWN HOTEL--WHEN PRIVATE SECTOR WON'T TOUCH IT!	15
JUL' 10	PLACE ANIMAL SHELTER AT KIRKWOOD	550
AUG' 10	HIRING POMERANZ AS NEW CITY MANAGER	30
SEP '10	VOTED TWICE TO CLOSE 2ND AVE.	25
SEP '10	ADOPTED 32.4 FOOT FLOOD 'PROTECTION' LEVEL	2
OCT '10	VOTED TO CLOSE 2ND AVE. FOR THIRD TIME	1
OCT '10	BADGERED BRANSTAD AND CULVER TO PLEDGE GIVING SALES TAX MONEY TO CEDAR RAPIDS FOR WHAT CORBETT DECEPTIVELY CITED AS "FLOOD PROTECTION" IN THE 10-3-10 GAZETTE	3
NOV '10	THREATENING EMINENT DOMAIN ACTION FOR ACQUISITION OF CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL	1
NOV '10	DECISION TO PURCHASE THE CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL	1
JAN '11	PROPOSAL TO RAISE LINN COUNTY SALES TAX BY 17%	1
	WEIGHTED AVERAGE	45
	CONDITIONS BEYOND CORBETT'S SPAN OF CONTROL AT THE TIME
MAR '10	UNION PAY RAISE AGREEMENT	30
AN INDEX LEVEL OF 40 IS COMPARABLE TO GRAND LARCENY
Anyone claiming to have better numbers is asked to provide them.

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