Speak Out 12/18/14

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Transparency

and the city

I just watched some Poplar Bluff City Council Meetings on Youtube. I see the meetings for September 2 and November 10 are two parts. Why did they do this? It looks like they cut part of it out. I'm not sure this is the kind of transparency this council ran on.

Mr. Kaplan,

stop spending

If Kaplan comes into town and discovers that our city is nearly bankrupt -- do we think the first thing he should do (besides hiring all the consultants, advisors, assistants, out of town lawyer, etc.) is to borrow $5 million for toys that he just couldn't operate without; new phone system, new computer system, new guns, new automated utility meters, etc, etc, etc. He says that if we pay back to the municipal utility fund the money we borrowed the city will be bankrupt. Perhaps he should stop spending money we don't have and live within our means!

Ruining our

beloved city

For anyone that has been following Poplar Bluff politics, or better yet, for anyone that pays taxes in the City of Poplar Bluff, had better open up their eyes and see what's going on at City Hall. I have lived in the city for well over 50 years. This has always been my home and I am ashamed to look at people outside of our city when they ask what's going on and try to explain the unprofessional and downright vindictive conduct that our city council along with their puppet, the city manager, is doing to our beloved town.

I wish somebody would find out how much money is being spent on consultants. It was absolutely imperative that we hire a professional city manager! Well, I'm sorry, a professional city manager should be able to make a decision, and project estimates for the future without having consultants from all over the country (I'm sorry, Michigan and Texas). I hope and pray that the five members of our city council realize, when this train wreck that they are conducting crashes, Mr. Kaplan will go on to his next big adventure along with all his consultants, You, Madame Mayor, and the other puppets of a local disgruntled businessman will still be here, with the exception of one city councilman who has figured out the train wreck is coming and will move into the county to avoid the excessive rate in taxes that will be waiting when this train crashes.

Has no one on the city council ever thought to ask Mr. Kaplan is receiving any monetary or other type of benefit, or kickback from some of these consulting firms that he has historically used in the past. I assure you major businesses do not come into the community and do the work that they're providing out of the goodness of their heart. Do your job, protect our city. As of right now there are five members of the Council that has a dagger shoved in the back of all the taypayers of our beloved city.

Where's all the

grant money?

I just thumbed through Kaplan's "Inside City Management" monstrosity. (He is incapable of thinking on his feet and answering questions by the DAR -- I hope we don't have to hire him a "press secretary."

He states that the grant writer has applied for the Home Repair Opportunity Program grant that provides funding to meet the need for home repair for low and moderate income homeowners.

If I am not mistaken these funds are available to our citizens every year --without paying a grant writer to obtain them. I am sure the Regional Planning Commission has secured them for us in the past -- with no cost to the city.

His goal for the grant writer and assistant is stated as "not only to bring in enough grant revenue to support the position/office, but to bring in 'money' for programs/services for the city."

Do we need to bring in enough grant money to support a position for a person from Texas? If we were creating a position for a local person, it would be different!

We haven't seen any grant money "pouring in" at this point.