|
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Sep 23 2008, 12:05 PM
...and a secretary is always the first to go...
If you are an elected City Official, an elected School Board Member, or an elected Official of the State…a reimbursement is the same...although, actual amounts may differ.
What about regular employees of the state? Superintendents? Business Managers? HR people? Any staff from the top to the bottom who travel for business.
City Administrators? Planners? Building Inspectors? Health Department staff?
School Districts have their own reimbursement guidelines, as do our city employees. Here is the State of Wisconsin Pocket Travel Guide effective July 2008 for our state employees:
PocketTravel Guide 2007-2009
If our state officials are reimbursed for mileage, why shouldn't our city officials be reimbursed?
Elected officials or regular employees?
My opinion?
If you are using your own car I don’t have a problem with it. But I think the reimbursement in Franklin needs to be restructured from a lump sum to receipts and a detailed log. Annoying, yes, but it’s pretty standard to have to be held accountable for reimbursements. I think we would find out that some deserve to be reimbursed far more ...and others far less.
My Alderman should not be expected to pay calls on constituents and do city business on his own gas, should yours? The city engineer and planners have city cars they use.
Reimbursement for food? Not so much. You need to eat anyway.
Classes/conferences or functions to improve the city? As long as they are specifically for that purpose and not entertainment or just for a “goody bag,” then yes.
As far as the cuts of city staff, I question exactly who is going to do the work of the secretarial staff that is being cut. Clerical staff is always the first place to go when you need to cut…but administration seems to forget who is actually doing all of the work at city hall.
Okay, the benefits are going to be a savings. It’s already been stated the staff at City Hall was overburdened the way it was. What now? Will Temps be hired when it gets too overwhelming? You can’t have overtime. Are you saying those secretarial positions weren’t needed in the first place? Are you saying current staff wasn’t efficient and now all of a sudden they will be? I’m just curious…where is this work going to go?
That's my opinion...let's hear yours.
Common Council meeting is tonight at 6:30 p.m.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Agenda for Tonight's meeting
Mayor's Recommended 2009 Budget
Related reading:
Bullseye - Is Alderman Steve Olson Grandstanding, Again? - Fred Keller
Franklin Today - Positions Not To Be Filled In 2009 Budget, - Greg Kowalski
|
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Sep 16 2008, 05:53 PM
This Forum on the FranklinNOW site annoyed me.
We elect our government officials. They take an oath to serve.
There are state statutes. Granted, something may seem small.
Remember I blogged about Clayton County, Georgia a couple weeks ago? The State removed four Board Members for violating ethics. The District has lost accreditation. Remember? Who loses out? The students. The City. The County. The School Board members took an oath.
Are State Statues meant to be broken?
You tell me.
None of us are perfect. But let’s be clear here. There are select positions in government to be filled by a select few. Some of these positions are coveted. Some of them, in the end hold many benefits.
No, a Franklin School Board member, Alderman or Mayor does not fit that description itself. But look where it may lead.
The chosen few. ..chosen by the people, for the people.
We may not always agree with the decisions they make as they represent us…we hope they are listening to us. If we believe they are not…we are to tell them so.
But, please; do not tell me that breaking state statutes is the norm.
Do not tell me that we must turn a blind eye because someone who follows the beat of a different drummer and is misunderstood is the one who is filing the charges, do not tell me because this is something small, that it should be brushed under the rug.
Better yet…do not tell me…tell city hall. Because you can fight it.
The only way you can do that is to speak out.
You want an Ethics Board back in Franklin? Let the Aldermen know this…over and over.
Not happy about an issue? Or just have an opinion? Call your Alderman.
If they don’t hear from you they think you are happy.
Disappointed in these current actions of the Mayor you elected? Let the Assistant D.A. know.
Talk to your neighbors about issues. Most importantly…pay attention to what city government is doing. They need to know they are being watched closely.
Now...the Statues that were alledgedly violated by Mayor Tom Taylor - explained:
First and Second violations: 11.36(2):
11.36(2)
(2) No person may solicit or receive from any officer or employee of a political subdivision of this state any contribution or service for any political purpose during established hours of employment or while the officer or employee is engaged in his or her official duties. and 11.60(1)
Third abd Fourth Violations: 11.25(1):11.25
11.25 Unlawful political disbursements and obligations.
11.25 (1)
(1) No person, committee or group may intentionally receive or accept anything of value, or any promise or pledge thereof, constituting a disbursement made or obligation incurred for political purposes contrary to law. and 11.60(1)
and added to each violation:
11.60 Civil penalties.
11.60(1)
(1) Any person, including any committee or group, who violates this chapter may be required to forfeit not more than $500 for each violation.
Original Forfeiture complaint
Wisconsin State Statutes
This will most likely be all I’ll have to say about this issue, unless something new comes up to give me cause to elaborate on it further.
|
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Sep 16 2008, 11:54 AM
I was planning on doing something else at my noon blog..I only have a short time. Oh well…
What’s a girl to do?
It appears some people may not be able to read .pdf files…
I thought that may be the case before…as with the School Board budget documents.
It’s as easy as downloading Adobe Reader and installing it (from the Adobe website).
If that isn’t the case, then I don’t get it.
I guess the Journal’s Cliff Note’s version of what transpired is the version you are to believe? Not the version in the actual legal papers. If you want to read the “41” steps that took place you can do that below. Mayor Taylor's adventure begins on line 16 of page THREE:
Page TWO
Page THREE
Page FOUR
Page FIVE
"Wow."
|
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Sep 16 2008, 07:18 AM
Sometimes someone may think they are helping a situation, but in essence, they may be making it worse.
First of all...I was invited to this issue, as a blogger, and handed the paperwork I posted, by Mr. Ryan. I did not have to call the Assistant D.A. and speculate on anything or "read tea leaves."
Trying to divert the crux of the situation, which is the “four charges of election violations” against Mayor Tom Taylor away and put the blame on to who brought the matter to the attention of the office of the District Attorney is a sly move. But it won’t work for the intelligent citizens of Franklin.
This is about We, the people. This is not about Basil Ryan, the former candidate for Mayor. And let us not forget that Basil Ryan is a citizen of Franklin.
Let us not forget that as a citizen of Franklin who was running for election, he has every right to make sure that the election he was participating in was run according to state law.
Let me say, that I have not shown non-support for Mayor Taylor since his reelection. Just as I will have a desire to support whomever is running my country if my candidate is not elected for president, I have a desire to support whomever runs my city. How else can things be accomplished?
I don’t know how being “trounced” in an election has anything to do with this issue. Am I to understand that the DA gave the impression that the “nature” of the source of a complaint regarding a violation is a deciding factor as to whether an elected official should be prosecuted for possible wrong doing? Have there been charges filed against Mr. Ryan for something?
I read over every alleged violation…every step that Mr. Cal Patterson made in the complaint. A comma put in the wrong place? Where is that coming from. This complaint is very precise…should I type it out? Dictate it into a podcast for all to hear?
If this is going to be classified as politics as usual in Franklin…. then we need our Ethics Board back now and we need to question why it was taken away and why the sitting officials who took it away won’t let us have it back.
Read the complaint carefully, Franklin citizens…again, here it is in full.
2008-09-15 Forfeiture Summons & Complaint.pdf
Perhaps we need to put it up page by page to analyze it. Here is the first page...the complaint.
Like I said, sometimes someone thinking they may be helping a situation may be making it worse…
Forfeiture complaint~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Breaking News** District Attorney Charges Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor
|
By Janet Evans
Monday, Sep 15 2008, 10:33 PM
Charges were filed today by Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf against Franklin Mayor Thomas Taylor for four violations regarding his campaign in the April 2008 election. The charges stem from the complaint Basil Ryan filed in March of 2008 accusing Tom Taylor of using city personnel to gather information for his mayoral campaign. According to a Milwaukee Journal article by Annysa Jones, in April, 2008, Mayor Taylor denied the allegations.
You can view the complaint below:
2008-09-15 Forfeiture Summons & Complaint.pdf
The State is demanding a $2,000 Judgment in the Case against Mayor Taylor.
Allegedly, Cal Patterson, the Director of Finance for the City of Franklin, was asked by Mayor Taylor to do some investigative work regarding Basil Ryan's term of service, compile information and forward that information to Mayor Taylor.
I'm sure there will be much discussion on these charges in the coming weeks.
I am going to start the discussion by saying this.
I try to be very fair on my blog regarding Franklin issues. Of course, yes, my opinions do shine through.
Back at election time, I clearly stated my support for Basil Ryan.
There are those of you out there who say, "He's a crook."
When I did my two hour interview of both candidates for Mayor before the election, I specifically asked each candidate "Are you a crook?" I looked them both in the eye, and asked them that. I did it specifically, because of that accusation being made of Ryan. Basil Ryan says he's not a crook. Mayor Taylor didn't tell me he was one either.
Scott Jensen was convicted for having staff do campaign work on state time. Remember the consensus when he was convicted...feelings were very mixed.
Back to Franklin...our city has a budget to approve, and now the DA files charges against our Mayor, which he denied back in April....
This is going to be an interesting month.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Election Violation Charges Against Franklin Mayor Taylor
|
More Posts
|
|
