Star Tribe.

I was interviewed by Larry Oaks of the Star Tribe a few days ago. He is doing a profile story on Duluth Mayor Don Ness. He said the story should be out next weekend. Well I don't want to give away to much of what I told Larry, I thought I was pretty good LOL. I did say I thought the Mayor was doing a pretty good job and if I had to give him a grade it would be a B. Well I had some negative comments I also praised the Mayor for a few things as well. Remember even if you support a politician you can't or should not always agree with them. That is all I am going to say about the story for now stay tuned for more on when it will be in Star.

Should the zooligicail society take over the zoo?

Councilors and Public if you want the zoo to have any chance of staying open you must let zoological society take over control of the zoo. The city has had control of the zoo for a number of years. Well the zoo has been getting by under management it could hopefully do much better under private ownership.

The may has already said that if the vote is against the society taking over control of the zoo then he will look at closing it. I would not consider this a bluff the Mayor has been very stead face on his disicion to balance the budget. This is to his credit. The Mayor is doing what needs to balance the budget.

The zoological society has an opportunity like none other. It will not be easy but it is better if a private organization is running the zoo. They can run it more like a business. This will open the door for looking a new ways to improve the zoo.

The society understands the project they are taking over and I believe they have a good starting plan.

Councilors public this is simple if you don't want the zoo then don't let the society take control of the zoo. If this happens it would be tragic.

The city will be forced to close the zoo if the society does not take over. It is that simple. They can ill-effort continue with the zoo.

The speech.

As you know the State of the City was last night. I had hoped for a little bit more from the Mayor. I agree in part with both councilor Stauber and council hopeful Scott Keenan. They were asked to comment to the the Duluth News Tribune.

Stauber said this:

“My reaction was, ‘Where’s the meat?’” said Councilor Jim Stauber. “I think the mayor could have made a speech on what direction the city was taking knowing full well he’s going to have a budget shortfall, knowing which services were going to be cut or trimmed. … He’s not a new mayor. He could have been much more specific.”

Keenan said the following:

What I liked about the speech was that there was hope,” said Scott Keenan, a candidate for the vacant City Council seat and president of Grandma’s marathon. “It was a positive, upbeat speech that provided hope of better things ahead.”

I believe the Mayor did lay out some positive direction to take the city. I agree with Mr. Keenan on that. You may not agree with what he said but it is the direction he wishes to carry the city. Now I like a number of thinks he said last night. I like the idea of possible selling the water and gas department. I however agree that we need to take a long hard look if it is the best thing to do. At least he is looking at it. This is positive.

I also like the idea he has had for some time for the zoological society to take over the zoo. This would help save money. He also said we need to look at all things the city provides and look at weather we should be doing it. I could not agree more.

I agree with council Stauber in part as well I had hoped the Mayor would have been much clearer as to how he was going to solve the budget crises facing the city. What are we looking at and what can be done about it. He should have let Duluth know what we could at least have a look out for in 2009. Here I thing he failed.

Now I think many us would look to what was done in 2008 and see that much of the same may be on tap for 2009. Yet many of the departments can not take any more cuts. This leaves many questions. One question is can we expect things to close? Will there be more combining of departments? Lay offs?

Your thoughts on the speech and the questions are more then welcome. Lets discuss.

Mayor's speech.

Here is the speech from the State of the City again I will have more tomorrow. I did notice and want to point out however that Mayor Ness could not stop him self from bringing up Obama.



Thank you, Councilor Reinert, and congratulations on your new leadership role. After five years of dedi-cated service as an elected city official, Councilor Reinert is about to become Representative Reinert, where as an elected state official he will continue to serve our community from St. Paul. Congratulations, Roger, and thank you for all you have and will do for

Duluth. I’d also like to recognize the service of two distinguished public servants for their lifetime of service to Duluth – Rep. Mike Jaros and Commissioner Bill Kron.
Councilors, I thank you each for your dedication to our city, and I look forward to working with you again in 2009. I also want to thank Amy Norris for once again providing her sign language talents to benefit our hearing-impaired viewers and for her work in coordinating this event. Thank you Amy.

2008 was a difficult year for our city, our state and our entire country. The national economy is in a re-cession, our stock market and credit markets are in turmoil, and our state faces a shortfall of more than five billion dollars.

However, there are opportunities to be found. Historically, we find during times of great uncertainty that the greatest change, the greatest growth, takes place. The future of our city depends upon our ability to seize the opportunity before us.

Today, we have the chance to choose a path that moves our community confidently from crisis to prosper-ity by successfully adapting to changing times, removing the outdated systems of a previous century, and adopting a shared commitment to reform and innovation for Duluth.
The budget crisis was our primary focus in 2008. It had to be. With a structurally imbalanced budget, we could no longer postpone the task of making serious cuts. In order to avoid annual multi-million dollar deficits, we had to move away from a strategy of simply surviving and hoping next year would be better. We needed to make fundamental changes to the structure of our budget to achieve a goal of long-term fiscal health.In addition to the structural problems, the City faced several major monetary losses – $6.8 million in state amortization aid, an unallotment of $1.7 million in Local Government Aid, and a loss of $2.3 million in a failed investment that we later learned was backed by sub-prime mortgages. These three factors alone accounted for $10.8 million of the now $20 million deficit that we were forced to overcome in ‘08 and ‘09.

All of these challenges forced the City of Duluth to make some difficult decisions that were unpopular with the citizens of Duluth – including myself. Believe me, I wish we didn’t have to make many of the decisions we made. But the circumstances made this decisive action necessary. I’ll stand by those un-popular decisions because they were made in the best interests of our city. And we’re beginning to see evidence that they’re working.

Our bond ratings were recently affirmed by both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, two firms that assess the financial viability of municipalities. Their renewed confidence in Duluth was largely based on our success in achieving over $18 million of budget recovery over the past 12 months. Progress hasn’t come easily – we’ve had to work for it and we should be proud of the accomplishment.

We’re moving forward, but the path before us is long. Our success depends upon our willingness to chal-lenge ourselves to do more, to do better – that’s a challenge I’ve given myself, to continually strive to do a better job as your mayor and to better serve our city.
Our success also depends upon our willingness to combat the forces that impede our progress. Unfortunately, I could spend every waking hour correcting misinformation, rumors, and inaccurate speculation on city issues. During a time of turmoil, we can’t afford these distractions.

In 2009, I call upon reform-minded citizens to have your voice heard. Our goal is not to discour-age disagreement or dialogue, but to raise the level of critical thinking, commitment to fact, and civil, ethical communication. Our community will be stronger when we give our attention to the constructive voices of reason who rise to advocate for solutions, reform and optimism about our ability to overcome our challenges.

I know most Duluthians love this City too much to see us fail either by inertia or by blunt force. Our spirit is not broken. In fact, 2008 has only strengthened our resolve to reform, and to earn a new prosperity for Duluth.

Many have already demonstrated their love and commitment by giving their time, energy, and initiative to an ever growing series of successes worth celebrating – not only for the results that we all enjoy, but more importantly for the power of residents to shape the future of our city.

The Heritage Sports Center is a shining tribute to our rich hockey history made possible by a committed group of volunteers who believe in Duluth. It’s a state-of-the-art facility that has given our Lincoln Park neighborhood renewed community pride as well as an economic boost.
The Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation, as part of their 25th anniversary, helped build a new $25,000 playground on Park Point.

“Duluth At Work” is a collaboration between the City and several community agencies to work with 80 low income individuals with one simple goal, to increase their income by 25% over a three year period by investing in their skills and abilities to make them more productive employees.

The volunteers with the Chester Bowl Improvement Club have taken responsibility for the ski hill, keep-ing this popular winter pastime accessible and affordable for Duluth families.
At next week’s Council meeting, we will have the opportunity to add to this list. The Lake Superior Zoological Society is poised to take over operations of our beloved zoo. We can ensure the continued health of the zoo and its animals, while also immediately putting $338,000 back into the city coffers to help balance the budget. I encourage the Council to approve this agreement next Monday.

2008 REFORM & INNOVATION

President-Elect Obama has often said, “You cannot address 21st Century challenges with a 20th Century bureaucracy,” and I couldn’t agree more. We must work to fix a flawed, overly-bureaucratic system, to use innovative methods to increase efficiency and accountability, and to give our best employees the support and the tools they need to provide great service to our residents.

In 2008, we began to plant the seeds of reform based on a commitment to the principles of service, innovation, and accountability that are beginning to transform city services. I’ll share with you just a few of the results of our efforts.

In the building safety office, our process improvement efforts have resulted in better customer service and a 31% reduction in permit cycle times.
Our commitment to an overlay and capping program resulted in 5.9 miles of improved roadways in 2009. This effort has allowed street crews to patch every other street and alley in Duluth at least once during the summer season - for the first time in more than 20 years.

We became one of the first in the nation to lease the unused capacity in our natural gas lines. This change could result in over a $1 million dollars in revenue that will be used to keep customer rates down.

We have undertaken the task of updating our existing zoning code and creating a new unified development code. It will include a streamlined development review and approval process to encourage investment and development in Duluth that is aligned with our city’s values.
At City Hall, we have consolidated departments to reduce overhead and made many other opera-tional reforms focused on improving service while reducing the cost of city government. I am proud of the efforts of our staff and thankful of their professionalism and dedication to service. It has been a very difficult year and they are deserving of our thanks.

2009 REFORM & INNOVATION

As we look ahead to 2009, we are facing the likelihood of losing millions of dollars in cuts to state aid. It is an unfortunate prospect, with daunting consequences. We will deal with those consequences as they become reality, but we can not allow those consequences to define our efforts in 2009.

We will not become captive to those factors outside of our control, but rather double our efforts to improve and find solutions within our own sphere of influence. 2009 will be a year of reform and innovation within Duluth’s city government. We set upon an ambitious agenda.
We will create Duluth’s first five year strategic plan for city finances and hire Duluth’s first Chief Financial Officer to lead the effort of achieving long-term financial stability. Each and every division of city government will create a comprehensive business plan that will help align services, manage resources, and measure progress more accurately.

We will reform the present cumbersome Civil Service personnel system to more quickly fill open positions, attract a broader range of potential applicants, and streamline a burdensome process that requires significant staff time to administer.
We will engage the community with a series of monthly neighborhood meetings. We’ll rotate through Council Districts twice a year to discuss neighborhood issues, noteworthy projects and initiatives happening in their district.

Later this month, we will engage our retired city employees in a vital discussion about the future of a health care benefit that is an increasing burden to our city. It’s my hope and expectation that a plan for a more sustainable benefit will emerge from that discussion.
We will implement a constituent work order system for residents to request service from their city government. Managers will have the ability to assign work, track response times, and costs.

Residents will be able to view the status of their request online.
We will be fully implementing a modernized Comfort Systems service and billing system during the first half of 2009 that will allow citizens to view and pay their bills online.
We will implement a GPS-based system to remotely manage city vehicles. The system, called field force management, will streamline job dispatching and reporting while reducing excess fuel use and vehicle wear from indirect routes, speeding, excess idling or unauthorized after-hours use. This system will greatly improve accountability.

We will conduct a comprehensive citizen survey as our key performance measurement on the service we provide to the public. The data collected will help us refine priorities and identify improvement strategies. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly recognize and thank our funding partners for our survey project, LISC and the SMDC Health System.
We will soon select an energy broker to consult on the potential sale of the Steam Plant and the Gas Utility. The sale of these assets could bring the city tens of millions of dollars, aiding us in our goal of long-term financial stability and providing the ability to move to a pay as you go capital program. While we are serious in our intent to explore these sales, it’s not a decision that will be made lightly.

Equally as important as the city’s specific actions, we must reform our expectations of what city government can and should provide and come to a realistic understanding of the cost of providing those services. We must also affirm and strengthen the expectation that city resources are well-managed, responsibly used, and accountable for the service provided.
This is an aggressive agenda that challenges the status quo. Some efforts will undoubtedly be controversial. I’m prepared for a vigorous and healthy debate. I am convinced that the successful implementation of these reforms will be an important part of our effort to become a more prosperous city.

As Duluthians, we must be deliberate in our intent to create prosperity in our city. We’ll create that prosperity when we take the best of our collective ideas and work together to make them happen. When we talk. When we listen. When we choose to be respectful of one another – especially when we disagree. When we care enough to take not only the first step – but to see our journey through.
Prosperity will not simply be “found” or given to us. We have to earn it.

Crowd.

There was a very low turn out at the State of the City speech tonight. I was bit surprised and that was shared by many people. While others were not.

I expected a smaller crowd then four years ago. When he delivered his first State of the City speech. This was the smallest crowd I have in the ten speeches I have been to. As I talked with people they thought it may have been a number of reason's. Some thought it may be an indication on how some feel the Mayor has done. When pressed about the issue they claimed that many union members may have stayed home. Many thought the weather yet it was not that cold nor was it snowing.

The crowd was also less respective it seemed to me. Well the Mayor no matter who it is will normally get 4-6 applause during the speech this one did not. He only received one during the speech. The Mayor also almost always receives a standing overseen when introduced he did not this time.

The whole evening was just a bit off it seemed and I am not sure why. I will have more on the speech tomorrow.

Just a reminder.

State of the City is on Monday. It will take place at the DECC. The Mayor's speech will start at 6:30 pm, as the council meeting will take place first at 6pm.

Don Ness

Mayor of Duluth Don Ness believes that this is the year that we change the course of histories in our country and the city. He said in a wish for 2009 to the Duluth News Tribune published yesterday in Northland Forum part of the paper.

One would think the Mayor believes the change will come because of who was elected President. Yet as Barack Obama makes his cabinet choices it is much of the same that President Clinton had. Were is the change from politics as normal? I am not as optimistic that we will see a huge change in our countries politics.

I think we could possible see change in the way our city is ran. As we have seen Mayor Ness do what is necessary in his short time as Mayor to date. I am hoping the Mayor Ness continues with the tough decisions that face our city. Understand that many people and special interest groups will be unhappy with them. I also hop that he sticks to the promise he has made to the city council and work to get to a pay as you go system and not bond for everything.

Bayfront Park to have no Christmas lights this year.

Bayfront Park will not take part in the Christmas spirit this year. Mayor Don Ness said because of budget woes. Well the Mayor was unwilling to say the cost of the lighting display he did say the main reason was man power and set up cost to the city.

Now I have to say I am a bit disappointed that there will not be a display there this year. It was a great place to take the kids and let them run around the lights. Grace loved to do that when we went out looking at lights.

I think it is also a bad idea to not find a way to fund the lights. I think our parks are a core service. This includes keeping them up for all to use and yes even to a point taking part in Christmas spirit.

Duluth News Now has a short story about it. Duluth News Now will also try to get a statment from the Mayor about it. www.duluthnewsnow.blogspot.com

The new alley.

So today the Duluth News Tribune ran a story about the alley of which Duluth Mayor Don Ness parents live. The story was and is of interest to me. It was in fact of such interest to me I was going to break it here but thought better or it.

I noticed the alley was repaved the day after it was done. I thought boy that was fast, at the time the Mayor Ness was not in office for very long. The fact that this was done almost right after he took office was a big odd to me.

I started to talk to people as I wanted to know there thoughts. As you would expect many were pleased but shocked at the same time. The an alley that has been in such poor shape for so many years would have all of a sudden been repaved. There was talk right away of a favor.

Is this fact of fiction the DNT story tries to lay that out, http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/76930/. Well it is hard for me to see that this was done because Don Ness is now our Mayor it is still possible. Then again anything is possible. What is the likely hood of this being a favor?

I am thinking little at this time but know that the DNT broke the story lets see what happens. The writer or the story was a bit uneasy to do it here is why, http://www.areavoices.com/buzz/. I agree at this point. Well residents may say different things in the end most come to the conclusion that I do. There was no favor. Should different facts come out we will wait and see.

Lights on or off?

The Mayor has been asking for citizens and business owners to pay to keep street lights on in the city. The the fee is not huge it is another fee or tax that is not necessary. The fee is set to be $3.50 a month for business and just under that for house holds.

The council passed the administrations proposal last night by a narrow margin, the vote was 5-4 in favor of the proposal. I think the council and the Mayor forgot that Duluth already made headlines on the Jay Leno show for tax issues could it happen again?

This is why we pay taxes to keep lights on and keep roads up and have emergency services. We should not be asked or expected to pay a fee on top of taxes. Yet this Mayor and council saw fit that to do this.

I would rather walk a round with a flash light then have to pay this fee.

Mayor Ness at last weeks Obama rally.

Here is part of what Mayor Don Ness said at the Obama rally last Wednesday. Remember this was on city time in the middle of the day.

"This election must be a referendum on the failure of republican politics. Whether it's the reckless deregulation of the financial industry that requires a bailout of billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars on the backs of working men and women, exploding budget and trade deficits that have weakened the American dollar, an energy policy written by oil lobbyists that has resulted in $4-a-gallon gas, or an unprovoked, pre-emptive war, they all undercut the integrity of the principles that make this country great. This election is about big ideas, it's about big direction that our country is headed, and it is time for a change. And it's the Obama-Biden ticket that represents that change. The only change that we've been hearing from the McCain ticket is him changing his positions on the very fundamentals that have created this financial mess that we're in today."

Now I wrote about this last week when it happened http://duluthpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/09/mayor-ness-represents-obama.html. I say the quote on Brandon Stahl's blog http://www.areavoices.com/buzz/. Brandon made an interesting assessment of the speech. He said it was a site of the Mayor we don't see much of. I would say head over to Brandon's blog and read it. Then form your own thoughts. Mine remain what I wrote last week.

Mayor Ness represents Obama.

Duluth Mayor Don Ness attend a Barack Obama rally today. Now I know I have said this before but I have also been consistent on it.

Well at the event he was introduced as Duluth Mayor now I don't thing that Don Ness should be representing the city as a whole at these type of events. As not everyone in the city will be voting for Obama. I also don't think that the Governor should have been campaigning for McCain as Governor. When these politicians are introduced it should be by name only.

Now I understand that the reason they are asked to be part of the campaigns is because of there positions. Still I believe that they should not represent the whole city or State as being introduced as Mayor or Governor ect....

What is the City Goverment doing on the front page.

I am shocked and disappointed that they Mayor broke his promise. He said he was going to get City Government off of the front page of the paper. Yet that is all that has been on the front page.

I am really not shocked nor disappointed it shows just how inept this guy it to run our city. I was more then willing to give Mr. Ness the benefit of the doubt but he has done nothing but the same. His ideas are not a new vision like he said they would be. They are nothing but the same disguised to try to fool people.

The cuts he is introducing are insane and I will have much more on that later it may take a few days as I am busy but once it is up your will want to read it.

Passing the buck.

Our Mayor Don Ness has changed his proposal for the the sewer system. This one is even more of a joke then his first plan. He is passing the buck now more then he was before. Some thing this Mayor has done sense he took office this year. Most defiantly something he did as a city councilor as well.

The new plan cuts the monthly surcharge in half from near $10.0 a month to $5.57 a month. However now the city is not going to help pay or pay for the sewer line repair at all and that will cost you a small amount of money. Just 7,500 on average, heck everyone has that much laying around right?

Once again this Mayor just passing the buck. The council does have to approve this. More to come soon.

Mayor Ness and some Councilors not getting along?

Well it seems as if Mayor Ness and some councilor's don't see eye to. What are they not seeing eye to on? It would be on how to get rid of the deficit. At least how to make strides to do so.

Yet the mayor has not even announced his plan. Why all the bickering now then. The Chamber held a forum on the issue. According to the Duluth News Tribune there was some harsh words from a couple of councilors and Mayor Ness.

Ness said he’ll present solutions for how the city will address the $5 million budget deficit he “inherited” will be presented to the council Monday night, saying they will be “painful for me personally and painful for people in the community.”

This quote leads me to believe that most of his solutions will be increases in taxes also other forms of increases. I thought the Mayor wanted to cut the size of Government, wait it was a smoke screen.

When it came time for Fedora to speak, he immediately rebuked the mayor.
Nobody inherited a budget. That budget was approved,” Fedora said. “We’ve been pissing away money in the city for years, and the chickens have come home to roost.”

Councilor Fedora is correct, the budget was not inherited by this mayor. Mayor Ness is passing the buck like he always has. Mayor Ness was on the council when the budgets came up for a vote. Yes he voted in favor of them, knowing full well that there was not money.

More to come on this later.

I know......

There is a ton going on in our city right now. I wish there were more hours in a day. I don't have time to blog much now.

I however have to say did anyone see the Mayor look like he was going to cry last night when the surcharge vote failed. Then he said I hope that you who voted no take responsibility for your vote and come up with a solution. To which councilor Fedora had a great response. I toke responsibility for my vote like those before me did. Tossing the ball right back at the Mayor as the Mayor was on the council for eight years.

On a better note for our Mayor. Last night was the third open meeting he held with the public. as I said before I think this is a great idea. I however hope it is not just special interest group sending people to these open meeting times. The meetings with the Mayor take place the last Tuesday of every month starting at 5pm. You get 5 to 10 minutes to chat with Mayor about any issue you wish to.

Street more importain then skywalk?

Duluth Mayor Don Ness said earlier this week that our streets were a bigger issue then a sky walk. He hopes that there will in the future be money for the sky walk. He said however if the sky walk was funded by the street improvement fund he could not support it.

Well I could not agree with him more. Our streets are a mess and need priority over any sky walk. In fact we need to stop using the street improvement fund for every things but streets. The city use to fix 6 miles of street a year. This year we are doing just over a mile. This is because of funding.

This story stinks.

This is a story from the Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=63888&section=homepage. It deals with how this administrations wants to start to fix the sewer system.

I will have more on this later in fact it maybe a few days. I am going to do some research on this. I command the Mayor for looking at oppositions but I think there are more then just this one. It is very costly to both a home owner in the city and to the city it's self.

I hope that the city comes to realize that people will move out of the city if they need to. This just adds more cost to living in Duluth and to business's as well. We need to take a good look at what our chooses are.

Mayor Ness: How has he done the first couple of month.

Mayor elect Don Ness very quickly became the Mayor of Duluth. The move was quick and quite for the most part.

Now that he has been in office for a couple of month, I thought we would take a look at what has gone on. Let me start by saying I believe it is way to early to pass major judgement on how he is doing.

I have to say he wanted to keep city topics off the front page and out of the news. He has done a good job so far. I think that is clear by this blog not having a lot of local issues to talk about the last couple of weeks. I like that there seems to be less complain in city government at least so far. This may not stay the case. If it does not however I am not sure that this mayor would be at fault. That all remains to be seen.

The mayor at this point has not done a lot, however that must be expected. What he has done is said he would like to help out our sewer system, by using sump pumps instead of our current system. I don't have a feeling on this as of yet either way.

He has also announced that Duluth will host a new festival. Other then that with a few small other items in there not much to report.

Over all at this point I think the Mayor is doing okay. Time will tell what direction Duluth will move. I remain optimistic at this point. However that does not mean that I won;t be critical when I think I need to be. I will also give praise when deserved as well.

Fighting?

So yesterday we learned that Laura Ness the wife of Mayor Don Ness is supporting a different presidential candidate then he is. Who is she supporting Hillary Clinton. Laura Ness said how can I not support her she is so smart. This is debatable.

Laura was at an event with 24 other people in support of Hillary Clinton yesterday. As you can see it was a huge turn out.