Mayor Asks Council to Tap ‘City Treasury’ For Funding TCIC and Private Sector?

City Council is considering Ordinance 153-2013 which has been proposed by Mayor Procop to provide funding for the Twinsburg Community Improvement Corporation (TCIC) from the ‘City Treasury’ and further proposes to relinquish responsibility of the Twinsburg Occupancy Program (TOP) over to the TCIC.  This ordinance in my opinion is ill advised and a poor investment for $300,000-$690,000 of our ‘City Treasury’!  Our taxes and other funding where originally provided to the City in good faith for our benefit as taxpayers; not the benefit of private sector businesses. 

We, the taxpayers of Twinsburg pay our way in this town; let the business people do the same.  Corporate welfare is neither needed nor desirable in Twinsburg!  Most taxpayers are happy to provide for our police and fire departments, our community services, public buildings, infrastructure, and administrative service; most taxpayers, if informed by our elected representatives, would not pay taxes so that the Mayor and City Council can fund a TCIC (non-profit organization) for a private sector giveaway program especially under the illusion of ‘Economic Development and Jobs’. 

If, as the Mayor is often saying; Twinsburg is a wonderful town to live in, work, raise a family, and give our kids an exceptional education; then why must the taxpayers provide economic incentives with the ‘City Treasury’ to welcome or retain businesses in our town?  Most community businesses exist to make a profit and thereby create local jobs!  Businesses move into Twinsburg because the citizens provide for the public health, safety, and welfare of our community.  Twinsburg also provides exceptional educational opportunities for businesses and their employees.  Professional business people looking to secure a profitable and successful business in Twinsburg already know our community provides the best opportunity for success in the area!  If the Mayor and City Council are really proud of this community, as they are always boasting, then prove it; by letting businesses looking for corporate welfare from the ‘City Treasury’, look elsewhere!

It is illegal to provide funding for the Twinsburg Occupancy Program with tax dollars;  how do the Law Director and Mayor believe or propose to circumvent this by delivering to the TCIC responsibilities over TOP program as stated in this ordinance?  That responsibility which includes authority to approve should be reserved for only City Council?  The Mayor stated that the TCIC would only have administrative charge over the TOP program application process at a recent Council meeting.  Perhaps the Mayor should read the entire ordinance, particularly Section III?  Section III clearly states and I quote “As the TCIC has been assigned the responsibilities of TOP and CRA programs, including processing applications and performing annual monitoring of active agreements, the TCIC shall collect such fees so long as the TCIC has been authorized by the City of Twinsburg to perform this service”.  Responsibilities including processing applications, is not just the administrative application process Mayor, responsibilities includes authority in the dictionary definition of responsibility, doesn’t it?

 If the TCIC is being utilized for economic development and jobs creation; let it stand on its own merits and not rely on the ‘City Treasury’ for funding to entice businesses to move into or remain in our town!  The TCIC should first develop a plan, submit it to the Mayor, City Council, and citizens for review, hearing, and approval; then secure the funding by issuing debt secured by that economic development, not the ‘City Treasury’!   Why would the Mayor or City Council divert funding from police, fire, EMS, or other essential services from the residents just to benefit private sector businesses?  This attempt to fund a non-profit TCIC without first providing a plan is just plain crazy!  Once again the concept of strategic planning and procedural compliance are ignored by the Mayor and the Economic Development Director; and now they want to place our City in the position of financing an unknown plan for economic development and jobs by using our ‘City treasury’ to bankroll this illusionary development with a simple trust me, are you serious?  Most of us would prefer the trust but verify method, so let’s see the plan first; then discuss how to finance it; doesn’t that make more common sense?

The use of this TCIC has been touted by the Director of Economic Development as a wonderful tool.  It is obvious the TCIC is being deployed to avoid public meetings, avoid public accountability, avoid bidding, avoid transparency, and just avoid being open to any public or taxpayer review and/or access to any records.   My objections to this ‘City Treasury’ giveaway program are based upon the fact that there is no plan, no economic impact analysis, and a complete lack of full disclosure!  Oh I forgot, there is a conceptual plan with the ‘Old School’ becoming a parking lot!  That is an irresponsible and irrational use of the ‘City Treasury’ to benefit only the private sector!  If you take a look at the 2014 Temporary Budget under consideration by City Council there is $690,000 dollars budgeted for ‘Economic Development Reimbursement’ which is $390K more than the ordinance proposes!  Where is the honesty in this whole process of funding the TCIC?  Join me and other taxpayers in contacting Mayor Procop and demanding a complete and full disclosure of the plan(s) and why we should consider funding the private sector?

If you are interested in seeing the temporary City budget for 2014, just go to the Public Records section of the Active Citizens of Twinsburg website at http://www.activecitizensoftwinsburg.com .  Look under the General Government section, which is where the City has almost $12 million budgeted for various and sundry items of public interest.

If you have any questions for your Citizen Auditor, please visit our website at http://www.citizenauditorohio.com or send us an email to citizenauditorohio@yahoo.com.   We can help you find information and public records for most any question you might have.

Loren Sengstock, Citizen Auditor

Citizen Auditors of Ohio