08/16/2005 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 8/16/2005 REPORTS Mayor O'Grady: 1) He expressed his most sincere thanks and gratitude for Mr. Dean McKay. As a Councilman, he truly was the "dean of Council" and remains the dean of Council. He thanked Mr. McKay for his contributions to our community and thanked his family. He has no doubts Mr. McKay's contributions to our community will continue in another capacity. 2) School is starting soon, so everyone should drive carefully. 3) There is good news that TABOR, the taxpayers bill of rights, a state constitutional amendment proposed by secretary Ken Blackwell, has been put on hold until next year. The bad news is that it is expected to be back out next year coinciding with the governor's race, of which Mr. Blackwell is a candidate. It can be expected that his campaign for the governor's seat will in some way connect to his campaign for TABOR. TABOR is an amendment that would establish a permanent, strict fiscal policy that will no doubt result in drastic cuts to all health, education, public safety and social services on both the state and local level. Colorado is the only state in the union to have passed the TABOR amendment, and now ten years later the governor is going back to request afive-year suspension. The use of TABOR in Colorado has resulted in that state being near or at the bottom of state rankings in the areas of personal income growth and state support for K-12 education. The public university system is on the verge of collapse, and pension and retirement systems are being raided to pay for basic services. Their infrastructure in Colorado is crumbling, and TABOR-related lawsuits are costing their taxpayers millions of dollars. This is bad legislation, and it is a bad idea. He will continue to aggressively work with others in the mayors and managers' association to educate our voters with regard to TABOR. 3) As a part of Homecoming, the city will be collecting new clothing (T-shirts and walking shorts) for our service members' needs in the Middle East. His, son who is serving at a base in the Middle East, has told him that soldiers who are transported out of combat zones come out with only the damaged uniforms they were wearing. The USO is currently conducting a drive for service members who are injured and sent to Landstuhl Army Hospital in Germany and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D. C. Additionally during Homecoming, we will be collecting care packages of packa,~ snack items, such as microwave popcorn. (Homemade snacks cannot be accepted.) Working with the USO and our friends in the local VFW Post 7647, we are going to he taking collections of these items and then working to ship them over to where they are needed. Any items collected in excess of what is needed by our service members overseas, in Washington hospitals and in hospitals in Germany, can still and will be used locally for our needy. 4) Departmental reports: Human Resources/Community Life Services Department. The department has received a check from the North Olmsted Knights of Columbus, Council 4731, in the amount of $3,520. This money was raised through the "Measure Up" campaign. The money is earmarked to assist those in the community who have family members who are mentally retarded or developmentally disabled. As an example, this past month the department under the leadership of Director Dailey assisted in the purchase of a lift to help a family with a disabled child get in and out of the bathtub. The lift costs in the thousands of dollars and was beyond the resources of that family. This is a great example of our community working with our city government to help those in need. 2