HEAT WAVE

ALTHOUGH PLAINFIELD IS NOW IN THE MIDST OF A SUMMER HEAT WAVE,! TONIGHT'S COUNCIL MEETING WILL NOT BE A MONARCH HEAT WAVE.
Council President Burney has posted that he has not been approached by administration to place the Ordinance back on the agenda. He states that there are too many unanswered questions for him to permit its resurfacing at this time.

Since there would be 3 known votes plus the Council President's position, I doubt if any other Council member would request. as is his/her right, the Monarch matter to be placed on the agenda.

Even if the tax abatement issue will not be considered tonight, Citizens interested in their city should come to the air conditioned Court Room tonight to see their government in action. This Council is not a rubber stamp.

As of Sunday August 16. 10AM , there has been no posting on the city site of Monday's Council Agenda nor of any material requested by Council members at the Agenda fixing session. There is no law requiring the Agenda to be posted on the Internet site but it would be helpful to the public.

As to the City Administrator's response to request made at an open public session which he is unable to answer at the moment; his ultimate response too should be made public information. No one should have to go through any convoluted request mechanisms.

The City tax bill arrived Saturday. The Mayor's letter has an interesting statement;"because the municipal budget can not be adopted until after the commencement of the fiscal year". Quite true, but the budget is supposedly due by July 1 for adoption, not 8 months later as it was this past fiscal year. We are now two months into the 2010 FY and there has been no evidence that the budget process has even started.

The letter also stated that the city had applied for $20 mil in stimulus money. Does that included the $15 mil (that deleted typo error) for the developer of the downtown projects? If memory serves me right there was a resolution to authorize such a request before the Council but was withdrawn before there could be a vote. Was the application made without Council sanction?

Health Care Reform: The Times Sunday OPED page carried a letter from the President regarding the so called death provisions and also he gave reasons why the bill should be passed. To claim that passage of the bill is needed to create savings in Medicare and Medicaid is poppycock. The savings in these programs from better management can and should be done without any new bills. If additional savings are going to be the result of applying the very same methods the commercial carriers use in denying services, that is a no-no.

It is unfortunate that the White House and Congressional leadership are not being completely candid. On the other hand the opposition and compassionate media distort facts. I would not be surprised if somewheres in the 1000+ pages of the House version there are some nasty clauses along with some body's pork belly project. It does not have to be the fine print in a Congressional bill that one has to be aware. Most trouble comes from the non-relevant material that may be inserted

Today's Times lead story is that the "Public Option" insurance plan may be dropped. Has Obama capitulated to the Insurance Companies? That would be the only thing worse than mandatory government insurance.