Now, stripping things bare to the bone; each of those things is an independent way to spend and tax, not centralized, not accountable in any general sense.
For example: The Ramsey HRA. Housing and Redevelopment Authority is what the HRA stands for.
The problem, no housing has been redeveloped since the things existed. It's been used as an owhership shell for the Clown Center land, and it is trying its damnest, and failing big time, to develop it. Directly stated - it is not redeveloping one blessed thing.
It sends folks to Vegas, and pays Darren Landform a lot of cash. Beyond that who needs it? Indeed, given that, who needs it?
And, it is the identical seven people that sit on the council that sit on the HRA.
In short, it is a sham on taxpayers.
EDA? When is the last time you have seen an EDA session broadcast by City of Ramsey?
What cause is there for it, aside from it being a shell that was used to bond and buy the Norman Castle, to issue the bonds in its name, bonds being secured by the city's promise to rent the thing long term.
Does that sound very logically shaky to you? Perhaps that may be because it is logically shaky, and needs to be reined in.
Here is the deal. Keep each because of how the debt's been floated. Keep each as a moribund current action operation. Only for debt service, and no independent action budget but for debt service - the damage already done.
Then, centralize responsibility and accountability and authority in only one body, the council. Zippo besides that and staff. No trice _ _ A stuff any more. End it. Others do it is not a reason to emulate, it is a reason to spearhead a better way.
Reader thoughts are welcome. But mouthing platitudes about our budget has not been this-or-that, when there are three budgets manipulated and there is debt service demands out the wazoo, it is currently a mockery that should be straightened.
Nobody elects EDA people. They never have had to face an electorate. Why not?
With the HRA personnel identical to the council personnel, isn't the entire thing Kafkaesque? Or leave Kafka out, it is stupid. That's reason enough to reevaluate.
Any reader wanting to submit reasoned commentary on why we need a Ramsey HRA, or a Ramsey EDA, except to amortize bonding debt each has indulged in, will have it published; either as an addendum to this post, or as a separate guest post.
But reform has to start somewhere, so why not Ramsey? One budget, one accountable body having to face an electorate. This is Ramsey, not the Balkan peninsula.
THEN: Televise every single council meeting. Nothing done off camera. Nothing outside of broadcast activity, and no more loosy-goosy "consensus" stuff. Vote, on record, or don't act at all. Anything short of that is loophole ridden, with little real purpose but to deceive.
 |
| UPDATE: A shell game with a single shell makes tracking the pea easy. |