2006/07/31
Picnic with the mayor
Mayor Matt Driscoll continued his series of neighborhood picnics, featuring people asking questions and the mayor dodging them inartfully.
What he said to start the meeting: Sit back, grab a hot dog or a donut, relax. We'll get started shortly.
What I heard: All workers line up and get your soma tablets. Praise Ford.
It comes down to money: The city is $48 million in the hole. Read: Don't ask us for anything, there's nothing we can do.
This is why the mayor's been advocating what he called Destiny, but what even the developers are calling the mall expansion. But here's a major part of the problem: Only 50% of the city, says the mayor, is on the property tax roll. Anyone know of list of what's been exempted?
One resident asked if the city was courting major employers, but Driscoll came back with something that I feel (and I know I'm not alone in that) should have made everyone happy: The biggest growth in the city has been small businesses – and guess what? – mostly women and minority-owned. Wake up, folks, this is fantastic!
The mayor also touted an "urban renewal plan," with an aim to "instill bold change." This urban renewal plan comes with no details – at least not details he's willing to share with his constituency.
I'm willing to give the mayor an 'A' for effort, but I have to say, I was left wanting, and no number of questions I could have asked would have left me satisfied in the end..
What he said to start the meeting: Sit back, grab a hot dog or a donut, relax. We'll get started shortly.
What I heard: All workers line up and get your soma tablets. Praise Ford.
It comes down to money: The city is $48 million in the hole. Read: Don't ask us for anything, there's nothing we can do.
This is why the mayor's been advocating what he called Destiny, but what even the developers are calling the mall expansion. But here's a major part of the problem: Only 50% of the city, says the mayor, is on the property tax roll. Anyone know of list of what's been exempted?
One resident asked if the city was courting major employers, but Driscoll came back with something that I feel (and I know I'm not alone in that) should have made everyone happy: The biggest growth in the city has been small businesses – and guess what? – mostly women and minority-owned. Wake up, folks, this is fantastic!
The mayor also touted an "urban renewal plan," with an aim to "instill bold change." This urban renewal plan comes with no details – at least not details he's willing to share with his constituency.
I'm willing to give the mayor an 'A' for effort, but I have to say, I was left wanting, and no number of questions I could have asked would have left me satisfied in the end..
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Thanks for the info on the meeting. I'm glad to hear the Mayor talk about hte iumportance of small business. Now he needs to talk to small businesses and TELL them that they are important. The corner groceries, the little shops, and the home-based busineses are all providing jobs -- and income -- that we're not getting from big businesses. And guess what? Small businesses -- I bet -- are more likely to care about their employees, be more flexible (to their employees and customers) and care about the health of the community.
BTW if the Mayor wants to meet with small businesses for a rah-rah, I would encourage him to not just do it once, but to do it over and over and over again so that he is believed and so that he bounds with the small and micro businesses in the community.
And perhaps every time the Mayor mentions DestiNY, he should also mention a small business...after all DestiNY is not currently creating jobs, but hundreds of small businesses are.
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BTW if the Mayor wants to meet with small businesses for a rah-rah, I would encourage him to not just do it once, but to do it over and over and over again so that he is believed and so that he bounds with the small and micro businesses in the community.
And perhaps every time the Mayor mentions DestiNY, he should also mention a small business...after all DestiNY is not currently creating jobs, but hundreds of small businesses are.
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