Smoking ban passes

Members of the Campbell County Fiscal Court voted 3-1 at the Wednesday evening, December 15, 2010 meeting to create a comprehensive indoor smoking ban.

Voting for the smoking ban were Commissioners Dave Otto and Mark Hayden who were attending their final fiscal court meeting and Judge-Executive Steve Pendry. Commissioner Ken Rechtin voted against the ban.

There was an amendment to the bill that would have exempted bars under certain circumstances but it was not adopted.

Anti-smokers cheered as the bill was passed but with two new commission members Brian Painter and Pete Garrett taking office January 1, the ban may be reversed before it takes affect on April 15.

Painter and Garrett were elected to the commission to replace Mark Hayden who did not run for re-election, and Dave Otto who was defeated in his bid for re-election. Painter and Garrett have both indicated that they are not in favor of a smoking ban.

We don’t think the dust has settled on this issue yet.

You may leave comments by clicking on “comments” below this line.

Changed council making plans

The following article appeared on NKY.com and is reprinted here for your convenience.

Something worth considering?

Cold Spring hired a full-time city administrator in November 2008.

Upon review the city decided that this position as full time was not necessary.

The current city administrator decided he did not want to be a part time employee and so has decided to move on.

Cold Spring is looking to fill the position on a part-time basis saving the city money while providing the current level of service.

The full-time position paid $60,000 a year (we imagine that would be plus benefits). The part-time position will pay between $25 and $35 per hour for 25 hours per week.

Mayor Mark Stoeber said the salary will be closer to the $25 per hour wage.

Should it be time for the City of Alexandria to follow suit and analyze if it is possible to reduce expenses while still delivering the current quality of services?

Click here to read the complete article on NKY.COM.

You may post a comment by clicking on “comments” below this line.

Opposition to smoking ban grows

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.   --  C.S. Lewis

The following article appears at NKY.COM and is reprinted here for your convenience.

Audit review shows Alexandria deficit reduced

An initial draft of an independent auditor's review of the City of Alexandria's finances reveal an 18 percent reduction in overall debt (a reduction of $211,657), and a surplus or reserve fund of about $1.04 million.

Click here to read more

Campbell County sued over smoking ban

Old régime coming to an end

Thursday, December 2, 2010 is traditionally the last city council meeting for the year which means this will be the last council meeting that Mayor McGinley will preside over.

We are looking to 2011 with optimism and hoping that pugilistic politics will finally come to an end.

Code Enforcement “look” defies reasonable explanation

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck. ~ Unknown quote

Some things just strike us as odd.

One of these is the way that Alexandria approaches outfitting its code enforcement officer.

Complaint filed over Tea Party ad

An article appeared on NKY.com reporting that a complaint has been filed with state election finance officials regarding a pre-election advertisement placed in local newspapers by the Northern Kentucky Tea Party.

Click here to read the article

Click here to read the complaint

Questions were raised here on October 29 concerning this ad.

Click here to read the post and a copy of the ad

New store coming to Village Green

A Tuesday Morning store is due to open soon in the old TJ Maxx location at Alexandria Village Green shopping center.

The exact date is not known but we have been told “real soon” (perhaps in a few weeks).

Here is how they describe themselves.

Tuesday Morning is a retailer specializing in upscale closeout merchandise, with more than 800 stores across the United States. Our successful concept was founded on a unique philosophy: sell first-quality, famous designer and name-brand merchandise at extraordinarily discounted prices on an event basis. Our 10 major events usually kick off on the first Tuesday of the month. We receive new merchandise shipments daily, and customers can return often to find the shelves replenished with new items.

When shopping at Tuesday Morning customers can expect:

· Identical or similar inventory to that found in better catalogs, upscale department stores, or specialty boutiques

· A merchandise mix divided into major categories, including upscale decorative accessories, rugs, lamps, books, crystal and glassware, china, luggage, luxury bed and bath linens, toys, gourmet foods and cookware, flatware, and seasonal items such as greenery, trim, Christmas wrap and decorations, or lawn and garden furniture and accessories

· Well-known and nationally advertised manufacturers and name brands from Europe and across the world

· Casual, self-serve in-store atmosphere with a no-frills presentation

We value our customers and are committed to providing ever-changing collections of deeply discounted closeout merchandise.

The website for Tuesday Morning’s is located here Tuesday Morning .

We will post more information as it becomes available.

The times they are a-changin . . .

The title is the name of an old Bob Dylan tune and no where is that more apparent than the election of a new mayor to lead Alexandria for the next four years.

Bill Rachford, the city’s new mayor is the polar opposite of Dan McGinley.

New Mayor and 2 new Council Members

On Tuesday, November 2, 2010 a new mayor, Bill Rachford, was elected to lead Alexandria for the next 4 years.

Two new council members were also elected, Joe Anderson and Bob Simon. Council members serve two year terms.

Council member Lloyd Rogers was not re-elected and there was vacancy to be filled as the new Mayor will have vacated his seat at the end of the year.

The Mayor/Council Line up is:

Mayor –

Bill Rachford

Council Members –

Scott Fleckinger

Dave Hart

Stacey Graus

Barb Weber

Joe Anderson

Bob Simon

The new line-up will begin serving on January 1, 2011.

Does NKY Tea Party ad skirt campaign laws?

Following the article When is an endorsement an endorsement? posted on this blog the following article appeared in The Enquirer.

Does NKY Tea Party ad skirt campaign laws?

The Kentucky Enquirer - An ad by the Northern Kentucky Tea Party has caused some people, including the Boone County attorney, to question whether the group has violated Kentucky's campaign finance laws.

Click here to read the article

Unique campaign sign

This is one of the most unique campaign signs that has been observed running around in Alexandria.

When is an endorsement an endorsement?

Judging by this ad (shown below) that appeared in The Alexandria Recorder October 28, 2010 it appears that The Northern Kentucky Tea Party is endorsing the list of candidates that it has prominently named in the ad.

But wait.

Reading the fine print at the bottom of the ad it states, “The Northern Kentucky Tea Party does not endorse or financially support candidates for public office”.

It goes on to say, “The above candidates have indicated support and promote the Tea Party principles if elected”.

The ad lists a candidate for mayor and one candidate for city council.

The fine print goes on to say, “There may be other candidates who support the principles of the Northern Kentucky Tea Party but have not made their support known.”

What a crock. We contacted some candidates that are not listed in the ad and they have told us that they were never contacted by the Tea Party in regards to their views but that they also haven’t regularly attended Tea Party meetings.

We can only conclude that in order to make the list the only criteria used was whether or not an individual went to a lot of Tea Party meetings and paid lip service. There was no effort to reach out to the other candidates and solicit their views.

The ad also states that the Northern Kentucky Tea Party “promotes the principles of fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets”.

The ad urges you to vote yes on the adoption of the Justice of the Peace form of government for Campbell County which is in essence bigger government as it goes from 3 commissioners to 8 justices.

An ad that appears to be political endorsements but says in fine print that it is not and says the organization is for limited government but endorses expanded government seems like a group that hasn’t quite gotten its act together.

We said it earlier but feel compelled to say it again, what a crock.

You be the judge.

We can’t rely on Lloyd Rogers

Round two of the Anti-Lloyd Rogers ads. This one appeared in The Alexandria Recorder on October 28, 2010.

Open Letter to Alexandria Citizens from Bill Rachford

There were some interesting ads in The Alexandria Recorder October 28, 2010 edition.

Here is one of them.

Lloyd Rogers – The History He Wants You To Forget

Here is a paid advertisement that ran in The Alexandria Recorder October 21, 2010 Page B7.

Ghost writer?

In the Viewpoints section, page A9 of the October 14, 2010 edition of the Alexandria Recorder there appeared an article titled “Keep Dan McGinley – he’s a ‘proven leader’” by guest columnist Robert Feinauer including Mr. Feinauer’s picture.

The article reads like Mayor McGinley’s claimed accomplishments, campaign statements and talking points.

For someone who seems so well informed no one seems to ever remember seeing Mr. Feinauer in attendance at any council meetings.

Could Mr. Feinauer have a ghost writer?

Comments can be posted or read by clicking on comments below this line.

LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATION OPPOSES CHANGE IN CAMPBELL COUNTY GOVERNMENT

We asked ourselves after reading the press release (reprinted below) “Just who is CLAG”?

We don’t recall them publicly taking stands on issues or endorsing candidates before. We’ve never heard of them.

Are they some secret society of “ultra-elites”?

Well a little research shows that you can find a list of their members and you too can be a member for a payment of $50 in yearly dues.

By the way, after some careful thought we agree that a change from the commission system would not be in the best interests of the citizens of Campbell County and so we urge a vote against this goofy proposal.

How do you feel about your candidates?

The slate of candidates for Mayor and City Council are listed below the last post. As we are getting closer to the election on November 2 how do you feel about the folks on the list?

Comments can be posted or read by clicking on comments below this line.

Community Center finances

Concern is swirling, albeit quietly for now, surrounding the apparent lack of information available concerning usage and financial reporting for the Alexandria Community Center complex. The complex includes a separate building which is also utilized for rental use.

Apparently the city is unable or unwilling to supply a list of users, dates of use and fees collected for each use.

The Community Center plan is supposed to be that it would be self-sustaining and the tax-payers would not be subsidizing its private use. The city employs two dedicated employees for the Community Center.

Some questions are:

• Does every user pay a fee and if so is the fee paid uniform for all users?

• Does the city permit the center to be used for profit making endeavors thereby subsidizing a business with tax-payer funds?

• Who collects the fees and how is the money distributed?

• Are there procedures in place for accounting and double checking the results?

• Is the operation audited at least annually?

These are legitimate questions and the city should be able and willing to supply this information. After all, the Community Center complex is tax-payer owned and funded.

Comments can be posted or read by clicking on comments below this line.

Alexandria Mayor/Council Ballot

Here is the ballot for the November 2, 2010 election.

Mayor to seek fourth term

According to NKY.COM Alexandria Mayor Dan McGinley announced Friday (July 23, 2010) that he will seek a fourth term in November.

"The reasons to live and work in Alexandria have continued to grow since I first became mayor," he said in a statement. "Our city is stronger financially. Our neighborhoods are patrolled by the best-trained police officers in Northern Kentucky. The city continues to develop - and we have accomplished all of it without any tax increases generated by city council."

McGinley, who has been the mayor for 12 years, is endorsed by Judge-executive Steve Pendery and former Alexandria mayors George "Sonny" Carmack, Ray Hildebrand, Roger Steffen and Victor Steffen.

McGinley will face Alexandria City Councilman William "Bill" T. Rachford Jr. in November. The deadline for candidates to file the paperwork to run for nonpartisan city offices is Tuesday, Aug. 10.

Update as of 07/27/2010

Political notes from around N.Ky.

McGinley seeks re-election as Alexandria's mayor

Make sure to read the reader’s comments following the articles at the links.

Reader Comments are also encouraged here. Just click on “comments” below this line to read or leave a comment.

Lame-Duck County Judge-Executive Pushing Smoking Ban in NKY

From the Kentucky Club for Growth blog.

NKY Politicians keep trying to send smokers across the river to Ohio by pushing a smoking ban.

Typically, the chief advocate is the CJE of Kenton County, who is attempting to drive it through before he retires.

But there's a sense that it's now or never: Kenton Judge-executive Ralph Drees, a driving force behind the ban, will retire at the end of the year.

Few other local officials have the political clout to bring all three counties to the table on such a controversial issue, as anything dealing with regionalism inevitably is in Northern Kentucky.

The feelings of Kenton County residents are probably well represented by the CJE's likely successor.

(Plus, Drees' likely successor, Steve Arlinghaus, opposes the ban.)

In Boone County, the CJE seems to have understood the results of the recent election that he barely escaped. From the NKY Tea Party:

At the Boone County Tea Party meeting last night, Judge Exec. Gary Moore said that the ban has no traction among the current or incoming fiscal court, especially in a bad economy because it could hurt small businesses.

Still, it's an agenda item in all three counties. If you'd like to make your voice heard on this issue, here are the next meeting dates:

Boone - Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 5:30pm at the Administration Bldg. in Burlington.

Campbell - TODAY Wednesday, July 21, 2010 @ 5:30 at 1098 Monmouth Street in Newport

Kenton - Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 7:00PM at the Independence courthouse

Not mentioned in the original blog post is that the make-up of Campbell County’s Fiscal Court could very well change in November and if so it is unlikely that the votes for a smoking ban would still be there in Campbell County.

To see how popular opinion is shaking out on this issue –

Poll: Ready for NKY smoking ban?

Campbell County companies dispute taxes

Campbell County is experiencing a spike in the number of companies requesting property tax assessment values be lowered and local government tax revenues including fire districts and schools will feel the pinch.

One of those companies owns Village Green Shopping Center in Alexandria.

According to an article published in The Kentucky Enquirer (click on the link to view) the owners have requested a decrease in their evaluation for tax purposes of 2.6 million dollars.

The city has already passed their new budget and is now holding off on setting the tax rates for their citizen property owners until all of the ramifications are clear although they are approving street projects as though all is well.

Hold on to your wallets.

By the way, since Alexandria property owners also pay county taxes, hasn’t Sara Lee been on the receiving end of a sweetheart deal for quit some time?

Fiscal Court and job Hanky Panky

 

Pondering the imponderables

We’ve wondered why an 11 year position at the cost of $80,000 (including benefits) per year (Pat Dressman) was replaced by a newly created part time position of 100 hours per month at $15.72 per hour (Katie Tallon) back in April; and now Ms. Dressman has been re-hired for another newly created position of 100 hours maximum at $34.93 per hour after her failed political pursuit (which is why she retired(?) so as to not violate the Hatch Act in the first place).

This type of thing just smells bad.

Congratulations to Commissioner Ken Rechtin for taking the right position on this issue.

Job creation and hiring hanky panky however is not limited to the Fiscal Court.

Opening soon

Wyler in Alexandria reviving showroom for used sales

Plans are under way to reopen the Alexandria Buick Pontiac GMC dealership closed since October 2008 as a used vehicle showroom and lot.

Click here to read the article

Kevin Sell endorses Bill Rachford for Mayor

Alexandria Republican Kevin Sell, who unsuccessfully challenged Judge-executive Steve Pendery in last month’s GOP primary has issued endorsements in several races on the November ballot.

He has endorsed Bill Rachford for Mayor of Alexandria.

Steve Pendry will more than likely endorse current Mayor Dan McGinley since Mayor McGinley was quoted as being in support of Pendry for Judge-Executive in Pendry’s campaign literature.

Click here to read his other endorsements

Class Act

You can’t help but notice the American flags on about every other utility pole on the western side of Alexandria Pike (US 27) in Cold Spring extending from Crossroads Boulevard north to Martha Layne Collins Boulevard.

Stick to city business

Once again Council member Rogers insisted on using a council meeting as a political forum. He insisted on giving Alexandria’s individual precincts tally of votes for the primary election, attempted some analysis and asked for the results to be posted on the city’s web site.

Not that this isn’t interesting but this is fodder for the news media.

Mr. Rogers just doesn’t get it concerning council meetings.

They are for attending to the city’s business and not intended to be used as someone’s personal political commentary session.

City Boards and Commissions

Ever wonder who serves on the city’s Ethics Board or Planning and Zoning Commission in case you would like to contact them?

They’re not listed anywhere on the city’s web site.

Cold Spring sues League of Cities

Good job Cold Spring. This whole debacle does not seem to bother the leadership in some other cities.

COLD SPRING - The city of Cold Spring has filed a class action lawsuit against the Kentucky League of Cities, alleging the group breached its fiduciary duty to member cities and asking its board of directors to reclaim hundreds of thousands in misspent funds.

Click here to read more

Minutes of city meetings posted on the city’s web site

On April 2, 2010 a comment to one of the posts on this site questioned why the minutes for city meetings held in March were not posted to the City of Alexandria web site.

Some dialog ensued that jumped to conclusions concerning the reasons.

Karen Barto, the City of Alexandria Clerk, responded to set the record straight saying “that minutes are not public record until they are presented at a meeting thus, the minutes cannot be posted until they are made a matter of public record. For instance, March 4th Council minutes were not presented or made public record until the April 1st meeting since the March 18th meeting was cancelled. Then they are to be signed, scanned and put on the website.”

Thanks to Ms. Barto for clearing up any confusion anyone may have had concerning this topic.

The Open Records and Open Meetings Acts

The Open Records Act

In 1976, the General Assembly enacted the Open Records Act which establishes a right of access to public records. The General Assembly recognized that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest. All public records, whether they are stored in a computer or on paper, must be open for inspection unless the records are exempted by one or more of fourteen exemptions found in the Act. You may inspect any nonexempt public record regardless of your identity, and you may seek enforcement of the Act if you are denied this right.

The Open Meetings Act

In 1974, the General Assembly enacted the Open Meetings Act which establishes a right of access to public meetings. The General Assembly recognized that the formation of public policy is public business, and should not be conducted in secret. The Act requires that all meetings of a quorum of the members of a public agency where public business is discussed or action is taken must be public meetings. Public meetings must be open to the public at all times, unless the subject of the meeting falls within one or more of the thirteen exceptions found in the statute. You may attend any public meeting, and you cannot be required to identify yourself in order to attend.

For in-depth information concerning these two acts click on Links here, or at the top of the page, and go to The Open Records and Open Meetings Acts.

Alexandria’s Mayor/Council form of government

Ever wonder just what the mayor’s or council’s job is.

The City of Alexandria operates under the Mayor-Council form of government.

The mayor-council plan has a clear separation of powers between the mayor (executive) and the council (legislative).

The city council may enact ordinances, levy taxes, adopt a budget, and set compensation, in addition to other legislative duties.

The mayor's principle function as chief executive and administrative officer of the city is to oversee the management of the city's daily affairs. He or she serves no legislative function and may only vote in order to break a tie.

For more detail concerning the duties and authority of the Mayor and Council click here or on Alexandria’s form of government at the top of this page.

Political Signs – Let the fun begin

You may have already noticed. The campaign signs in Alexandria have been sprouting like spring flowers. Along with the signs controversy concerning them has already started.

A little game of politics anyone?

Retired minister and Alexandria resident Jim Korpik took to the floor Thursday evening (March 4, 2010) during the open discussion period of the Alexandria City Council meeting.

Council says “Inform us”

The following article appears on the nky.com web site. What it fails to mention is that the Mayor of Alexandria vigorously opposed this ordinance during council’s discussion at the council meeting on Tuesday, February 18.

Mayors influence diminishing?

It has become apparent that the Mayor’s ability to influence and control city council is a thing of the past.