City e-mail contradicts Prop 2 supporters

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

An e-mail from Jefferson City’s administrator appears to contradict a claim by Proposition 2 supporters that no funds in the Fire Department’s budget would be diverted to other city departments.

The e-mail has angered one council member, who said it is “grounds for being let go.”

The proposition, which is on today’s ballot, would eliminate a 9.61-cent property tax that currently funds firefighter pensions and raise the city sales tax by a quarter-cent, for a net gain of $27.5 million over the 15-year tax. Opponents of the issue have suggested the city would divert money currently in the Fire Department’s budget for other uses, a notion that Prop 2 supporters have vehemently denied.

But in an e-mail sent at 5:29 p.m. Friday to city employees, City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus said: “The only option that we have to add much needed personnel and equipment throughout the City is to reduce the amounts of general revenue we are paying to fund the fire department.

“The money which is presently spent on these items will be available for increased funding for all general fund purposes. This is probably our only realistic option right now to address the needs of all departments.”

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MO4LIFE 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Once again the Lies of the council have been brought to light!!!!!!

malmo 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Nice.

This is a total embarrassment to the city and I will not believe another thing promoted as long as those in charge stay in charge.

JCsleeper 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Told yuh. Trust JCFD ? Yes. Trust JC government? Shell game? Bait and switch? No wonder kids leave this town and never look back. Read the entire letter in the full article. Very disapointing. Thanks N/T for bringing this out.

1OPINION43 10 months, 2 weeks ago

This is just one more reason why I do not trust our local elected officials anymore than I do those on the state or federal level. This city needs to learn what most of us have had to do and that is live within a budget. When I need or want something I can’t go out and raise the money by trying to get a tax passed. I have to somehow budget it into my current income or do without. The city needs very badly to learn this lesson. And yes, I am going to vote no on any new tax increases!

JCLifer 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Several of these "leaders" are far from being public servants. They have an arrogant "I know better than you" attitude, and they have no desire to listen to the taxpayers. I thought the huge Transformation fiasco would have blown the lid off, but somehow it didn't. That s town is dieing with very low wage jobs and the good OK boys profiting from the working people who are barely making it. Our high school graduates cannot wait to leave town and never look back.

The only hope is for the voters to throw out all the good ol boys. We should not stand for these types of people running our city, from the greedy attorney administrator to the gasoline stealing parks chief.

Greed and "holier than thou" attitudes need to be replaced with attitudes of service and humility and listening.

Oh, and Vote no on any new taxes until we get this mess cleaned up.

dokeus6 10 months, 2 weeks ago

This sets my vote in concrete. A BIG FAT NO and I can't wait for the next election to vote my city council person out, the current mayor out and any other incumbent that I can vote out.

dokeus6 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Yes, but now I'm really chaffed at the city council. They really must think we are stupid.

rodinman 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Thanks to the person who provided the email to the newspaper.

JCLifer 10 months, 2 weeks ago

The city administrator needs to resign today. Otherwise the council needs to meet and fire the clown. What were they thinking when they promoted him and gave him a huge pay increase with our precious tax dollars?

Gabrielle 10 months, 2 weeks ago

without following the formal hiring policy.

LuckNLove 10 months, 2 weeks ago

This is very disappointing but no surprising at all.

malmo 10 months, 2 weeks ago

If the Administrator doesn't resign, every elected official should move to remove him. The Mayor and Council are to answer to the citizens, not a bureaucrat that has set up his own fiefdom.

Mr. Mayor, are you listening?

dokeus6 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Should he resign? Doesn't he answer to the city council? If this is the case, the members of the city council are the ones who should resign. Maybe the administrator was covering his arse when he sent this email out in case the truth came out he was the one that raised an alarm about it.

malmo 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Yes. Yes. Nope. The city council will answer to the people at their next election. How they act in the next few days will dictate those results.

Gotigers 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Very disappointing. at some point the mayor and council have to deal with the fact that the citizens of JC do not trust the city goverment. I hate to call for anyones job, but I think Mr. Nicklaus really overstepped his boundaries and should be forced to resign.

aj415 10 months, 2 weeks ago

This would be a good thing for JC, if only the retirement fund was not included!!!!!!!! Wish my retirement fund was tax supported!!!!!!

aj415 10 months, 2 weeks ago

I have done it before and just as much......I work in the same field

seeno 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Is the partial release of this email meant to skew the vote on this issue? Who is the unnamed council member? I seems strange that the email was sent the eve prior to the election and that only a partial portion of it has been released on the day of voting. Seems very politcally motivated to me.

mleroux 10 months, 2 weeks ago

In today's print copy of the News Tribune, the full e-mail was printed and the council member is named in the article. The e-mail was sent at 5:29 p.m. Friday and the News Tribune received a copy Monday morning.

Madeleine Leroux/ News Tribune

seeno 10 months, 2 weeks ago

I was wrong on the day that the email was sent, but when people look at the article and the first few lines seem to say that the administrator is not being truthful and that a council member thinks he should lose his job it may cause people who don't have full access to the paper to jump to conclusions. It may make good sense to use the extra money for other areas that need funded.

ADS 10 months, 2 weeks ago

There is no such thing as extra government money.  That is our money and government can find something to spend our money on, no matter how much you give them.  They will always see a need or create one.
I think the point was that the administrator put out an email that appears to have violated or come very close to violating a state statute which prohibits public funds from being used to support/advocate/oppose a ballot measure such as Prop 2.  It certainly sounded like a strong hint to all city employees to not expect any additional money in coming years if Prop 2 doesn't pass.

countyfactor 10 months, 2 weeks ago

It is quite suspect as of the timing on this. Would not be surprised if this started at the top, the mayor and most council members were very up front and vested with Transformation and the Chamber. I don't think the chamber want's this sales tax passed and the voters are going to fall for it. I still believe in the core of the issue for Prop2 that the fire dept. is in need of repair and funding. I still voted yes.

Sequoia 10 months, 2 weeks ago

The tax and the money we're talking about does not seem like that big of a deal to me. The way I read the article in the paper, the tax would free up $40,500 that could go to other departments, out of a $6.5 million fire department budget. Did I read that right?

Forty thousand bucks. That's not a huge margin that connotes a "slush fund" or anything like that to me. Are you guys making a mountain out of a molehill here?

The letter clearly looks like "support, opposition or advocacy of a ballot issue" to me. It definitely reads like support and advocacy for Prop 2. This was not a smart move on his part. The email offers no real information because it contains no numbers, and its unclear what point the email could possibly have. I read it and was just thinking, "Why?"

Interesting that it seems like Nickolaus seemed to be sending the email to encourage people to vote FOR the Prop. 2, and people are using it as a reason not to.

viktorkowski 10 months, 2 weeks ago

no, you are right. I didn't see anything there pointing to some sinister plot. Just reactionary politics.

JCLifer 10 months, 2 weeks ago

The taxes are high enough already. It is the priorities that are all twisted. Instead of properly funding the essential services like the police, the fire department, the streets, and stormwater, the city buys new vehicles every year. They build parks out in the county (binder) and sail boat docks. They pay top salaries for the city administrator and the city attorney. They spend money for smart phone apps for the Chamber. They give the Chamber and the Convention bureaus bunches of money every year with no deliverables. Huge sums of money are spent on consultants and feasibility studies for mud tunnels, Adrians sandbar, greenway trails. Wear's Creek river walks, etc.

Quit wasting our money of junk and properly fund basic services! The taxpayers have had to tighten up their belts and live within their means- it is time the city starts doing the same. The economy is very bad, and people cannot afford more taxes. the already very low wages are stagnant. High paying jobs have left this town. Property values have dropped. Food costs are way up. Gasoline has doubled. Utilities have gone way up. People don't have money for higher taxes right now.

IVOTE 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Hear Hear Amen, $41 million over 15 years = $3 million per year minus $800,000 off property taxes, which can be raised back up at any time, equals a $2.2 million net raise. While all of the new sales tax goes to the fire department nobody is talking about the existing fire department funding. It seems to me there is going to be a lot of freed up money left over.Well stated JCLifer

gettingthere 10 months, 2 weeks ago

I voted no on Prop 2!!!

RTWise 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Maybe the problem is the Mayor, City Administrator and Council don't know what "Essential Services" really are. Maybe if they stopped dreaming of pie in the sky ways to spend money they could concentrate on making sure the basic services of the city are funded.

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