Government - http://maxpages.com/minnickward4/BUESCHER

May 17, 2000 letter to N. Ridgeville City Council:

Following are my comments, addressed to you during the lobby session at the City Council meeting Monday, May 15, 2000:

City council members have sworn to uphold the CITY CHARTER of N. Ridgeville, which has been voted on and amended over the years by the taxpayers, in official elections at the voting booth.

If Mr. Zagrans' (law director) ruling concerning the Kingston Planned Community Development referendum petition is proper, the general PCD ordinance conflicts with the City Charter because 3.12 Procedure of the City Charter specifically states that, "no ordinance or resolution shall contain more than one subject matter, which subject shall be clearly expressed in its title." Therefore, it follows that the Kingston PCD is invalid.

The Law Department obviously knew what the City Charter required because it prepared two ordinances, one for the preliminary plan approval and one for rezoning to PCD status, they were both passed by City Council.

Then, Mr. Zagrans ruled one ordinance - T 137-99, permanent 3543-99, to be superfluous, the "wrong" one for which 900 taxpayers petitioned City Council for a referendum vote. (This is the rezoning ordinance which received a proper public hearing.) It was rescinded by council.

The ordinance Mr. Zagrans ruled would stand, T 6-2000, permanent 894-2000, 1) contains two subjects (acording to Mr. Zagrans' ruling), the preliminary plan approval AND automatic rezoning, which violates the City Charter. 2) The rezoning was not, "clearly expressed in its title," as the City Charter requires. and 3) This ordinance did not receive a public hearing on rezoning before passage, which is also required by law.

City Council is bound, by DUTY, to repeal T 6-2000, permanent 894-2000. City Council must also amend the GENERAL Planned Community Development ordinance.

MR. ZAGRANS' REPLY AT THE COUNCIL MEETING WAS THAT THE DEVELOPER WROTE THE ORDINANCE.

The following comments were made the second time I went to the podium during lobby session at the City Council meeting of May 15, 2000:

The situation we are in today is a consequence of the mistaken belief that elected city officials and their appointees should be free to make city-related decisions without input from the taxpayers. (The City of Avon is presently facing potential litigation regarding that very issue.)

No administration and no city council can possibly have the complete information necessary to run an entire city, particularly those who have had no prior experience in city government. The real possibility exists that they could be easily influenced one way or another.

Properly motivated city officials in a democracy would seemingly welcome assistance from those with knowledge and experience, including those with differing and opposing views, because major and minor errors would be much less likely to occur in the legislative process.

Unfortunately, since N. Ridgeville City Hall does not operate under this premise - we're in big trouble! Serious errors have been made and MUST BE REPAIRED.

We are in the process of violating the City Charter of N. Ridgeville, voted in by the taxpayers! When the City Charter is abused 1, 2, or 3 times or more, and allowed to stand, there is virtually NOTHING left to protect the citizens from abuse of power, because at that very point we will have OFFICIALLY crossed the line from being a Charter city OF THE PEOPLE and into a dictatorship.

What could or would be the next steps in this process if we were to continue to follow along this path? Suppression of city information? Attempts to influence the media? Retaliation against those who don't fall in line, or who speak out under their first amendment rights?

As we all know, other governments have, very unfortunately, implemented those very tactics. Make no mistake about it, this city is in serious crisis!

To the Editor (October, 1999):

As a concerned taxpayer in the City of N. Ridgeville, I have attended and lobbied at city council meetings over a 10-year period. I have served on the Building and Lands Advisory Committee on Planning, and have observed the last three administrations in action. Unfortunately, while observing the Hill administration, I have become acutely aware of a recurring theme of blatant disregard for the concerns of taxpayers as a result of lack of information and communication. Over and over again I have seen the push to achieve goals without informing the taxpayers who stand to be impacted directly or indirectly. In Mayor Hill's zeal to increase the tax base, the impression is clearly given that "anything goes" in order to achieve an end.

For example, a highly detailed portion of the Master Plan had to be removed shortly before passage by city council when it was discovered that it contained the full potential to deprive property owners (who reside on Center Ridge Rd. between Rt. 83 and Race Rd.) of their property rights and land values. As a recognized member of the Master Plan Committee, I had not been informed of the extensive changes in the plan.

Other examples include the unfair taking of Q-panel land by eminent domain; the attempted daytime curfew, which could have deprived innocent students of their constitutional rights; the stunned reaction of members of the long-established Democratic Women's Club when the Mayor unexpectedly made a motion to disband the group; Passage of the Bagley Rd. sewer ordinance without first notifying the residents living there. These are but a few examples which point to the disregard for the rights of the people of N. Ridgeville.

Self-proclaimed accomplishments and embellished promises by the administration are only clanging cymbals if the people who pay the bills are frustrated or adversely affected by a flawed process. A democratic process demands a partnership which involves the people, the administration, and the city council.

The City of N. Ridgeville is facing its most critical challenge as we enter into the new millennium. Professional city planners caution that growth must be gradual and controlled. Nothing worthwhile can be accomplished in a day. In the Mayor's (Hill)effort to bring more residents, more industry, and more commercial growth, those who live and work here today cannot be trampled on in the frantic effort to meet those ends.

Sincerely,

Nancy J. Buescher, 36669 Center Ridge Rd., N. Ridgeville, OH 44039, 440-327-8581

minnickgail@hotmail.com

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