Well, they might as well Hang Bubble-boy's picture up there on the 3rd Floor Wall of Mayor's Now and get it over with - even the Puppet-Masters have to see his naivety isn't worth the chaos and animosity he's causing in this town with his lack of experience and maturity:
Anyhoo, if I were Lankey, I'd make sure they put this One-termer Bubble-boy's picture on another wall and Not next to his picture.
Welcome to Edison - Permanent Home of the 2017 Racist Flyer.
Well, you really gotta feel for Mayor Sam 'the Big Lie' Joshi, aka Mr. Shrink-flation, Big-boy pants, the Weathervane Millennial, the Malleable Marionette, the Event Planner, Sam the Film-flam Man, the Emperor Has No Clothes, the Debt-a-Nator, Mr. Swiper and Bubble-boy - as he sits and waits in anxious anticipation of the Council's Vote on his Overtaxed Muni-budget for 2024 tomorrow night.
It's not like he knows how the Vote is going to go.
Anyhoo, elections have consequences and you get the type of governance you deserve.
Well, it's not Bubble-boy who controls anything, he's just an inexperienced, immature, insecure political neophyte with no discipline who comes with a demonstrated lack of credibility, trustworthiness and a strong anomaly with the truth - he's just a 'tool' for the powers that be who protect him until they're done using his naivety and kick him to the curb in January 2025.
Clearly, they have the majority of the Council providing the 'Bubble' in which he can hide. The Council under the last 3 Council Presidents have hindered the Public's attempts to get information with their ridiculous rules on how you can ask questions, how you'll get answers and even what you can say - all under the guise of 'decorum' and time.
And that's nothing compared to their treatment of Council Members who don't exactly agree with what Bubble-boy is doing and want to ask questions.
Take, for example, this latest effort to block any Vetting of this $175.9m budget (which really isn't a budget - just a big bag of money they're trying real hard to not let you know how they're going to spend it) that's wrought with out-of-control spending.
Bubble-boy knows he has the votes for the budget to pass on June 26, 2024 but they Rigged his Budget Presentation to limit his exposure. They moved the Budget Presentation to one-hour before a Council work session (from a date which was solely for his presentation), didn't give Council Members the budget books to properly vet this budget until the day of the meeting and then only give Council Members 5-minutes each to ask questions.
Now, guess who went along with that bogus plan to Prevent that $175.9m Budget (that comes with another Muni-tax increase of 2.5%) from being Vetted by the Council and the Public:
Well, what can you say about these Bubble-boy loving Council Presidents - Poyner acts like he's afraid of his own shadow, Coyle acts like, well, Coyle and Patel acts upset during meetings when he realizes his best work comes when he stays home for the meetings.
So, the fix is in and the budget will pass on Wednesday but don't you get the feeling yet that you're not important or a concern in a process that uses your money - when they'll do something like this right in front of your face?
Anyhoo, Wake-up and recognize that you'll never beat those who control how the game is played - you have to use the game against them - and recognize that Wards is the only possible way you can keep incompetents from running this town and using all your money to do it to boot.
Well, forget the fact that 'Bubble-boy' knows he has the Council votes to pass this Ridiculous budget for 2024, that still didn't Stop him from trying to limit his exposure with a rigged budget presentation - and despite him moving the date of his presentation to an hour before a Council work session, not giving Council members the budget books until the day of the meeting to properly vet that ridiculous $175.9m and only giving Council members 5 minutes to ask questions, he still couldn't prevent the public from seeing the incompetent buffoon that he is. It's ironic that Joshi would use the words 'intellectually honest' when he is demonstrably neither.
His budget makes no sense and when you have Bogus numbers, you get a Bogus budget.
Here's the presentation:
10. Because you like that Big Welcoming Smile he has for Residents and Taxpayers when they step up to the podium.
9. Because you like how he's always whispering in the lawyer's ear on how best to shut-down the next speaker.
8. Because you like how he keeps old people watching the Council meetings from home from nodding off by banging the gavel so much to shut down people speaking at the podium.
7. Because you like how he's always baiting Christo and then looks for reasons to make him sit down or kick him out of the meeting.
6. Because you like how he's such a stickler for the 6 minute rule that he'll cut any resident off in mid-sentence before they can even finish their thought.
5. Because you like how he's always trying to gain favor over previous Council Presidents Poyner and Coyle as 'Bubble-boys' Biggest Protector.
4. Because you like how he doesn't let his biases get in the way of running the Council meetings and is always struggling with free speech and no speech.
3. Because you like every time he has to let Councilman Brescher speak, he considers it a failure on his part of his appointed tasks.
2. Because you like how protective he is of 'Bubble-boy' at the expense of the People he supposedly represents that come before him at Council meetings.
1. Because you like that his Greatest Contribution to the town is when he stays home and Council Vice-President Harris runs the meetings.
Well, found this video of Mayor Sam 'the Big Lie' Joshi's 2024 Budget Presentation for that Ridiculous $175.9m that Raises the Local tax levy by 3.12% and brings the Local tax rate up to 1.477 or 3.6-cents from last year's 1.441.
Just for some context:
Here's the video:
Well, it's not surprising with all the bogus numbers in this 2024 Muni-budget, that nonsense like this happens.
First we have the 2024 budget itself, which has this schedule showing 633 heads with no details by Department:
Then we have what I'm told is what Mr. Shrink-flation Presented as part of his 2024 Budget Presentation last night:
And finally, we have that they finally sent in Response to my OPRA Request for the number of employees by department for the 2024 Introduced Budget and the 2023 Adopted budget - which, when you look at it is total nonsense since the detail doesn't even add up to summary in this package. Looks like a hodgepodge schedule put together from different sources.
But it is what it is and what they want me to believe is correct:
For 2024
