Saturday, December 1, 2012

Journal:Ogdensburg comptroller says council’s budget goal far-fetched


If the council is to reach the lowest tax increase as possible, hopefully below the cap, the council will need cooperation from all. City Comptroller Philip A. Cosmo has become a naysayer to the council's effort. One would think he would publicly support their position and try not to undermined or demoralize any effort by publicly speaking out against their efforts.

Ethically should Mr. Cosmo speak out against Council as an employee of the City. 

I like the idea that everything is on the table and that the sacred cows are not preserved because of their size. Whenever we talk police and fire we are scared into submission. The sheriff patrol was preserved and 95% of their time is spent transporting prisoners.

City Council is "talking the talk", time will tell if they can "walk the walk".

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cosmo knows these guys are clueless, just playing political games, or both. What else can you expect when you have the Nelson, Morley, and Ashley brain trust running the city.
He also knows they will end up blaming him for whatever happens, as they did with Art Sciorra, so he is taking his stand now.

Anonymous said...

The one and only reason the city is short this year is simply the firing of Art Sciorra..
The cost of the attorneys alone was enormous and Sciorras salary and bennies had to have cost the city a staggering three hundred thousand. The time involved paying Cosmo more money and his replacement more money the costs of the people doing the search..
It boils down to this.. Bill Nelson was not going to be re-elected so he had to do something. He jumped on board with Morley and the rest of the Anti Sciorra people and vented a vendeda against him.

Anonymous said...

The blogmaster is clueless about the Sheriffs dept and transporting prisoners..
Fact is not ninty five percent of their time is not spent transporting nor is eighty five or seventy five and on and on.. Yes the Sheriff has a mandate to transport prisioners back and forth from court.. How he does it is his call.. It could be done by jail staff at a great savings but that would jeapordize his kingdom.
Fact is the jail staff in the seventies and eighties did the transporting about sixty percent of the time and thats an undisputable fact.. Only when the road patrol was threatened did they start doing it all the time... Only mindless legislators at that time allowed it and only mindless legislators now allow such a thing to take place.
The president of their union Mr Obrien was quite decieving with his presentation to the public and a little research can reveal that..
This blog master hasnt got a clue in most things and he shows it weekly with issues he dosnt understand..

Anonymous said...

2:11: You are correct. Spending a lot of taxpayers money to fire an experienced city manager, and then replacing him with the "wisdom and problem solving skills " of Wayne Ashley sheds a lot of light on what's wrong with the "Burg.

Anonymous said...

Its not up to Wanye Ashley to solve the problem of Ogdensburg his job is to represent us. We cant sit on our asses and cry on this blog and continue not to go to the council meetings. Any complaint I ever took directly to a councilor was at least talked about at a meeting and most resolved to my liking. Wayne is doing a good job for us that talk to him face to face not cry on this blog.

Anonymous said...

9:08: We were wondering where Wayne was getting his lousy ideas from. Know we know.

Anonymous said...

Phil Cosmo is employed to advise the council and oversee the city's finances. He did both professionally, and he knows far more about the levels of spending and taxation necessesary for Ogdensburg than Wayne Ashley or Mike Morley. Does the blogmaster think that city staff should be mindless drones who do whatever the council wants without an ounce of independent, rational thought?

Anonymous said...

Thats what they are. MIndless drones hired to work for the people of this city. The council serves as our voice in the process.. They can think all they want, they can have their ounce of independant thought but they serve the manager who serves the council who serves us.. Theres a right way to do things and a wrong way. Phil did it the wrong way... Another problem is that giddy girl the planner.. She talks to much and when shes not asked...

Anonymous said...

Phil Cosmo was as much fault on the affair with the housing as Sciorra and Woods possibly more.. Nelson and Morley looked past an insuborninate employee and totally went after Sciorra when Cosmo was in fact told to do certain things during this affair and refused..
He has no fear of being fired and has showed that. He has noo respect for the councilors and has showed that also.. Hes a person ready to retire and is making his bed as comfortable as possible.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone have any idea what gives with all the city charter buses sitting in the old park plaza..????

Anonymous said...

Spending the fund balance in order to keep the tax rate down? Must be Nelson, Morley and their toadies are planning to move on to bigger and better things, and leave an even bigger mess for their successers.

Anonymous said...

The charter buses are from Ottawa and going to California to be re- furbished by a company there? They are being stored there ???

Anonymous said...

1052 Thanks for the info... I also heard that windmills would be stored out there also...

What to Helll !! said...

What is liberal, clueless, nieve and without facts or merit ??? Answer; the first to eight blogger on this subject.

Anonymous said...

Hey anonymous 12-02-2012 at 5:19pm
I worked at the sheriff's office in the 70's and 80's good part of that time I was employed as a C.O. The only time I did a transport was with a road deputy. If you are so much in to research maybe you should do some.

Anonymous said...

12/2 5:19 must work for or knows someone that works for the sheriffs department. The department is so short staffed that there is little time for the road patrol. Spread across St. Law. county makes them basically ineffective in the largest county in the state.

Anonymous said...

DEc 10 1221.. I did a little research
The mid seventies and the early eightys was when the jail did their own transports. Jail staff was assigned to accompany a road patrol deputy to and from court. The deputy acted as a taxi driver of sorts while the jail officer was given the responsiblilty of the inmate. In the early eighties about a dozen jail staff were trained in weapons handling and inmate transports and did the bulk of the transports from then on. That is a fact... A deputy (road patrol) in Onondaga county was shot about the middle of the eightys and Sheriff Knowlton used that tragedy to strip the jail staff of certification because the legislators at that time lead by Al Rishe was leaning towards cutting out the road patrol. Thats why the jail dosnt do the bulk of the transports today..It gives these guys an excuse to keep a job... I believe you would find that today theya re certified to carry weapons and to train on inmate handling every year per state mandate.. This my friend in a duplication of services we cannot afford in SLC.. My facts are a matter of record and if anyone cares to research that fact and facts they can go on the computer and find old legislator meetings from nineteen eighty four through eighty nine...

Anonymous said...

If you did research I see that you looked in the wrong place. When I was employeed in the jail, the jail staff was very small four people per shift,on a good day. The road patrol did most of the transports. Sheriff Knowlton was a good and honorable man and didn't use his employee's to better himself. If you do your research you will see that any changes in training for the jail staff was done do to state mandates. You are like most other no minds. If the road patrol was gone you would see the trooper's exit the county in a hurry. The you would be like Franklin county waiting hours if not day's to have a complaint answered.

Anonymous said...

What are you talking about.. Sheriff Knowlton was an excellent Sheriff and I said nothing about him.. You are halucinating. He tried to protect his turf thats all that was implied. Your argument is weak..
Until 1976 the jail was staffed like you say.. After 76 the jail incresed by twenty or so because of a federally funded program called CETA. Thats when he decided to start transporting from the jail staff.. Of course when short, they couldnt so the road was called upon to do these duties. State mandates started in and around the end of the eightys. I know a person who worked midnights in the jail for years and they had four and five on duty nightly.
I think your info is coming from Shaune Obrien thepresident of their union over their and its tainted in just like the info he fed the public.
Mr Obrien works two jobs and is very tired and ot alert at time. He is a deputy and he also is a dance instructor in Ogdensburg with his wife. He works long hours with the girls.

Anonymous said...

How is this for research I was a supervisor in the jail in the early 80's. I was there so you go talk to your person that worked there then and ask them who may have been the watch commander. So at this point I know you have no idea what you are talking about. At least O'brien works that more then most in that stinking little city you live in. You you stay there with your drug dealer's and sexual deviants as well as your crooked politican so you can play with computer all day. Unlike you I have work to do so Ican support my family and most of the city.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but the jail had no supervisors in the early eightys. Mid eightys they started giving rank. They had a Warden and the person who was responsible to run the shift would have been the person with the most senority. Unless you were a CETA monkey you must be dead with the exception of a gentleman in Dek.Jct who later was a SGT.
I think your a present employee who is getting your info mixed up for Obriens sake..

Anonymous said...

Sorry fool I was the 1st C.O. appointed Sgt. under civil service that was in 1982. You are right i am a present employee at the sheriff office I know this info as I was working there at the time. I don't believe that was before O'Brien was even born at that time. If you are so much into research check it out it is a matter of public record. I'm proud of the sheriff's dept. as well as all the people that work there, including the C.O.'s,and when I retire in a few months I guess you will find out who i am then you can try to push your untruth's at face to face. But as we stand now you can continue to be the dead beat that you are.

Anonymous said...

1133.. What have you been smoking.. Is it from the evidence room..

Anonymous said...

I heard about this on line arguement last night. I also worked in the jail for a few years that included the years given above. None of the jail Sgts in those years is still working nor are most of them alive even.The first Sgt appointed to the Jail Staff from Civil Service was from Hermon and he is retired, but I dont know who may have been the first civil service SGt.in the Dept.
How did this discussion star?> If its transporting of prisoners then you would both be right.. Prisoners were transported to courts by both divisions and thats fact. When the deputy was shot in another County is when the jail staff stopped being trained.. Whatever Knowltons reasons were they were his and his alone.
I think the subject of whether or not to cut the road patrol has been answered for this year. Next year we can start fresh but I hope with truth... You both are right but you both are decieving everyone with BS thats not true.. SHAME SHAME

Anonymous said...

I f you did work in the jail at that time you should no who was appointed Sgt. off the civil service list and I happen to be the only one still working, but keep in mind I will be retiring soon. The Sgt. from Hermon was appointed but I was his senior at that time. I probaly know you as far as that goes. But I will end the conversation today and never write on this blog again as I can see that misinformed people write about things that they have no idea what topix they are writing about.

Anonymous said...

OK LD