Berding lies about Fire Dept. contract expense

Following up Monday's story, COAST again wonders, "are we paying our safety personnel too much?"

What we found is that Cincinnati is already getting amazing “bang for our bucks” when compared to other cities.

The top chart shows our fire service offers the second highest ratio of first responders to population. We are very well protected indeed.

Some other cities elect not to maintain such a high staffing ratio. Those cities use overtime instead to compensate for lack of permanent staff. Unfortunately, this skews their budgets higher.

The bottom chart shows that Cincinnati is 4th lowest in terms of the amount of money we spend per firefighter. These figures are total budget divided by firefighters, including taxes, benefits, training, and department issued gear. Take home pay is much less.

Berding & Council spent the last 2 years buying new windows for City Hall for $5 million, radio recycle bins for $6 million, and “streetcar preparations” for $2.8 million.

Jeff Berding likes to spend your tax money. And he thinks your safety is more frivolous than those things. Tell Jeff to slither back to “the real world.”

Berding bashes union agreement he approved

In reality, both unions have no bonus structure. Their pay, benefits and working conditions are governed by contracts negotiated through a lengthy bargaining process; contracts which Berding himself approved.

The Enquirer reports that “A majority of Cincinnati City Council members say they’ll stop the layoffs of 275 police officers and firefighters if both unions agree to a total of $20 million in concessions.

$20,000,000 in concessions divided by approximately 1700 people means each and every cop and firefighter would give back about $12,000 a year or $1,000 a month. That's an awfully steep price to pay for a streetcar. Would you take that large a pay cut to keep your current job? Or would you move away for a better job?

The same Enquirer article said Council members “talked about it being time for unions to understand their contracts are too lucrative…” Councilmember Bortz said it was time for the unions “to join the real world.”

Is this true? Are we paying our safety personnel too much?

COAST decided to find out.

Using data from The Enquirer, it’s easy to see that Cincinnati’s cost per officer is the lowest of comparable cities. The lowest by far. More than $10,000 lower per officer. We’re already getting a bargain, and if the layoffs stand, our loss is liable to be these other cities’ gain.

Berding & Council have known about the current budget situation for the better part of a year, and maybe two. Yet they spent $5 million on new windows for City Hall, $6 million on radio recycle bins, and $2.8 million on streetcar preparations.

Jeff Berding likes to spend your tax money. And he thinks your safety is more frivolous than those things. Let’s send Jeff back to “the real world.”

Berding auctions off his principles

The overriding message in Jeff Berding's campaign materials and video appearances (like the one above) is that citizen safety comes first. And for a while he actually voted that way.

So what changed? Why is he now selling-out public safety and the same police and firefighters who fought for his election in favor of a streetcar that nobody needs and only a few people want?

FOP President Kathy Harrell asked him during a recent closed-door meeting specifically why he became the fifth vote for the streetcar after promising in his endorsement interview not to unless the project was completely funded by federal grants. He answered that Mayor Mallory strong-armed him into committing local dollars to the streetcar in exchange for bringing Berding's Port Authority give-away to a vote.

There you have it. Berding agreed to support Mallory's boondoggle, if Mallory would agree to support Berding's boondoggle. Berding auctioned of his principles, and financed the sale with your tax money.

Let Councilmember Berding know your safety isn't worth trading for a streetcar. Write him at Jeff.Berding@Cincinnati-OH.gov or call his office at 352-3283 or his city-paid cell phone at 378-0245.

Every City elected official has, at some point in their career, sought a higher office outside the city. Therefore it is important for all you county and suburban residents to weigh-in on this matter too. You can't vote against Jeff now, but you will have to someday. You might as well inform him of his future prospects while he can still rectify his mistakes.

Berding threatens suit to silence streetcar critics

Jeff Berding threatens to sue COAST and eight other groups to stop them from speaking out on streetcar

Broad coalition courageously continues

The events of this week in fighting the trolley have moved very quickly, so let us bring you up-to-date.  COAST asks for your immediate calls to Council member Berding.

COAST was invited last week to join a broad, unique and re-vigorated coalition to stop the wasteful Cincinnati Trolley.  Coalition members are the NAACP, the Baptist Ministers Conference, the Homeless Coalition of Greater Cincinnati, Westwood Concern, and three municipal labor unions: The FOP Local 69, the Fire Fighters Local 48, and CODE.  The umbrella organization for the group is called C.A.S.S - Citizens Against Streetcar Swindle, whose chairman is County Auditor Dusty Rhodes and whose treasurer is former Congressman Tom Luken.

At the first meeting of the alliance, the leaders of several groups reported that Jeff Berding promised to them during the 2009 Council election that he would oppose streetcar funding.  This year, with his vote for a $64 million bond issue for the trolley, Berding broke those promises.

As a result, the group decided to target Berding -- the needed 5th vote for wasteful trolley funding -- and to disclose his treachery in flip-flopping on the issue.  As a result, Tuesday, we launched this tabloid-sized brochure:

That circulation included the City budget hearings Tuesday night at which the Council and administration discussed layiong off some 500 City employees.  There, Berding lashed out angrily at FOP, CODE and Fire personnel for their speaking out on the trolley issue.

Wednesday evening, representatives of the nine organizaitons received this threatening letter from Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, the attorneys for Jeff Berding, threatening them with legal action for what they claimed were the allied organizations "unlawful behavior."  (Incidently the Taft firm is also the law firm for the Cincinnati Bengals, and negotiated the boondoggle stadium lease.  One might suggest they are "official legal counsel for Cincinnati boondoggles.")

Soon, one by one, the coalition members courageously told Berding and his attorney, politely, to "shove" their threat.

COAST's counsel rejected Berding's demands and told Berding's attorney:  

When one gets in between rapacious politicians and greedy contractors, legal threats usually follow shortly behind.  This is nothing unusual. 

Within minutes, the NAACP, CODE and Westwood Concern chimed in and rejected Berdings' threats.  CODE's response was the most amusing.  They said: "CODE repeats with major emphassis ....DITTO. We intend to kick some major ass."

So, COAST asks for you to help with this effort to hold Council member Berding accountable to his 2009 promise to oppose funding for the trolley.  Please call him at Jeff.Berding@Cincinnati-OH.gov or call his office at 352-3283 or his city-paid cell phone at 378-0245. 

Council member Berding was the campaign manager for the Stadium Sales Tax that has almost bankrupted our County.  Now, he has become the swing fifth vote for the trolley project that promises to bankrupt our City.  Budget-busting boondoggles appear to have become his signature career accomplishments. 

Our allied groups want to make everyone aware of Council member Berding's wasteful spending and treachery on the trolley issue.

Please join with COAST in this important thrust to stop this horribly wasteful project.

Berding targeted in groundswell against trolley

Groundswell against trolley grows as coalition expands

First thrust: Asking Berding to keep his 2009 campaign promise

 

COAST today joined an expanding coalition designed to stop further streetcar spending in Cincinnati in a postcard campaign aimed at the fifth Council vote for the boondoggle, Council member Jeff Berding.  Berding in 2009 promised repeatedly to oppose spending on the wasteful project. 

The expanded coalition members now include the NAACP, COAST, Westwood Concern, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, the Baptist Ministers Conference, and three municipal labor unions: the FOP, the Fire Fighters Union and CODE.  The umbrella group against the Trolley spending is C.A.S.S. - the Coalition Against the Streetcar Swindle, Chaired by County Auditor Dusty Rhodes.

"We will not sit by idly while the City spends on misplaced priorities and increases the burdens on Cincinnati taxpayers," said COAST Chairman Jason Gloyd.  "Yes, the big-spenders currently have five votes on the Council, but we have truth and a vast majority of Cincinnati voters in our corner.  We intend to press that advantage."

The coalition today released a tabloid-sized flyer with the headline: "Not One More Cent of Tax Money for the Streetcar, Please encourage Council Member Jeff Berding to Keep his Promise to stop this foolish waste of money" with return postcards aimed towards Berding.

In that flyer, FOP President Kathy Harrell states: "Berding broke his 2009 promise to oppose streetcar spending.  This flip-flop will cost Cincinnati public safety jobs."

"Not only was Berding the fifth vote for this spending monstrosity," said Gloyd, "but he made express promises against this foolishness in 2009.  We aim to either keep him to his word, or let every voter in Cincinnati know of his fundamental dishonesty.  It is entirely his choice."
COAST and the NAACP pursued a ballot initiative in 2009 that would have stopped the trolley dead in its tracks by requiring a public vote on it.  Voters rejected that initiative, but the fight against wasteful spending continues.

Copies of the "Not ONE MORE CENT" brochure are available here (front) and here (back).

See also a letter written by a broad spectrum of community leaders imploring City Hall to stop their wastfull streetcar spending here.