THE GUARDIAN got a copy of the Caldwell budget and on page one was payroll data for the Mayor. Mayor Nancolas makes $101,901.00 for the total pay he received with benefits. He did take a hit this year as his car allowance is down to a mere $8,000.00 this year ($10,000.00 last year), most of this decrease will be made up via a bonus (Performance pay) of $1,500 and a fitness reimbursement of $321. The job of Mayor in Caldwell pays very well at $101,901.00 as the gross pay package.
The Mayor's Youth Advisory Council will continue to receive $12,000 from the City coffers. We are not sure why this is listed under the revenue detail of the budget. Mayor Nancolas will continue his road trips to Washington DC with his MYAC group. (Mayor Nancolas was asked a couple of years back why he doesn't take the MYAC group to the Idaho Legislature v. going all the way back to Washington DC. THE GUARDIAN got a blank look from our Mayor with this question.)
Hwy. 20/26 will be widened from the FLYING J to Smeed Parkway at a cost of $3,000,000.00. The widening project is a gift to the development community in the hopes of getting some commercial development in that area and jobs for Caldwell citizens. The widening is not on the Idaho Dept. of Transportation to do list for several decades. The approach to this project is the highest cost of the three proposals presented at a public workshop several weeks back. Cheaper approaches involved using some existing pavement, this one will be a whole new road bed with a longer interval before the road has to be dug up and reworked. Roads like this have about a 20 year life. We did not hear of any guarantee if the widening project was done by any of the developers present at this meeting.
Caldwell did not take the 3% increase allowed by Idaho Code but the overall budget is up 2% due to the widening project on Hwy 20/26. The money came from rainy day reserves for the streets.
We don't have a car allowance amount for Mr. Dale for this year but in past years it was around $4,500.00 and that would have to be added to the total wage package for Mayor Dale. These numbers came from a reader who went to the time and trouble to purchase a copy of the budget and thumb drive at a cost of $10.00 When we get the amount we will post it on THE GUARDIAN for our readers.
The big item for the City of Nampa is the increased cost of the IDAHO CENTER to Nampa residents. The cost of keeping the doors open will rise to nearly $1 million to Nampa property taxpayers. Heretofore, the City of Nampa has been feeding the Idaho Center monies left from the first Nampa Urban Renewal effort that built the Idaho Center. Mayor Dale likes to call this a community building project.
The next project to get a new tax or fee to deal with will be phosphates in waste water. Mayor Dale has already put together a group to work on this issue. Caldwell knows it to be a problem but no official word on how they are going to address the problem. It all comes from the Clean Water Act back in the 1970's and is getting to the front burner via the EPA. Word on the street is it will cost Nampa tens of millions to fix this problem. Caldwell has not begun to address this problem with their waste water discharges into the Boise River. Hang on for even higher sewer fees for this one.
One million for the Idaho Center? Big deal- that's nothing compared to what Dale and company have blown on their new offices, oops I mean public safety center. Spending money wastefully in government is always measured in relation to what they've wasted previously. Thank you Tom Dale for spending money on the Idaho center so wisely!
ReplyDeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteI finally did procure a digital copy ($10.00) of the 600 page Nampa budget.
Idaho Center losses this year are already 500% over last years total revenue shortfall. ($196,487 vs $978,827 in the last seven months)
How great a loss will it take before the "community benefit argument" is taken off the list of excuses for this boondoogle?
The amended FY 2011 budget anticipates a total revenue stream by September 30, 2011 to be $4,213,019, yet with over seven months already expired in this FY, total income is only $949,201.
Interesting numbers Paul, sounds like this is only the tip of the iceberg regarding what taxpayers will have to fork over for the Idaho Center. I say put the thing on the market. It won't bring anything in this economy but at least this would stop the immediate bleeding which, as the city's numbers point out, will only increase dramatically every year for the foreseeable future.
ReplyDeleteGA says..
ReplyDeleteWell, I am certainly confused on all of this. Garret has proudly proclaimed to one and all he is the lowest compensated Mayor in the valley. It is his love of Caldwell that keeps him in office. Perhaps all of them make over $100,000/year and we haven't been paying attention.
Garret will have a nice PERSI retirement package when his public life ends at some point in the future. I would like to see that happen with the next election cycle but a viable candidate needs to start working now if they are serious about putting Nancolas out to pasture
Just shows how bad the economy has tanked, because of poor leadership and bad decisions. People can't afford to go to the events at the Idaho Center. There's a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwich jobs around here, but there is no meat and potatoes, put the pot roast in the oven type jobs around here. The middle class is getting trounced here, time for some new leadership and better decisions, and more unions.
ReplyDeleteOur elected politicians haven't figured out working people have poor paying jobs with little left over to pay the bills and property tax bills. Yet they keep pushing for more building projects funded with property taxes.
ReplyDeleteWe have had nothing short of open warfare on the middle class in this country since the beginning of globalization during the Reagan years. Everyone was able to borrow more than they made, used their homes as ATM,s with encouragement from the banks and now we have hit the wall and the day(s) of paying the bills and debts are here.
Until be rebuild the middle class...the people who spend money and create demand for goods and services with jobs paying decent wages we will continue to wallow in the economic doldrums.
Yes, add more unions to the equation. That will fix things right?
ReplyDeleteI thought everyone here hated the unions? Oh that's right only public service employee unions because those darned lazy, greedy no good public service employees don't deserve the same things us wealth creators in the private sector deserve right?
Their wages need to be driven back down to where they were before. You remember back in the good old days. Back in the days when they qualified for food stamps! They don't deserve to retire either. They should all work till the day they die as a slave class for the rest of us. After all how can we maintain the status quo unless we can find more tax breaks for the business owners and keep the wage slave in their place at the bottom of the heap. The American dream only applies to wealthy Republicans with old money.
I read in today's paper Mayor Nancolas stated TVCC is doing just grrrreeeeaaat despite comments to the contrary floating around town and this blog. The Mayor's statement was made at the annual Chamber of Commerce Lunch on the Caldwell budget. Again, I drove by TVCC last night at 7:30PM when evening classes should be in full swing and there were less than a dozen cars in the parking lot. Time will tell if TVCC is going to make it or not but the parking lot car count observation was a telling indicator.
ReplyDeleteHmmmn..perhaps the TVCC parking lot could be leased out as a used car dealership?
ReplyDeleteReply to Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI don't belive there is anything preventing these so called wage slaves from going out and investing in a business and taking the risks that 1000's of business owners do every day. Except perhaps their wanting to have a gauranteed income and benifits. When your investment in the job is restricted to what you can carry in your pockets perhaps your rewards should be less than the owners. In the business world it is produce or die and maybe die anyway. I recently spoke to a small business owner who hasn't taken a paycheck in over a year trying to keep their business afloat and not have to layoff more employes. If a business owner cannot pay the bills he has no choice but to close the business, and he dosen't get unemployment for years even though he has paid it in for along time.In response to the poor underpaid goverment and union employes. There's a old indinan saying. Those that can do. Those that won't, work for the goverment.So mortgage your house and open a business and find out what it is really like in the business world . One nice thing is you can work all the /2 days you want 12 hours is a half day.
At first I thought that selling the Idaho Center was a viable option, I changed my mind. Who might buy it? Would some big corporation that has ties to foreign countries that aren't to friendly to us see an opportunity? Would some big corporation in this country that does not appreciate our foundations and institutions, that is trying to liquidate and corporatize our system of government move in? Or would some corporation that is funding some of these right-wing extreme insurgent movements buy it? Not a good idea to sell it huh.
ReplyDeleteG.A. says
ReplyDeleteThe question I have about Mayors Nancolas and Dale is who in their right mind would hire these two as CEO's of a private business? They would never make it in the real world but for some reason, not understood by me, they continue to get elected, even with a track records of failures and incompetence. It must be the majority of people just aren't paying attention or don't care about city finances.
Citizens of Nampa simply will not hold Mr. Dale accountable for the Idaho Center failure. Likewise, Mr. Nancolas has presided over more blight and deterioration of Caldwell and the mini-college TVCC in downtown.
Just how much public money went to build the new baseball field out at Griffiths Park? The paper said over $800,000 has been spent and now they want to spend another $1.5 million for bleachers and other improvements.
Here's a suggestion for Mayor Dale..give the Idaho Center to the College of Western Idaho and the Fair Board as joint owners. Certainly there is some obligation to the Snake River Stampede organization that would have to be worked out.
ReplyDeleteThis solves the problem of a decent place to hold the fair, takes care of ownership concerns and connects CWI with their Sam's Club property acquistion.
Boo hoo the poor business man who takes all the risks. I truly feel sorry for you that have old money to invest in a business to begin with. There's another old saying rich boy. It takes money to make money. Half of nothing is still nothing. To take the risks you gotta have the money. The only people who have it are the rich. The rest of us are destined to be your slaves. If you go under, I won't shed a tear because then you will have to join us, the real working class and know how it feels to really have to work for a slave wage and never have anything left to save or invest. Nobody feels sorry for you when you blame everyone else for the loss of your wealth. The economy crapped out because of greedy businessmen like you who took one too many risks.
ReplyDeleteThe Idaho Center, TVCC Building, whats next? I'm so glad to see that Caldwell and Nampa residents have figured out how to spread the pain out onto the people who don't live in their fair cities. What if us folks that live outside the unincorporated city limits don't want you to pass the buck 'er expense onto us too? I for one am already on a fixed income and can't afford any more taxes which is why I live outside the city and their goofy Urban renewal districts and other garbage. Your politicians, your problems. Keep your expensive to maintain buildings to yourselves.
ReplyDeleteWow, someone got under Bob's skin. Guess he didn't like your opinion Anonymous. Hey slaves dont get to express themselves so shut up. You aren't a business owner so you are in a lower caste system than him. Only he and other business owners have rights, should be the only ones to vote, et cetera, et cetera. Isn't it funny how the guy who is his own boss, owns his house out right, has a cabin, boat and other toys has the nerve to tell those that don't have those things that they are the problem in this country. Class warfare has begun and the businessman and his tea party allies hacve fired the first shots.
ReplyDeleteI say both Nana and "Air" Dale could use a good rug or hair plugs!
ReplyDeleteNancolas and Dale are of a mind-set we can spend out way out of the financial mess we find ourselves in these days. They haven't figured out borrow and spend (urban renewal) is no better than tax and spend. None of the projects done by these "leaders" would have passed a vote. They have money rat-holed in places we don't know about and they make decisions we all get stuck paying for in meetings we never hear about.
ReplyDeleteWe never hear about crazy ways to spend money in small towns like Parma, Greenleaf, Wilder, Notus and others. Public money get spent on necessary things and all the glitter projects never make it to the table for discussion. Big city politicians sit around and dream up ways to spend money we don't have and small city people tend to make sure they get all they can with the best interests of the people. Seems odd huh?
Sometimes I wonder if these guys are trying to create an order out of chaos situation. You know like get the finances and spending and money situation in such a mess that will give them the excuse to find some favorable greedy big corporation that they can outsource our city government to, and make more of their greedy profit off of it. Just a passing thought.
ReplyDeleteBad things happen when good people stand by and do nothing. And that is exactly what we have going on with Nancolas, Dale and Bieter. A new college building for out of state TVCC in Caldwell, the "pivot block" fantasy (Dale won't tell us who is interested in the property), new public safety building and soon to start library in Nampa, all of the crazy train to nowhere, inland air freight hub, and other nutty things Dave Bieter wants in Boise. The city hall building in Meridian all financed with taxpayer dollars but no taxpayer oversight and no legal way to stop all this nonsense. These people are not being held accountable for all this waste and spending of money we just don't have.
ReplyDeleteReply to annonomous
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be 2 kinds of people in this world, there are those that succeed sometimes after several failures and there are those that whine that every problem in their life is caused by someone else. J. R. Simplot started out as a 13 year old kid in Declo Idaho raising pigs on cull potatoes and onions. Warren Buffett owned a small grocery store in Iowa and Bill Gates was a coledge kid with a crazy idea that you could make money selling computer software. Like most succesful people they prevailed not because someone gave them something but because they were determined to get ahead in life. It seems to me we have 2 options put down your game boy and stand on your own 2 feet and work your butt off and become something or sit on the couch and whine about how bad you have . Its your choice.
I think that there is a big private type corporation of higher learning that is already calling the shots in city hall in Nampa.
ReplyDeleteI think most entrepreneurial people have the innate ability to asses risk and understand the time value of money. They are willing to forego gratification to a later date.
ReplyDeleteMost of the people I know want what they want now rather than later and are willing to make payments, use credit cards to appease their urges for instant gratification. They are also risk averse and content to live in the moment in the hope the future will take care of itself without benefit of a good plan.
It takes nerves of steel to watch your stock and bond investments (aka 401K or other stock based retirement plan) gyrate all over the place and do nothing while things tank.
What really frosts me is the attitudes of government people who think they have some god given right to spend their way out of this financial mess. Have any bankers been labeled DEFENDANT in criminal trials over what they created? I keep hoping the wheels of justice will extract some vengeance for those of us done wrong by Wall Street and the Bankers "bucket shop" practices.
Did you see the IPT editorial board opinion today?(8-12-11) Just what we need, more restaurants in the area. How fat are they getting? More corporate junkfood sit down fast food huh? Who can afford to go out around here when most people can barely afford peanut butter and jelly. Whomever came up with that idea better come down from forty thousand feet and land in the reality around here.
ReplyDeleteGreenleaf, Parma and Wilder better than the big cities hah!
ReplyDeleteGreenleaf city's water and sewer project comes to mind. How about Notus and their sewer projects.
It's no better out here pal. Politicians are the same everywhere it seems. We even have our own versions of Andy and Barney out here in the form of the Wilder and Parma Police departments. Talk about a waste of money.
I'd rather contract like Middleton does for police services. They seem to be getting it cheaper than Parma and Wilder police can.
Then we wouldn't have those knuckleheads racing up and down highway 95 with their lights and sirens to "Back each other up" every time one of them pulls someone over for some B.S. violation.
Can you say METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Anonymous?
ReplyDeleteThey should all stop wasting our money and combine into a more efficient police force.
Thank god we all have Bob here to save us. He can set the example for all of us of how to fail miserably as a businessman. Sorry Bobbo but I find it hard to put down the game boy considering the fact I work two jobs to make ends meet and don't have the time or the money to own a gameboy to begin with. Next you will tell me that although my wife and I earn about $40K a year and both have college degrees it's all our fault. I did not over spend and still have a place to live. Unfortunately life has become significantly harder thanks to businessmen morons on wall street who "took all the risks" just like you and screwed everyone else in the process totally destroying the economy. What little savings I had has dried up over the past 4 years and is gone. Watching your income drop by $10K a year really sucks. So why don't you create some more wealth there Mr. wealth creator and get us all out of this mess? Face it your an upper class snob with old money who looks down on the middle class.
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