From: barney uhlig barney.uhlig@us.army.mil
Date: Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 9:08 PM
Subject: Questions for all candidates
To: jonduckstad@xxx.com, nancytyralukens@xxx.com, dazarian1@xxx.net, sherrybutcherwickstrom@xxxl.com, kitrell4EP@xxx.com, kathynelsonforedenprairie@xxx.com, jpilon@xxxl.com, scott.pollino@xxx.com
Cc: Thomas Briant abriant@sprynet.com, Paul Wendorff paulwendorff@attglobal.net, Dan Jorgenson dmjorg@hotmail.com, Brent Halweg bhalweg@comcast.net, Joe Lupo joel@winsted.com, Bob Johnson robert.dakota@yahoo.com, Mike Fahning mfahning@comcast.net
We are a group of neighbors who want to know specific intentions of a city council candidate rather than just the usual clichés. We would like to know how you stand on the following issues. Our votes will be based on your answers, or lack thereof.
Will you commit to introduce legislation, actively work for its passage, and finally vote for irt which would:
1. Bring the city's top salaries and fringe befits in line with state government or business of similar size? Why does the public works director e.g., having about 20% of the responsibility of the state commissioner of transportation, gets a compensation higher than that of the governor?
2. Review the multiple layers of city management to see if all positions are really necessary.
3. Eliminate the office, including the position of public works director. E.P. is not that big that the city engineer, etc. cannot report directly to the city manager.
4. Eliminate the city public relations department, whatever its name. The city has no business publishing its own news paper or its own TV channel The only task to be continued is the broadcast of council and committee meetings (a part time position).
5. Eliminate any city involvement in the advising of immigrants. This is already done by federal, state, and county offices as well as 49 NGOs.
6. Eliminate the city being a property owner except when such property is directly for the city's use. The city has no business owning a house leased to a coffee shop.
7. Discontinue the city acquiring, owning and operating buildings for small special interest groups, such as an observatory, an arts center, a bow/arrow range, etc. These facilities should be turned over to the special interest groups and taken off city books.
8. Require the city managers to present three annual budget proposals which shall not reduce public safety, but which otherwise reduce spending by a.) 3%, b.) one that spends the same as last year, and c.) one that contains increases similar to those of the CPI. That would enable the council members to make real choices.
9. Eliminate the city requirement that home owners have to plow city owned side walks.
10. Eliminate the "no-plow zone" which allows the city not to plow at all certain public park and street walkways.
11. Eliminate the upcharges for water usage beyond an amount that the city considers 'excessive".
12. With state legislation if necessary, increase water supply from wells or the river to eliminate the permanent water "emergency".
13. Refund the approx. 100 property owners in the Hillcrest area the $6,000 which the city assessed for street maintenance. The city hadn't touched these roads in 30 years, and then claimed that they were so deteriorated that an assessment was required.
14. Eliminate the so-called "development fund" or whatever it is called into which revenues from the liquor stores and other city income flows. Every expenditure of the city should go thru the regular budget process. The only possible legitimate purpose for that fund is a "rainy day" source of money, but only to supplement the general fund in a (defined) genuine emergency and not for a project.
15. Instill in, and demand from the city bureaucracy a "miser" mentality as it pertains to spending tax dollars, and base any bonus payments on that. Most top bureaucrats are neither Democrat nor Republican - they are empire builders and indiscriminate spenders unless the council keeps them under control. Tearing out perfectly good asphalt of the Round Lake pedestrian path, replacing it with new, two feet wider asphalt, and then painting lane dividers on this walkway (!) - is an example of a bureaucracy gone wild and swimming in money. The ThreeRrivePark walkways in Minnetonka are quite adequate crushed rock - nothing wrong with that. Why did we need to replace entirely satisfactory wooden city park and building signs with glitzy glass and aluminum signs? Last year, when a number of E.P. home owners had to watch the foreclosure on their homes, the city had no better use for tax money than to tear out the quite serviceable tennis complex at Round Lake park and
replace it completely, base, colored asphalt, and 12' high fence? We spent more than $100,000 to develop and produce new city, police and fire logos. Why? The examples could go on and on. We need more common sense in city hall.
:
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Barney U Uhlig, LTC, SF, USAR Ret
# # #
From: Two Putt Tommy
To: barney.uhlig@us.army.mil
Cc: jonduckstad@xxx.com, nancytyralukens@xxx.com, dazarian1@xxx.net, sherrybutcherwickstrom@xxxl.com, kitrell4EP@xxx.com, kathynelsonforedenprairie@xxx.com, jpilon@xxxl.com, scott.pollino@xxx.com abriant@sprynet.com ; paulwendorff@attglobal.net ; dmjorg@hotmail.com ; bhalweg@comcast.net ; joel@winsted.com ; robert.dakota@yahoo.com ; mfahning@comcast.net ; editor@edenprairienews.com ; editor@acnpapers.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 7:35 PM
Dear Mr. Ullig,
My name is Tommy Johnson; I'm a blogger at www.MnPrgressiveProject.com and a radio personality at Am-950 Radio
I was forwarded the following, and am wondering who - EXACTLY - the "group of neighbors" are? Is it strictly limited to the group in the "cc:" field below, or are there more?
I note that in the "cc:" field is a person identified as "Thomas Briant" - is this the same "Thomas Briant" listed on the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board as a lobbyist?
In your email, below, you state: "Our votes will be based on your answers, or lack thereof." Did you plan on publicizing the results of the following questionnaire; and if so, how?
Thank you for your prompt reply; based on your response, I may have additional questions.
Sincerely,
Tommy Johnson
And for those reading this far, that want just a little bit more of what these wanna-be king makers think, link here - and read the comments.
I printed one o' Briant's emails (verbatim, of course) in those comments; read how "Tobacco Lobbyist Tom" really, Really, REALLY seems to believe in that old adage from Texas:
You can hashtag any tweets about Briant or Wendorf or anyone else from the so-called "Eden Prairie Taxpayers Aliance" as:
