Now, we'll just have to wait & see...



The newly named mayor stands in front of the seat
he will occupy till December 2012 - RiverCity News photo



Changes save $1M for Covington

By Jeanne Houck Post staff reporter The city of Covington should save nearly $1 million annually in the way it operates because it has acted on 80 of 90 changes recommended in a 1999 study. Among the changes: Hiring another auditor to catch tax scofflaws, charging more for ambulance runs and getting into the solid-waste disposal business. Benefits • Methods recommended in the Scheper Report are reaping benefits for Covington. • They include dropping employees' birthday day off and dropping one personal day and refinancing Devou Park debt. That's according to Gerald Newfarmer, president of Management Partners Inc. of Cincinnati, whom Covington hired in 2000 to help implement recommendations made one year earlier by consultant Chuck Scheper, a Covington insurance executive. In a letter sent in June 21 to Covington City Manager Greg Jarvis, Newfarmer -- a former Cincinnati city manager -- said he'd compiled the information at Scheper's request. Mayor Butch Callery said he was pleased with the results of the changes, even though the city's estimated savings have fallen short of a $5 million annual figure bandied about earlier. "We worked hard, and it paid off," Callery said Thursday. "We wanted to compliment (Scheper) and show it was not for naught." ******************************* Covington officials to discuss issues The public is invited to attend the Covington City Commission's retreat today, but not to ask questions during the marathon session, Mayor Butch Callery said. The meeting was to run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the new Drees Pavilion at the city's Devou Park -- a lot closer to constituents than commissioners prefer for the weekend event, which offers them the opportunity to discuss issues at greater depth than at the typical Tuesday-evening commission meeting. Among issues to be discussed were: • The Scott/Greenup corridor study. • The city's proposed tax amnesty program. • Legal updates on possible regulations of newsstands and public pay phones that are placed in the public right-of-way. • Enforcement of city building and nuisance codes; • An update on the city's new park rangers. • Riverfront West and the proposed Freedom Park. • An update on zoning for sexually oriented businesses. "The public won't be allowed to speak at that," Callery said. "That would defeat the whole purpose of the retreat. "We want to get through the agenda," he said. Anyone who has questions about the discussions can ask them at Tuesday's regularly scheduled 7 p.m. commission meeting, Callery added. All department heads were to attend today's gathering with the city commission, and give presentations of 10 minutes or less to open conversations on each topic. Officials in Covington and other Northern Kentucky cities used to hold retreats in Lexington until Howard Hodge, Covington's former housing development director, challenged the practice and the state attorney general's office agreed that Kentucky's open meetings law required meetings be in the city to be convenient to the public. Kenton Circuit Judge Greg Bartlett later agreed with the attorney general that Lexington was too far to be convenient, but disagreed that meetings had to be within the city's boundaries. Publication Date: 02-14-2004 Commissioners Jerry Bamberger, Alex Edmondson and Bernie Moorman finished first, second and fourth, respectively. Commissioner Craig Bohman is not seeking re-election. 5/19/2004 Looking back over the first half of 2002, here on The South Bank; I combed through recent news articles, commission minutes, transcripts of an online conversation with the current commission candidates... I have distilled all these headlines, sound bites and quotes into this simple list of KeyWords: Callous Obnoxious Vitriolic Insensitive Negligent Greedy Twisted Oppressive Niggardly (Yes, it is a word! Look it up!)

"What would our community look like if it were a really healthy place to live?" The National Civic League (NCL) posed this question to neighbors in hundreds oc communities across the country. This is how people everywhere responded:

• A clean and safe environment
• A diverse and vibrant economy
• A place that has good housing for all
• A place where people respect and support each other
• A place that promotes and celebrates its cultural and historical heritage
• A place where citizens and government share power
• A place that has affordable health care for all
• A place that has good schools
• A place that has and supports strong families

But we are moving away from this ideal. Many voluntary associations no longer have the influence or position in our communities they once had. For example, PTA participation has fallen dramatically, as has participation in Boy Scouts, Red Cross volunteers, labor unions membership, and civic clubs like the Lions and Elks. (Bowling Alone, by Robert Parker)

In the Gannet News "Mood of America" poll, 76 percent of citizens agreed, "there is less concern for others than there once was."

We must be careful not to over generalize, since some Northern Kentucky communities may not fit these trends fully, or even at all. There will always be crosscurrents and countertrends. A few communities may have high levels of interconnectedness and public participation, with few glaring social problems and plenty of resources. But these communities are the exceptions.

By and large, the quality of life and the social fabric of many Northern Kentucky communities are being threatened by these trends.

And there is no denying current social problems mirroring national trends, such as poverty, street violence, domestic abuse, drugs, racial/ethnic divides, urban sprawl and homelessness remain very much with us here in Northern Kentucky

How can Northern Kentucky address the Healthy Communities issues identified by the National Civic League?

Is the solution financial? Solutions often cost money, so, of course, more public funding to address local problems would be helpful. Support these efforts, but realize that in the present economic and political climate, success will not come easily and will cost each of us more than money. We need to understand there are no short-term solutions. We need CommUNITY Leaders who will engage, listen and translate the words into compelling long-term actions. Leaders who can then garner the support of government, private sector, faith community, public sector organizations and residents for the action plans.

President Bush, in his inaugural address said: "What you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor. I ask you to be citizens. Citizens, not spectators. Citizens, not subjects. Responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character."

Residents, along with the people who work, worship or have roots in a community need to be seen as an alternative resource, as someone with something important to share.

The task is to identify these alternative resources, then to coalesce and organize them, to plan, develop, implement, and sustain multiple community wide solutions. This will not happen all by itself. The structure for organizing and mobilizing community resources is generally not in place. A big plus is that people, 63 percent in one poll, believe that people are willing to pitch in and fix what is wrong in their communities, if they knew how. Mechanisms for involvement are rare, but do exist. Let us identify these processes and bring them into our communities.

America is the great democratic example, but because we lead there is no blueprint. America's greatness has been due to our ability, on the national, state and local levels, to find common ground. To large extent, it is our ability to reach consensus through civil discourse that has contributed to our greatness. Today, in our communities, neighborhoods, media and even in our legislative bodies, far too often, a difference of opinion is painted as evil, making constructive dialogue impossible.

In doing this work, the Boston Foundation developed "Seven Guiding Principles for a New Social Contract."

• Incorporate those directly affected by policies at the heart of dialogue and community building.
• Value racial and cultural diversity at the foundation for wholeness.
• Promote active citizenship and political empowerment.
• Build on community strengths and assets.
• Ensure access to fundamental opportunities and remove obstacles to equal opportunities.
• Support and enhance the well being of children and their families.
• Foster sustained commitment, coordination, and collaboration based on a shared vision and mutual respect.

We hear congress can't get anything done, or that government can't get anything right. We are a democracy; the government is a reflection of ourselves.

The task ahead will be long and is not easy, so it is important we get started. In the words of Bobby Kennedy: "The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of bold projects and new idieas. Rather, it will belong to those who can blend passion, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals of American Society."

excerpted from the "White Paper on Poverty in Northern Kentucky"