Wow! Rudy's "Distressed" Signal Answered!

http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/1363187,gdistressed.article

(Excerpt)

Referencing more than 30 letters written by members of the public in opposition to Gary's petition, board members also talked to Clay about symbolism in city spending.

"I've read all I want to read about a Hummer," GiaQuinta said.

The city leases a Hummer H3 as transportation for Clay. Simply eliminating those payments won't solve the city's budget crisis, GiaQuinta said, but he added that the city might need to reconsider perks for elected officials.

"To some degree, symbolism plays a role here," GiaQuinta said.

Mr. Sconiers,



Thank you for your email. I just received your voicemail a little while ago, but you did not leave a phone number for me to return your call. I printed your email and will add it to the other letters, which will be available on the website tomorrow at http://www.in.gov/dlgf/7175.htm. I will continue to add letters as they are received. Your letter should be online by the end of the week. Thank you.



Sincerely,



Stephanie N. Russo
Executive Assistant to Ryan Kitchell and Chris Ruhl
Indiana Office of Management and Budget
State House Room 215 | Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317.232.5617 | Fax: 317.233.3323 |

Email: srusso@sba.in.gov



From: Sconiers [mailto:gigeronimo@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:09 PM
To: Russo, Stephanie
Subject: Gary , Indiana



Please do not raise the tax cap enough is enough they have squandered and squalor-ed and refuse to down size until January 1 , the city of Gary was running a night club and still is paying for a semi pro baseball teams staidum The city needs to sell it' baseball stadium and airport and shut down Roosevelt highs school and utilize Gary's West side high and shutter more schools and get all the friends and family that have already retired and working for the city of Gary off the payroll.

I'm retired and my rent in midtown Gary is $649 a month and my utilities Gas and light is $150.00 with my telephone Internet is $120. Car note $250.00 insurances $71 Medical $172.35 a month food $175 for me and my wife gasoline $80.00 per month .

That's not all you can help keep those thieves hand out of my pocket we can just barely make it as it is and the land lord has said if he gets an increase he will pass it on to the tenants.

Please vote no to more of the same horse shit racketeering do not lift the tax cap make them downsize!

Silas G Sconiers

Well darn, Geromino. I admire a citizen that doesn't just sit back and complain, but takes action and writes letters.

From what I read in the article, they are taking those letters far more serious than Clay's cry for help.

If you read the article, Clay is making himself a laughing clown down there, They aren't buying his cryin'.

I hope they put a stop to the bloated city government.

If you know anyone that live in Gary please provide them with the email address to .

Stephanie N. Russo
Executive Assistant to Ryan Kitchell and Chris Ruhl
Indiana Office of Management and Budget
State House Room 215 | Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317.232.5617 | Fax: 317.233.3323 |

Email: srusso@sba.in.gov

This should make everyone even more angry. Blago pimps the state out, thumbs his nose and lookie here! This is just an egotistical, idiot, raping the city. It's absurd that he would do something like this! It's an outrage!


$29,970 x 3 years = ?

But look at that last paragraph..."We're saving taxpayers money by riding in a Hummer, I could have bought a $50,000 Expedition. Is this guy lacking mathmatical skills? Common sense? I think he needs to get impeached. He's NUTS!

I don't live in Gary, but I'm gonna write that unit and give them a piece of my mind on behalf of the citizens in Gary & the state. This guy is screwing the whole state. What's wrong with a small, cheap Toyota? Oh, he can't fit six lard-azzes in it? All he needs is a damn german shepard. He ain't worth shooting.

Sorry, I accidently wiped out the link and article. You should read the comments below the article. 32 of them already!


http://nwitimes.com/articles/2009/01/07/news/top_news/doc8fb54f8d8028635c862575370009634a.txt

Gary buys new SUV for mayor

BY CHRISTINE KRALY
ckraly@nwitimes.com
219.662.5335 | Wednesday, January 07, 2009 | 32 comment(s)

GARY | A day after pleading with the state for a financial lifeline for his city, Gary Mayor Rudy Clay defended inking a deal for a new city-paid Hummer.

"What do you want me to do, walk around here?" Clay asked Tuesday. "I've got to have a car."

That car is a 2009 Hummer H3 purchased recently by the city, to be paid in three yearly installments totaling about $29,970, city spokeswoman LaLosa Burns said.

On Monday, Clay and a slew of city and county officials pitched a case before the state's Distressed Unit Appeals Board to provide Gary relief from new property tax caps.

One member of that panel charged with deciding Gary's fiscal fate cast doubt Tuesday that Gary has proven its need for state help if it still is buying automobiles.

"It's disappointing to learn this the day after Mayor Clay asked the Distressed Unit board to raise the property tax caps," said Ryan Kitchell, chairman of the appeals board and director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget. "We will only consider doing so after the city has cut all that it can. The new Hummer and testimony presented yesterday clearly show that much more spending can be cut."

More than 30 Gary residents submitted comments to the board opposing the bailout, some of which lambasted the city for funding the boxy vehicle.

One letter read: "I find it repulsive that this administration would be asking for relief while Mayor Clay continues to drive a Hummer, a noneconomical, gas-guzzling vehicle at the taxpayers' expense, which is equivalent to the CEO's of the Big Three automakers coming to Washington in their corporate jets asking Congress for a bailout."

On Monday, panel member Mark GiaQuinta, of Fort Wayne, said the letters he has seen tell him that Gary residents want to see "profound change" before the city is granted any relief from the tax caps.

"I frankly have read all I want to read about a Hummer," GiaQuinta said. "But I do think, to some degree, symbolism plays a role here."

Clay said Tuesday he felt the board was dismissing the Hummer as "a petty issue. They don't want to hear about it, and I don't blame them."

The mayor's wheels have been a hot-button topic among some residents for years since Clay rode into office in his own Hummer H3. He is reported as saying that version ran the city about $26,000.

Though he expressed frustration in doing so, Clay defended his vehicle choice Tuesday, saying, "I put my own gas in this Hummer. It's one of the cheapest SUVs. So what's the problem?

"There's a bigger issue than the Hummer I'm driving," he said. "We've got major, major financial issues over here in Gary."

In their plea to the appeals board, Gary officials have asked for four years to cope with new tax caps, which are projected to siphon $30.3 million from the city's 2009 budget.

"I don't want to continue to make a mountain out of a molehill," Clay said, noting that he voluntarily took a 20 percent pay cut in the midst of the city's fiscal meltdown.

Not only is his vehicle fuel efficient and requires little upkeep, Clay said, but it also saves Gary residents cash.

"We're saving taxpayers money by riding in a Hummer," he said. "I could've bought a $50,000 Expedition

The Title should have read:

Mayor NEW SUV For RUDY!

Thank you. I am in receipt of your email.



Stephanie N. Russo
Executive Assistant to Ryan Kitchell and Chris Ruhl
Indiana Office of Management and Budget
State House Room 215 | Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317.232.5617 | Fax: 317.233.3323 |

Email: srusso@sba.in.gov



From:
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 10:15 AM
To: Russo, Stephanie
Subject: Re: Rudy Clay Needs To Go!



A day after meeting with your board, pleading for money, Mr. Rudy Clay had the gall to walk out that door and purchase a new SUV. I beg you to read this article, and click on the link afte reading it, to read the many comments left behind.

This man has no concern for his city, It affects all of us in Lake County. He draws two salaries, has six body guards, and actually is bragging in this article. Please do something about this crook for a politician. He is a disgrace to his own community.

I beg also, that you do an internal investigation of money being squandered by him and his cronies. It is deplorable. It is no different that what Rod Blagotivich from Illinois is doing to his own state.

Mr. Clay does not need six body guards, if he truly was doing his job. Today, there is also an article in the Post-Tribune how one police officer was found during a police chase to not possess a license and has a history of breaking the law. They will not comment on the lack of his blood test, as required by law, two hours after being involved in a crash, chasing a stolen motor vehicle. He also has to prior arrests for breaking the law. Meanwhile, they are putting him behind a desk with pay. How is that being treated as someone who broke the law, compared to a private citizen being arrested and put behind the bars? We need a federal investigation to look into the many misgivings on how this city is being run.



Rudy Clay is not capable of running that city, He causes his own homeowners/citizens to suffer as if they need to live like they do, while asking for more tax money. This is deplorable! Unacceptable, I would love hearing back from you.

All of Lake County is sick and tired of bailing out the very people who screw their own people all for the sake of "symbolism". I say check their books, deny them any reprieve until you hold a federal investigation into Rudy Clay and his books. He shouldn't be allowed to collect an additional $30,000 a year, not stepping foot in that capacity but maybe twice. People in Lake County are sick of bailing out Gary!


http://nwitimes.com/articles/2009/01/07/news/top_news/doc8fb54f8d8028635c862575370009634a.txt

Gary buys new SUV for mayor



Thank you for your emails. I am in receipt of both.



Sincerely,



Stephanie N. Russo
Executive Assistant to Ryan Kitchell and Chris Ruhl
Indiana Office of Management and Budget
State House Room 215 | Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317.232.5617 | Fax: 317.233.3323 |

Email: srusso@sba.in.gov



From:
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 11:08 AM
To: Russo, Stephanie
Subject: Here's more proof for you, written in the comment section of NWITimes.com



" I am a Gary Cop and this man is truely disgusting. I was there when he first took office and he and his cronies came to our police garage and left with approximately eight of our new unmarked crown vic's to give to his city hall employee(friends)to never be seen again. when we (police officers) were short vehicles.

Then he got the first Hummer, Why? is he too good to drive one of the crown vic's?? That buy the way were already paid for, so no need to waste the tax payers money to pay his payments on the first Hummer.

Or, to save more tax money why not drive the old mayors already paid for Ford Expidition?? I guess that would make to much sense. So lets just give that truck to another hard working city hall employee. It's all about the mayor "getting mines" attitude. On our dime!!

now a new Hummer WOW, Sombody please send help!!!!!!!! "

Thanks I hope the rest of the people on the forum drop them a line .

G- I'm glad to see one of Gary's citizens trying to do what they can to make their city better and hold their elected officials accountable. I hope there is more like you and that they do more too! With enough care from it's citizens, Gary could become a great place like it once was.

Ohhmama wrote:

G- I'm glad to see one of Gary's citizens trying to do what they can to make their city better and hold their elected officials accountable. I hope there is more like you and that they do more too! With enough care from it's citizens, Gary could become a great place like it once was.

Monkey...I'm not even a citizen of Gary, Indiana..but I read the link that the Distressed Board provided Geromino. All this time, we blamed (Oh, I did!) the citizens of Gary of not caring, not doing enough and just accepting things the way they were.

After clicking on that link where they noted Geromino's letter would appear at the end of the week, I tapped on it and my heart just went out to those people in Gary. It is not at all like the impression I had from the boards, but based on reading the intensity and the amount of letters submitted. It made me mad. It made me want to try and help them. The best I could do after reading what Clay did the day after crying a river to the Distressed Unit Board, was to take the time to copy the reviews/article in the Post-Tribune that reported he had taken no interest in their evaluation of what the monetary problem was. The subject of an SUV was brought up. He goes out the next day and buys a new one.

He snubbed their opinions of what he can do to make Gary work without assistance from the Distressed Unit Board. I read up on all the petitions and letters sent to the review board, and boy they are still pouring in. Rudy has no clue. I sent all the comments from the article where they stated he went out "Gary buys New SUV for Mayor" when it should have read, "Rudy bought New SUV For HIMSELF". The residents are furious. The whole lake county is sick of bailing this idiot out. His own residents can't stand him. Tons of letters were sent and divided up in five parts and more to come until Friday. This mayor has no clue. The Miller area wrote how their taxes went up and services never came...

Before we always said, "Well, you voted for him". Well, a lot of people vote because they believe what they are fed at the time. Look T what Blago SAID AND did..."Reform - No more pay to play". And look what he did to those who voted and believed.

Who's to believe anymore? My part in this is: it affects ALL OF Lake County, The STATE of IN, the taxpayers, while this guy gets off with bling and SUVs, and six body guards. If you need six body guards in a city, you have no business being a mayor. Even Shaw FROM DOLTON never feared enough to have even ONE. What are you fearing that is any different than your residents if you need guards, but you feel your residents aren't entitled to the simplest police protection because you're the mayor and you're telling the residents your life is more important, despite the murders, gunfire, etc?

Where is the leadership by living the example? If I feared that much in my life that I needed six body guards to protect me in a city where I disregard what almost every constituent in my district lives everyday with and can't do anything about it, then I don't deserve one body guard. I wouldn't even deserve a poilice dog by my side.

This guy has got to go. Sometimes we need to forget about blaming. My time came. I am doing everything I can to help fight these poor citizens of Gary which are mostly elderly to get the hell out, or get rid of the culpret that doesn't give a damn. I wrote my fair share of letters to the governor, the committee of "Distresed Unit", and also the mayor himself, Mayor Rudy Clay. I told him exactly what I thought of him, and told him I have begged and asked the Feds to investigate him. The best thing he can do for himself right now is prepare for the investigation, because "All of Indiana, and Lake County are sick of your antics and bailing you out." I even threw in a suggestion to invest in some cheap razor blades to shave that 1970 porkchop side-burn look off his face. I can't tell you how much I emphasized and warned him...the FEDS are on their way in and he can kiss his hummer goodbye.

I don't care what's legal or not...I learned what matters is Right or Wrong. And he's been wrong too damn long. I'm willing to help the good citizens of Gary out, which are mostly elderly so they can have SOME peace in their lives. That's more than anyone can say about their mayor.

I hope his Hummer hits a crater, because I know in my heart, soon enough, he WILL.

I know a lot of people have issues with Dwight Taylor but trust me when it comes down to good government he is all for it.

He wants the current administration out and is leading the charge!

UrRight wrote:

Ohhmama wrote:

G- I'm glad to see one of Gary's citizens trying to do what they can to make their city better and hold their elected officials accountable. I hope there is more like you and that they do more too! With enough care from it's citizens, Gary could become a great place like it once was.

Monkey...I'm not even a citizen of Gary, Indiana..but I read the link that the Distressed Board provided Geromino. All this time, we blamed (Oh, I did!) the citizens of Gary of not caring, not doing enough and just accepting things the way they were.

After clicking on that link where they noted Geromino's letter would appear at the end of the week, I tapped on it and my heart just went out to those people in Gary. It is not at all like the impression I had from the boards, but based on reading the intensity and the amount of letters submitted. It made me mad. It made me want to try and help them. The best I could do after reading what Clay did the day after crying a river to the Distressed Unit Board, was to take the time to copy the reviews/article in the Post-Tribune that reported he had taken no interest in their evaluation of what the monetary problem was. The subject of an SUV was brought up. He goes out the next day and buys a new one.

He snubbed their opinions of what he can do to make Gary work without assistance from the Distressed Unit Board. I read up on all the petitions and letters sent to the review board, and boy they are still pouring in. Rudy has no clue. I sent all the comments from the article where they stated he went out "Gary buys New SUV for Mayor" when it should have read, "Rudy bought New SUV For HIMSELF". The residents are furious. The whole lake county is sick of bailing this idiot out. His own residents can't stand him. Tons of letters were sent and divided up in five parts and more to come until Friday. This mayor has no clue. The Miller area wrote how their taxes went up and services never came...

Before we always said, "Well, you voted for him". Well, a lot of people vote because they believe what they are fed at the time. Look T what Blago SAID AND did..."Reform - No more pay to play". And look what he did to those who voted and believed.

Who's to believe anymore? My part in this is: it affects ALL OF Lake County, The STATE of IN, the taxpayers, while this guy gets off with bling and SUVs, and six body guards. If you need six body guards in a city, you have no business being a mayor. Even Shaw FROM DOLTON never feared enough to have even ONE. What are you fearing that is any different than your residents if you need guards, but you feel your residents aren't entitled to the simplest police protection because you're the mayor and you're telling the residents your life is more important, despite the murders, gunfire, etc?

Where is the leadership by living the example? If I feared that much in my life that I needed six body guards to protect me in a city where I disregard what almost every constituent in my district lives everyday with and can't do anything about it, then I don't deserve one body guard. I wouldn't even deserve a poilice dog by my side.

This guy has got to go. Sometimes we need to forget about blaming. My time came. I am doing everything I can to help fight these poor citizens of Gary which are mostly elderly to get the hell out, or get rid of the culpret that doesn't give a damn. I wrote my fair share of letters to the governor, the committee of "Distresed Unit", and also the mayor himself, Mayor Rudy Clay. I told him exactly what I thought of him, and told him I have begged and asked the Feds to investigate him. The best thing he can do for himself right now is prepare for the investigation, because "All of Indiana, and Lake County are sick of your antics and bailing you out." I even threw in a suggestion to invest in some cheap razor blades to shave that 1970 porkchop side-burn look off his face. I can't tell you how much I emphasized and warned him...the FEDS are on their way in and he can kiss his hummer goodbye.

I don't care what's legal or not...I learned what matters is Right or Wrong. And he's been wrong too damn long. I'm willing to help the good citizens of Gary out, which are mostly elderly so they can have SOME peace in their lives. That's more than anyone can say about their mayor.

I hope his Hummer hits a crater, because I know in my heart, soon enough, he WILL.

UR, I didn't say that, Momma did

LOL, I was confused at first but then I thought ah- what'ev I've been called worse before..

I caught that right away, and forgot to change it when I was editing. So sorry. I think it was because I just got done at the time reading something he posted on another thread, and I forgot where I was. I need a GPS for this board.

I'm still fuming from that mayor. Especially after reading about the cop cars, then I read that the firetrucks are falling apart, and THEN I read three ambulances out of four were in a shop.

Was I mistaken...he is making payments of $29,000 each year for three years? Well, it isn't the matter of how much. What matters is he didn't need it. I mean, can you picture maybe one of those golden stagecoaches with all the fringe, and being pulled by horses down the streets (bullet proof of course), with six guys walking along side of you with bullet proof vests? Like he's the "POPE"?

Well, der ya gooo...he should have just bought a Pope-Mobile, a bullet-proof mobile, and do away with the six bling-blangs.

By the way, how is Dwight doing, Geromino? I thought he loved the mayor before. What changed his tune?