Op-ed by Peter Children of Mason City –
Comes now Eric Bookmeyer; problem drinker, some time trouble maker in Clinton, Iowa where he and his physician wife migrated from. No one could have imagined it at the time but when the Mercy Hospital hired this woman and her husband Eric tagged along, what catastrophic consequences it would create in this city. The effect was diabolical and it was immediate.
At the time no one was aware of the danger that lurked around us. Bookmeyer was nondescript, did not stand out in anyway….but once he was thrust onto the scene as mayor and his first order of business was to do away with the public forum at the council meetings, this turned out to be a foreboding signal that caused people to take a longer look at this stranger amongst us…..but it was too late, the infection had already spread. By March of 2010 three department heads filed complaints against the mayor for harassment and hostile working conditions. The city administrator Trout brushed it off; he had already assumed the role of baby sitter for Eric. It was Trout who helped carry the mayor out of the O.P. after the establishment had refused to serve him further.
So now the real Eric begins to unravel before us; and it isn’t a pretty picture. It turns out he’s a stumble drunk, walks into tables, knocks over drinks……and at times can’t walk on his own. And it does not happen once, it happens over and over in one bar after another; now this points to possible illusions of impunity, or privilege, or maybe he thinks he’s invisible. There was one incident that happened in a beauty salon east of town. This incident has been totally verified. The story begins when Eric entered a hair salon east of town with the intent to have his hair cut. When the beautician who was to cut his hair informed him that there was one other person ahead of him, he asked her if “She knew who the f**k” he was. Then and there in no uncertain terms he informed her that he was the “f**king” mayor and he demanded to be seated forthwith and without delay. Who knew he was that important?
The first item on his agenda in 2010 was to cut the budget of the Human Rights Department to the point it could no longer remain open. He thought he had the necessary votes needed with Tornquist, Hickey along with Solberg & Weaver….but Weaver decided to go a different direction and the vote ended up tied causing the measure to fail. This stumble drunk was relentless, he became fanatical in his quest. When commission members’ terms expired and needed renewal, he refused, when understudies were ready to fill the seats of retiring members he refused to appoint them, instead he used the opportunity to install people of his own ilk to fill the seat. This is a nine member board, and his thinking was to put enough of his own appointees on the board to shut it down internally by having them vote to shut the doors. At this point I should interject some facts; Cohl Bultje served as his campaign manager during his run for mayor. Bultje was the son of the director of I.C. Systems, a debt collecting agency located behind Wal-Mart. This agency had several complaints on file against it listed at the Office of Human Rights….need I go further or can you figure the rest out by yourself?
His obsession grew like a malignant tumor; when Sandra Servantez -a long time understudy on the commission- applied to fill a recent vacancy….she was denied. When she attempted to address the issue at the council meeting he had the police remove her from the podium. He had that department audited, the only one, no other departments were subjected…..then he got his dream council. Nelson and Marsters terms on the council expired and Weaver lost in his re-election bid. After the new council was seated, research has showed that after close to 100 meetings of the new council, a no vote was never heard. Eric was now more dangerous than ever.
Travis Hickey wasn’t satisfied to merely be another lap dog, he wanted to be recognized as something he could never achieve….that of being looked upon as intelligent. He then set out to disrupt more than one city department with threats of extreme upheaval…..and he had a perfect mayor to pitch to. Bookmeyer was and still is eager to construct a legacy, something that he will be remembered for, something besides being a spectacle in the local watering holes.
Bookmeyer then announced that the sanitation department would be open for bids from the private sector to haul the city’s trash. Of course the council fell all over themselves to accommodate him, but few bids came in and none were lower. It meant absolutely nothing that the fate of 11 families hung in the balance, long time loyal city employees….and it meant nothing to those on the council as well. Next in line was the Fire Department; Hickey had figured it out that by changing the work shifts the city could save money; but as expected Hickey was out of his element and the city walked away. Somewhere in there was an attempt to spend $20,000,000.00 on a hockey rink. We already had a hockey rink at the fairgrounds….but it wasn’t good enough. He immediately named a hand picked panel who would decide if we needed it and if the city could support it. This panel consisted of more than one whose business could benefit from this edifice quite nicely. I don’t have to tell you what their finding were……
Next to come to town was a company that burned municipal waste. They had been trying to find a community that would welcome them, they promised upwards of 50 jobs, but their methods were untested and the emissions could possibly cause cancer…this was considered a serious threat to the people living here. Bookmeyer wanted the facility built, this could be his legacy…cancer perhaps. He cared little about the poor and downtrodden by closing the Human Rights office, why then would he care about anyone else? There was a school yard and daycare near where the burning plant was to be built….he didn’t care……..
Weaver’s term had expired as the city’s representative on the landfill board and in his place Eric installed Tornquist his #1 lackey and someone cut from the same cloth. The landfill board consisted of 13 members with weighted votes proportioned by their individual usage; Mason City’s vote carried one third of the total vote and was the largest….but there was still two-thirds of the vote made up with the remaining communities. The Clear Lake member cast the deciding vote that defeated Bookmeyer’s wishes.
What I have chronicled here is but a brief sketch of what certainly purports to be a much larger problem, one which lies under the surface of someone who is floundering on the pathway of life…. maybe it’s the shock of moving from the back seat of a squad car to the front seat, maybe it is paranoia brought on by copious amounts of alcohol, maybe it’s the need to prove something to himself. Each of you who read these words will come to your own conclusions. As for me, I see the mayor as acting with malaise and purposeful disregard as in the case of the HR department. This also would be the case in interfering in the city departments…. families jobs were at stake. This is a small town, we all know one another…what difference would have 2 or 3 dollars have made in the cost of picking up our waste…..would you throw 11 families to the wolves for that kind of money?
The money spent to move a desk, along with money used to fund a failed business program at NIACC equaled that of the HR department budget…..the $265,000.00 given to the Museum could have been halved. Stop the bullshit; tell the truth….this was the most vicious form of malice; total disregard of those who need our help…unimaginable.
As a community we don’t need this turmoil; we have a weak mayoral form of government headed by a city administrator. Eric has not conformed to whatever that is….and Trout is incapable of taking charge. Just remember the final facilitator is the city council; this is were the real malice lives. This city is a prime example for study in every civic class in the country; it shows the effects of what can happen to a quiet community when people leave the voting to others…..let this be a lesson to everyone who stayed away from the voting booth. Nothing you may own, nothing in your house, not the money in your bank account, nothing is more precious than your right to chose…..to vote; my God look out the window and see the price we’re now paying.
Peter Children
For Pete’s sake. I think my ex finally screwed the brains out of Pete. Back in his prime Pete bagged more married woman than a grocery sacker. Maybe his rants are his Viagra of today.
Peter used to sculpt nude woman at the art museum many years ago…that boy’s been around. Yes, believe it or not there was a time when housewives posed nude at MacNider Art museum. Now MC is Sara Palin conservative.
And about as crazy and lame as Sarah Palin. This town barely has a heartbeat and the weakest pulse around. They call the opening of a beer hall a major event. Sorry it wont last, they arent even open this weekend.
I have seen women in their 20’s ooo and aaaah over Pete Children not so long ago. The man can bag women. Period. He has the gift. Really Pete should bag the wives of his most hated. That would be classic.
To: Time_Better_Spent, you know you are on this site all the time. Who are you trying to kid? Stay off if you don’t like it!! What a hypocrite you are!
Articles like this are a prime example of why I avoid this website. I was initially looking for a second opinion on a local news story (Couldn’t find anything of course, but the single sentence about a business closing in the local mall was front and center. A SINGLE SENTENCE!) and stumbled across this “Op-Ed”. What a skewed, ridiculously biased, poorly researched, and petty article. I understand that local politics can produce a particularly ugly brand of mud slinging but this is comedic.
If I was Bookmeyer, I’d rest easy knowing that it was clearly written for those who already agree with it and is so obviously biased, anyone on the fence will dismiss it within the first paragraph.
If you avoid the website-STAY OFF IT. We do not need you haters on here.
Amen. Brother
You try to avoid NIT? Judging by the number of comments you make here I see that you are unsuccessful to say the least.
3 comments over the course of a few months constitutes a “on this site all the time…”?? I guess I don’t have a good response to that.
I’m not saying Peter is not intelligent, accomplished or was successful in his career, but his rants are ridiculous, mean spirited, slanderous and petty. If is not mentally ill, I don’t know how else to explain his bias and bad form. This is an exaggerated witch hunt. Shame on you Peter. How can you look yourself in the eye?
Dateline: Hong Kong
So you’re alright with closing the HR department; you’d kick all these people to the curb In a heartbeat. That is where we’re different and I am not surprised. I would never be like you.
@Joe-I have not always been a Peter Children fan but, in this instance I agree with him. Bookdrunk is almost the worst thing that ever happened to this town. Peter’s statements are right on target and only someone biased and mentally ill would have a problem seeing that.
I have known Peter Children for many years. He is an accomplished, intelligent and successful businessman. This article is “right on”. If only everyone would have gone to the polls to vote against Bookmeyer. I wish Max Weaver would run for mayor but I can understand why he doesn’t want to. We got rid of one alcoholic mayor only to get another one! It’s hard to believe. There has got to be someone in this town who is willing to run because they love Mason City and want to make things better for EVERYONE. Maybe Sandy Servantez — she seems so honest and passionate about M.C. I only hope somehow he gets voted out.
The fact that you think Max has a chance to be elected Mayor says more about your judgement than anything else I could possibly think of writing about. Lolz
Bummer, I thought Peter was gone for good. Kind of a drag. He is off his meds again. back to his old conspiracy theories. So far from the truth. Sad, Sad, angry little man.
There is nothing in this article that is a theory. You Joe, need to get out more. I’ve seen Bookmeyer drunk. I’ve smelled the alcohol on his breath along with the cigarettes. (so much for promoting blue zone with being a smoker). I said earlier that someone needs to get this guy on camera, and myself of someone else just might be the one to do it.
I have known l. Foster my entire life, why I ask would he with hold financial reords? Never happened. It is what it is……our mayor needs to visit fountiain center..for a prolong rest, or at lest until his term is over
Peter children.
Michael Servantez
March 2, 2013 at 8:53 pm
Aren’t you smart enough to understand what I wrote, no I DO NOT LIKE HIM OR HIS WAY OF LEADING THIS CITY, OR WHATEVER YOU CALL LEADERSHIP. I am just sorry for the kind of man he is. It is what it is I guess
you just don’t like him because he fired one of your family members off the HRC. be honest.
Boy, you sure don’t know what you are talking about, 1.- my wife didn’t even get an interview, so how could she be fired. 2. She wasn’t even on the commission, just a friend of the commission, I guess now, every time I read any of your posts, they are not valid, because you don’t know what the hell you are talking about. So my advice, anyone that reads your posts, just remember The reason I don’t like him is because he is incompetent as a Mayor, and if you can’t see that, not only you don’t know what you are talking about, you are dumb as a box of rocks.Just sayin.
I wish the “handle” anonymous would be outlawed so that we could differentiate between people who post on the same article at the very least.
@Michael-I agree with what you are saying but it is damn hard to know which Anonymous you are dealing with. They hide behind the name for just that reason. I hope your wife decides to run for office. She is a honest woman who didn’t get a fair shake from our so called mayor. I will vote for her.
Lets just call him FLUF= FAt little ugly f**k
So this is what passes for journalism and an “op-ed” – character assassination with a heavy dose of condescending & diminishing characterizations of all those who might have an association with the mayor. Then it is topped off with the suggestion that his wife administer a shot of air in the arm to rectify the situation. Nice touch.
Peter – get with it. If you think you have a legitimate ax to grind and have something better to offer – put your name on the ballot next time and tell the voters how you will do better.
Given the insults leveled at other council members I bet that would work out swell!
While I appricate your comments; you yourself might start by stating your real name and stop hiding your identity. My only interest in this mayor lies in his attack on the HR department in this city. If he’d of left it alone even if he was passed out in some ditch I would give him a second look. Now I suppose you are going to tell us all the Eric is what you really want in a city official. Man up….stop hiding.
Peter – I am all in favor of defunding the HR department.
I understand that the director refused to provide financial information about the department to the City during the budgeting process. If I were mayor I’d try to place this guy on immediate administrative leave and bring in the auditors. This sort of nonsense should not be tolerated.
Beyond that, Mason City taxpayers should not fund a function used by those outside of the city which is duplicative and available from the state.
As to “manning” up – I prefer to keep the focus on the facts of a situation and not cloud it with personalities.
This article is all well and good, however the question still remains. Who, if anyone, will run for mayor? I have asked this now for the third time and yet to hear an answer.
You might as well get used to the idea of Bookmeyer being elected to a second term because no one has the guts to come out and announce that he or she is going to run. This is EXACTLY what is going to happen.
Between Peter Children and Matt Marquardt writing the op-eds they write about Bookmeyer, neither one has come up with someone that they either endorse or get behind to run for mayor. Write what you want, but unless you have a suggestion of someone to run for mayor, what’s the point??
I would love to see Jodi Draper run for mayor. She’s a very intelligent, well educated person. She knows her stuff and has Mason City’s best interests at heart. She would be an amazing candidate, and an even better mayor!
She would be much classier and more trustworthy than the fool that is already in there.
Wow, kinda like Obama isn’t he?
It’s great to hear from Mr. Children again!
Well, I guess we are all stuck with Bookmeyer for the long haul no matter what. Since Peter Children won’t run, for whatever excuse or reason, we are sunk.
You would really want to elect someone for mayor who has suggested that his predecessor should have been murdered by an air embolism injection? This statement is downright sick.
From the article: “His wife should have got out a syringe, filled it with air and stuck it into a large vein in his arm.”
“STOP THE INSANITY” VOTE THE BUMS OUT…VOTE!!!
don’t sugarcoat it, do you like him or not?
Aren’t you smart enough to understand what I wrote, no I DO NOT LIKE HIM OR HIS WAY OF LEADING THIS CITY, OR WHATEVER YOU CALL LEADERSHIP. I am just sorry for the kind of man he is. It is what it is I guess.
Sorry dirty ernie , my post was not directed to you. I apologize.
no, that’s cool i get it.
This is so sad. When I was a city elected official on the mason city park board for 5 years, I wanted to do the best for the citizens of mason city, and help make the parks here in mason city, the best anywhere in iowa, and when I left the board, I wanted to be known as a good park board. I wanted people to come up to me and thank me for doing the best I could, and when it came to our staff, I always wanted the staff to be proud of what they do, and have respect for me, and intern have i would have respect for them. I can’t see how this man can say that. Doesn’t he care about his legacy he will be leaving, or when he meets the public, how the citizens of mason city will think of him. Also, can his staff at city hall respect him? I don’t think so, do they respect him, I don’t think so. I know you can’t please everyone, but come on, when all you hear out there, the negative comments and the way the city is going because of one man. I wonder what kind of man is he. I don’t think if I had his character, and didn’t respect his peers, I couldn’t live with myself. Maybe I am thinking different from anyone, but I can look in the mirror and say, I did my best, and respected everyone here in mason city, and did my very best to make my city the best in iowa. With all that, I am proud to have been elected by the citizens of mason city, and hopefully the citizens appreciated that. One for thing, I also served 5 years on the Human Rights Commission, which I am very proud that I served on that board, It was a great experience and I feel I helped many people with their civil rights, and i would have not done anything to disrupt this great commission. Just had to get this off my chest, I am saddened to see what is going on in Mason City because of this one man. Matter of fact I feel so sorry for him. I couldn’t live here in a city that didn’t respect me.
Bookmeyer needs to seek treatment for his alcohol abuse. He probably would never have left Clinton or ran for mayor anywhere if he was dry. It’s sad to see people with addiction make terrible decisions and have their spouse too afraid to address this issue believing they will hurt themselves further when confronted.
Great article Peter and it’s nice to hear from you again. As you have correctly stated many times it’s all about getting off your butts and vote.
Vote For Pedro….
From the article
“His wife should have got out a syringe, filled it with air and stuck it into a large vein in his arm.”
I’ve always thought you a bit weird. Now I know for sure you are. A business man such as yourself speaking like that shows what a pathetic little man you really are. No wonder you don’t date women. You act “mysterious” and “untouchable”. All the classy women I know say they wouldn’t touch you with a ten ft. pole.
Well an article like this makes this site look like a rag, once again. Peter it makes you look like Dementia is setting in. What a shame.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Someone must have a pox on this place. It won’t load, hangs and just sits there. Many times I have just gotten tired of waiting and decided it wasn’t worth it. Why won’t this site load like all the other sites????
@really-instead of clicking on home, click on watercooler. I think you will find it is a lot faster. The only time in hangs then is when someone is posting or the are posting another article. Try it, it works. Also, if you are using explorer or bing you will find it hangs on you. Try Google Chrome or Foxfire and you will be amazed at the difference i think.
Reall, really, I’ve getting used to the load times, gives me a chance to get a beer (meyer) and a sandwich.
“look like?” You mean “proves it is”.
Peter can be an odd fellow like most, but in this case I think he hits it pretty spot on. Mason City, get out your wallet because here it comes!
We lost 15% population when we should have gained 15%. The population is shrinking so the city is squeezing. Nobody gonna suffer but the taxpayers.
LVS is right. i only use foxfire now. soooo much faster. almost instant loading compaired to internet explorer.
Does anyone else remember the days when the Jolas mob ran the town? Mason City politics has pretty much sucked for a long, long time. Used to be quite a hub for drugs and prostitution. Don’t want to go back there again either.
“Used to be”? LOL! Still is.duh.
This is why Republicans think being gay is a choice. Because they always feel a need to repress their own gay feelings.
Real men are never tempted by other men. They’re driven crazy by women.
I never saw any prostitution, but I saw a super hot babe climb into a truckers can in front of the Holiday Inn once.
I know for a fact 2 gay guys used to pick up married salemen on a regular basis. One was a top dog Republican! Oh the things one learns sitting on a bar stool with your mouth shut and your ears open. Actually one of the gay guys told me all about how easy these men were to pick up. Appears BJ’s aren’t considered cheating……
I love this whole article!!! It is so true. I have never been so sicken by a man as I am of bookmeyer he is a disgrace to this town. He is a bully it is his way or the highway. The only other person I can’t stand as much as bookmeyer is tornquist they both make me sick! They both think they are so above everyone and rules! I hope with all my heart these two are out of office come Nov.
You know as far as Boozemeyer. You reap what you sow. For decades this culture promoted nicotine and booze. When I was young no person would dare admit they were even drugs. This is the culture you wanted.
I always thought it was dangerous, damaging and addictive but support free choice because I’m a free man.
Now society at large has changed in the US, but like stubborn Iowan’s you all refuse to move on and prefer to live in the past. It’s ok to be a legal druggie, even a mayor. It’s not drugs. Only pot is a drug and those people are evil and must be locked up to protect us all.
What we need is to have some of his behavior caught on tape. With everyone owning cell phones, most with cameras, someone please get this clown on video and “show” the community exactly what Peter is talking about. I have seen this behavior. And trust me, I will have my camera rolling everytime I run into Bookmeyer! With proof on video, his re-election is over!
Why would anyone vote for another drunk to run the city? We should have learned the last time.
Only one canidate can beat Booky, that’s Matt Markward, editor of this fine news cite. Mr. Markward would start off with a fine record of understanding our issues he can go toe to toe with the Fat Man in a debate, he would wipe the floor with blubber boy Booky. Most every body we talk to don’t like Boozemonger, and lot’s of folks would probably vote for him only because nobody else runs. There is not enough rich people in Mason to over come the will of we the people. If you agree with this, then chalk up your support here, okay?
yeah we’ve seen max’s I mean matt’s act. Just what MC Council needs. Another “do nothing and don’t spend money to fix up the city and better the schools” clown.
What makes you think only rich people like Bookmeyer. And how is your lack of education or self esteem someone else’s responsibility or fault? Comprende’?
I think we have all seen the last few years why Bookmeyer does not have a job. If he would work for a living like the rest of us he would have been fired for incompetence long ago. I don’t believe anything has gotten any better under his leadership. Look at the council meetings less people show up now then ever before.
27% showed up last time when Boozemonster beat Jewseski, right? That’s pathetic. No one cares in MC that’s why I moved.
I want to ask you to please contact North Iowa Today; please it is very importent.
641-201-0057. Thank you
Peter Children
That’s because max’s circus left town taking the clowns that followed along. Now it’s finaly about the business of improving MC. Only incompetents find the meetings boring.
@anon – Improving Mason City? By throwing money away on statues downtown? By throwing more money away by trying to rebuild an already dead downtown? By implementing improvements to a city hall that did not need them? If they want to improve Mason City, then let them do something to bring new business to the town. Something that will give a living wage and give the young adults a reason to stay here and raise a family.
He’s just following Max’s idea. Why punch a time clock when you can have the taxpayers pay you.
Peter, you are a sight for sore eyes. So glad to have you back writing on NIT, the only true news source for Mason. We can’t get the truth anywhere else. Please keep up the great reporting.
~Agnes
Matt, you are right on every point! DON”T FORGET about the upcoming property re-evaluations. This will cost us all dearly and we will probably lose even more residents. We have got to “STOP THE INSANITY” and Vote these bums out!
As usual, this op-ed reveals a lot more about Pete Children than it does about our city leaders or how to solve the problems here. Very productive. I can’t wait for election season. I predict Mayor Bookmeyer will be re-elected simply because of the way he is and will be personally trashed on here, and not because of his record.
@Katie-I sure hope you are wrong about him getting re-elected. What we need is someone who is known and respected to run against him. I talked to one of our ex-councilmen about it but he had enough of the crap and wouldn’t consider it. Maybe we can talk Max Weaver into it.
Max won’t get elected. He is viewed as a renegade, obstructionist, PIA. Sorry, Max. I don’t necessarily see you that way, but I believe that to be the public’s perception. You need a new, smart, independent thinker who is not beholdin’ to anyone in town. However, that person is going to be hard to get elected. I don’t know the people of MC well enough to suggest anyone who has the qualifications to succeed.
Bookmeyer’s one and only advantage is that the cronies who support him DO vote. The people that support Weaver – and there are many, many more of them – do NOT vote. If all the big talkers who support Weaver actually found 10 minutes to go vote, he would would beat the Fat Man 82% to 18%.
Katie, whenever I write about Mayor Bookmeyer, I stick to his time after his election in 2009. I have not written about his harassment of a public official nor his drunkenness in Clinton. That would be personal. After he came to Mason City and was elected Mayor, however, everything he did in public is open for scrutiny. If Mr. Bookmeyer was, for example, asked to leave the OP because of his abusive, belligerent behavior towards the staff, I do believe that is open for public debate. That is not personal, that is a matter of fact that this incident took place because I witnessed it. Now, were there other incidents similar to this one? All indications point to yes. I have not written about them yet. Just hold on those stories are coming.
Now, his record as mayor has also been written about at-length here on NIT. I have discussed his failed trash burning plant and exposed the lies the Globe Gazette wrote in order to mis-lead the public and gain support for the project. This was going to be Eric’s and Brent Willett’s crowning achievement – only achievement – and it failed. So far, Eric and Brent have brought zero new jobs to Mason City while in Charles City they can’t hire enough people.
I have written about how Mr. Bookmeyer calls himself a man who builds bridges when in fact his first move as Mayor was to march into offices at City Hall and tell people it is his way or the highway. Now, to protect themselves, many of them keep journals and write down everything that happens when he comes in their offices. In reality, Bookmeyer has tried to tear down many institutions at City Hall and ruin the lives of working folks – see the sanitation department.
I have also stated that Eric is not a true stay at home dad. This was another lie that Eric and the Globe propagated. Eric actually drops his kids at Charlie Brown Daycare numerous times a week for 6-10 hours at a time. I know this because people who take their kids to that daycare see him sign in and out and told me all about it. I further can tell you, Katie, that I have been told that Mayor Bookmeyer has been seen drinking in the early afternoon and then has stood up at the watering hole and said well it’s time to go pick up the kids. He can be seen driving around in his little SUV with the blue license plates by himself at any hour of the day, no kids around, or sitting in someone’s office in town, again no kids around. He is not a stay at home dad and he is a liar for claiming to be so.
Matt, sorry I hit a nerve. I wasn’t just talking about you and Pete. Others who post on this site still persist in name calling and that will hurt your cause of electing a new mayor as much as anything. The public really doesn’t like it when people sling that kind of mud. The two of you have at least started calling him by his real name instead of epithets. I feel some of the adjectives used in Pete’s op-ed are over the top for the situations addressed. Whereas I realize some of the personal behaviors in public described appear to be inappropriate and disturbing, there haven’t been any recent reports of that behavior that I have heard about, and I’m sure they wouldn’t have escaped notice on here. I believe he has received the message and has cleaned up his act in public. If he has stopped drinking and being obnoxious in public, he deserves some credit for that. If he is manipulating city matters illegally, that needs to come out, with proof. Get those people to come forward. You know I don’t agree with all his policies and am not trying to be his cheerleader. I just don’t like to see people dragged through the mud over and over like a broken record in a small town. It looks too much like someone else’s entertainment. It’s not as if he’s the president and a big role model. And I think denigrating him constantly about non-office misdeeds will backfire on his adversaries simply because it is a small town.
Memorandum dated 01/17/2013 clearly states that if the HRC is changed in any way the federal grant dollars given to this city can be asked to be given back, in full, in partial (etc) The amount of Grants that HRC has gotten the city for the two agencies in this report is well over 1.5 million dollars, That Katie the city council or the mayor did not report to the public. So by slashing the HRC The city loses the Federal Grant money goes away. HUD and EEOC are affected. Guess who will pick up that tab? The community tax payer, I would rather support 136 thousand than over 1.5 million so the council is only giving partial truths on this matter at least. That is pretty recent.
Jodi, I’m totally in favor of saving the HRC. I was unaware of this grant problem. Thank you for bringing this up. Why has this issue not come out anywhere else? Will the council say that they will only have to give part of it back? Is there an exemption because the city’s population dropped below 29,000? How do they think they will get around this? Gawd, I’m getting sick of politics.
Katie -It is a service so going on population is using a scwed number, because the service is offered in mason city does not mean it should be compared to the population. We are around several rural comnunities that use the service and we the citiziens of mason city do not pay for those people using that service. The grants do, the only thing the citizens are paying for is 2 salaries that of Lionel Foster and his office assistant. Federal Grants are that of a contract and since given through the HRC with them being eliminated the contract by the Federal Govt can be considered breached. For the cases that money was used on and still in the litagation process. The paper work I got was a memorandum addressed specifcially to Scott T. explaining this but was CC: to the entire city council, and the Mayor, outlining all of this. As scott sent questions to be answered. (Apperently he did not read the document as I did to see it specifically stated what would happen to the Federal Grant dollars given to the city for the EEOC and HUD) Since the citizens pay for the entire City staff why are we targeting HRC? In business and I have a BA in Business and graduated with honors 3.9 GPA when budget cuts are made to any business they look at every area and usually cut small percetages from each area. Lets talk about the tax increase, to keep the HRC and not have the city dig into reserves if they cut to the normal and cut a little from each area in the city…. it would equal to about .08 cents total To keep this service and accountablilty and checks and balances between employee and employer, Tenant and Landord it is well worth it to me. When ever there is no checks and balances and agencies to keep accountabilty we end up with a dicatorship type mentality. I for one as a citizen will not just blog about this I am going to every meeting I can as a citizen to listen and be informed. I want people to VOTE not just rant on a web site and that is going to be my focus for the next few months Educating who I am able and get them to vote, even if they vote for Eric, at least they voted.
I sent a letter with all the numbers total of grant dollars and from what agencies with qoutes from the memoradam to the Globe, answering John Skippers request from his HRC editorial… it was not published to date… so here I am trying to get it out prob a little late since final vote is Tuesday for the Budget.
The public hearing is on Tuesday and the cut is in the budget. The only thing the Council can do is reduce funding. They can’t increase funding even if the public makes an overwhelmingly compelling case to restore funding and the council changes their mind. Has anyone looked at how defaulting on HR grants will impact other grants the city gets from HUD that do’t go to the Human Rights Commission like the downtown store front grants, housing rehab grants and similar programs?
@ anonymous :
To date I have no documentation that states other grants will be affected. What I understand about Federal Grants is this: If the HRC was the housing agent for any other grants those grants would be affected as well. Another agency who can monitor those grants would have to be in place to keep recieving them. Again I can not speak to what I do not have for documentation. I only have paper work that explains the grants for EEOC and Fair housing. More than even the grant issue, I am saddened that we are stopping a service to people. A service that helps those who may otherwise not be able to have a voice.
he might of nailed but what are we as mason cityans going to do about it? As I said before we got to shut up about the fat man and take sone action, someone must know how to end his time as mayor. Germany got along fine without HITLER
Peter-I have not always been a fan, but I certainly agree with you on this. Good job. What other administration does this bring to mind?
Nailed it Peter! Thank you!
Lets get rid of beermeyer and his rodeo clowns, everyone quit bitching about him and lets get out and vote or if someone knows how to do it earlier than post it and see if we can get rid of this unwanted critter.