The Thin Blue Wallet

No Incentive

For all the B.S. lip-service people give about how jacked-up it is that the most important jobs in our society (police, firefighters, teachers, community columnists, etc) don’t get paid what they’re worth, we all do a crappy job trying to change it. But boy howdy, if the taxes go up the populace is pissed!

In case you didn’t notice when it happened, the “old” city council voted to fund the pension fund at 6% ($353,854) by cutting the incentive pay plan for fire and police personnel in half. According to the Telegraph, who didn’t think this belonged above the fold, Macon Police Chief Mike Burns reports that 16 officers have resigned since July, not counting retirements, each citing pay as a significant reason. The incentive pay plan was put in place to reward extra training and education, and doled out twice a year. And that means that our best trained and education officers have even less reason to stick around the MPD.

If you’re wondering who would do such a thing, former councilman Henry Ficklin proposed the measure, and the following council members voted in favor: Brenda Youmas, James Timley, Anita Ponder, Willette Hill-Chambliss, Charles Jones, Filomena Mullis and Nancy White. Voting against: Rick Hutto, Elaine Lucas, Mike Cranford, Ed DeFore, Alveno Ross, and Miriam Paris. (Cole Thomasson wasn’t present.)

It is mildly interesting to note that five voting in favor are out of office, for various reasons, but everyone voting against it is still in office. That night, two other options were offered. One would have deleted new vehicle purchases in the fire and police departments, providing more money to the pension fund and leaving the incentive pay intact, but that wasn’t legally possible so it couldn’t happen. The other was to increase the tax millage rate to fund the fire and police pension fund. That’s when Ficklin offered his alternative method.

Regardless the options—or the option of seeking other options—we’re now stealing from current officers and firefighters to pay those who’ve retired. Like the hotel deal, which has gotten far more play in the public eye, this is probably something that should’ve been mulled over just a little longer. As it stands, Macon looks to lose its best firefighters and police officers, which means we likely won’t be getting off those “high crime” lists anytime soon.

That New City Council Smell

Warm welcome to Lonnie Miley, Larry Schlesinger, Tom Ellington, Virgil Watkins, Jr., Lauren Benedict, and Erick Erickson. Despite only having to beat someone in your own party (for those who actually had to run against someone), we all go forth with great big, fuzzy feelings about the potential you hold. Seriously. We know (hope) you’re taking this job with the best interests of the city at heart.

Behind Closed Doors

Inside of a week, a few folks did a lot of politicking. In something of a surprise, Miriam Paris was the sole nominee and unanimous winner of the vote to become City Council President. She was followed in the exact same manner by James Timley as President Pro-Tem for the second time, and Ed DeFore as the third member of the Committee on Committees, which is a weirdly named but super powerful committee. Without speculating, suffice it to say that it didn’t take long for the internal shift in power to take place. You don’t get three unanimous decisions, even with three sole nominees, without someone throwing some weight around somewhere. The looks on certain council members’ faces said a lot. That doesn’t mean it was shady, but it does mean something… we’ll just have to wait to see what that is.

Oh Yeah…

We have a new Mayor now. His name is Robert Reichert. Ever heard of him?

the next column

The Next Civil War

I’ve always snickered at folks who think the South will rise again, but after witnessing my beloved Bulldawgs suffer great indignity during the BCS Selection Show, I’m ready pick up arms and declare a secession. Hawaii?! Lewis Grizzard is rolling over in his grave! The one team that no one took seriously even though they were the lone undefeated—bull hockey! This while Illinois, with three losses, gets to have their teeth kicked in by the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl.

Gimme Some Coin

The Mayor of Upper Cherry Street called the office with some interesting news. Seems that Mayor Ellis isn’t done yet. He’s minted some coins, no joke, of himself. You can go to the WMCC News blog and peep some pictures of these bronze babies. They announce one indisputable fact and two nice goals. Fact: “C. Jack Ellis First African American Mayor of Macon, GA.” And, wishful thinking: “Macon, Georgia… One of the Most Livable Cities in America/A City of Excellence.” (It’s true unless you’re a homeowner, a police officer, a downtown business owner, or a child trying to catch the school bus.)

It’s how you look at it, stupid

Contrary to my cynicism about Macon being one of the MOST “livable” cities in America, I do love this town. I just see it for what it is: a work in progress. So it hurts when I think it’s being maligned needlessly, just like it makes me roll my eyes when I think it’s being praised needlessly.

The Telegraph ran a big story about the city going through a projected 30% economic slowdown. However, the deal is that the percent decrease seems really contrived. Towards the end of the article, it points out that the 30% decrease is actually the projected percent change off of an earlier projection, both projections actually suggesting that the economy will still grow… even if the number went down from 2.7% to 1.9%.

When Executive Editor Sherrie Marshall states in her blog, in defense of the excessive Oprah coverage, that Telegraph readers wanted more positive stories, this is probably what they meant. Don’t spin things like this so they seem so damn dire. Just tell the story. It doesn’t have to be fluff to be positive.

Buzz for the King Bee

This time last year, a coalition starring Alan Walden and Bill Elder tried to get the Georgia Music Hall of Fame to induct “the King Bee”, Hamp Swain. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. So they’re trying it again. If you don’t know, Hamp was the first black DJ in Macon, and the first DJ of any color in America to play James Brown—in fact, he helped record Brown’s first demo in the basement of the WIBB building here. He was the first to play Otis Redding, and his “Teenage Party” was some of the first exposure Redding got outside of church. In later years, he established a record label to help get other locals a chance to be heard. It seems safe to conclude that without Hamp Swain some of those greats wouldn’t have been heard. Go to www.HampSwain.com for more details.

Try a Little Remembrance

Speaking of Otis Redding, December 10^th marks the 40^th Anniversary of his untimely passing. The aforementioned GMHF will be hosting a memorial reception. It’s free to the public from 7p-9p with their big Otis exhibit on display. There’ll be dignitaries and such present, perhaps some music too. This celebration of our famous native son extends across the country at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, the Stax Museum, and in Wisconsin where his plane crashed. As nice as those all will be, there’s no tribute as fitting as putting on a few tracks and remembering the power in that man’s voice.

The Readers Choice Awards

The 11th Hour’s big fuzzy publisher gave me the inside track on how some of the voting is going in our Readers Choice Awards. Obviously, he found this one situation rather amusing: Telegraph columnist Ed Grisamore has charged far ahead of booze columnist Chris Horne in the Best Writer category. Funnier to me is that, within a month of the other, they both profiled the same person for their respective papers: Westside student Quin Simpson. Maybe our voters saw Ed’s version and liked it better.

Oprah… again?!

As sick as I am that I’m doing this, I’m even sicker that I feel obliged to. The Telegraph ran another front-page story on Oprah. Apparently, it is NEWS to us that we were on TV. That’s what the article was about—that and how we’re still Oprah-crazy around here. On a different note, I think it’s time The 11th Hour took credit for spreading the word that Macon is the birthplace of the Kazoo. Sure, some folks knew about it, but no one was talking until the 2006 City Guide came out with that juicy tidbit in it. And of course, who put on the (failed) World Record Kazoo attempt? We did. I bring this up because Oprah passed out kazoos on her show.