zoom i have to agree bobb complains but seems like a person that will do nothing until something is handed to him

Hank, he FACED laying off 25%. If he actually laid off 25%, the article would have said so IT DIDN'T. Where is your FACT that he was run out of town? Once again, you are telling lies to support your agenda. Everyone sees through it. Keep posting though. With each post, you look more ridiculous, and come closer and closer to being libelous, and having your account removed.

Hank where is proof on anything you post I have not seen any evidence. Read it a couple more times maybe the comprehension might kick in for you. And as for this $11 million you post everywhere show me the EVIDENCE. Something solid that backs up any of your claims would be nice. You can not since you have none. I read the material you post and comprehend them the way they are written as any normal person would but you feel the need to twist to support your rants and opinions. FACTS PLAEASE WITH SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.

Hank now I know you truly lost it no place in this article does it say he laid them off. It states that he was facing this as an option. I read the article and it is just talking on how he leaves a gap in the budget which is in my opinion a good idea to leave open for unexpected expenses. They did not want him to have to wide of a gap otherwise it looks bad to not be able to tell ta xpayers what is being spent. Leave it to Hank to gather his own opinion and try to pass it off as facts. Hank please learn to read and comprehend material and don't put your spin on it to make it support your cause. Again with being unable to support your facts with concrete evidence. Just like your $11 million dollar estimate of the ice rink that is shown as $5 million per article in Gazette and the proposals I have seen. Get your facts straight not looking like you know what is going on over there.

Steve,
Thank you for addressing what I believe will be a very important issue for our community and for Wisconsin in general. While I'm confident that our congressional delegation will be in DC lobbying on our behalf to get this madness averted (leaving 100,000 people without means to exist because our unemployment numbers are too low!!), every community organization and branch of government needs to be prepared for dealing with the possible outcomes. Naturally this brings up an important question of what exactly is the role of government in general, and local government specifically, when it comes to dealing with a potentially devastating situation for tens of thousands of people and families, but remember that we are used to operating under the paradigms of the late 20th century even though we know that the only thing that is truly constant is Change. SWWDB's CORD effort has brought the area non-profits and various service providers together for sometime but this recent development will test everybody's resolve and ability to help. I appreciate you bringing attention to this and will continue to look for ways for the city of Janesville to be more involved in helping the residents and to proactively address this situation. I know that if we all work together, we will make it through any challenge we face.

As far as selling Janesville, while it is great to have everyone of us out there selling Janesville in whatever way we can (see discoverjanesville.com) :) , keep in mind that this is what Rock County 5.0 effort is about - to pull together substantial resources from the private sector and to dedicate them to making Janesville and the entire Rock County friendly and welcoming to the incoming businesses. I wish them the best of luck.

bobb, if you've been unemployed long term, maybe it's time to think about moving. Nobody owes you a job, after all.

I can understand how folks in Janesville feel how important or unique the city or area is. For most people I know, it's a road sign or gas stop on the way to or from somewhere else. Do we have a skilled workforce? Sure, as does the rest of Wisconsin. Compared to other towns and areas of the state, Janesville doesn't have much to offer.

That doesn't mean it's a bad place, just a blue collar town that got left behind. There will be no replacement for GM, nor could there ever be. America still need to make stuff. Will it be made here? Probably not.

Hank/Pete doesn't care about facts. S/he's a troll with too much time on his/her hands.

"As soon as these people lose their unemployment benefits, they will no longer be counted as unemployed."

Another widely spread myth. Unemployment compensation is not the ONLY data used to determine the unemployment count. Surveys of businesses and homes are also done to gather data.

Hank I understand there is more to business then this but I am still not understanding your figure for $11 million dollars. If you can show me evidence of this I may see your side till then quit posting wrongful information to further misinform the public and to further your opinion also. I check my information before posting and am willing to provide concrete evidence to back it up. As of yet I have not seen any from you. I have seen all info on the ice rink saying $5 million and quit telling me phase 1,2,2 etc. till you have concrete evidence on numbers don't bother posting it. I feel that you you are just misinforming everyone to benefit your opinion. Here again is a link with the price tag attached. If more please post me evidence of that.http://gazettextra.com/news/2009/oct/27/council-backs-ice-arena/

"Like up Eric Levitts history, and the problems he caused in the previous Citys he was employed in. He cut public safty, fire, and public works in Sedona, AZ laying off 25% of the City Staff. They chased him out of the last town."

Complete and utter lies. No where in the article does it say Levitt actually cut 25% off city staff. No where in the article does it say he was "run out of town". You have reading comprehension problems.

Please name a city in Arizona that didn't have budget challenges in 2008.

The article actually describes a conservative budget method. It seems people wanted him to spend everything in the budget, instead of having a gap. I would prefer a budget gap (surplus) to a budget deficite.

What I'm not seeing is a comprehensive all out effort. The city needs a completely redesigned website. In addition, an all out social networking marketing blitz. There should be full time staff dedicated to posting links to Janesville on every social and business networking site in and out of the country. Secondly, although we have Forward Janesville, it's not enough. Listing meetings and golf outings isn't enough. We need a site that shows potential site locations. We need a site that has a creative photo album of all the great locations in Janesville for businesses. In addition, a site that does a better job of showing off Janesville's parks, attractions, schools, and location. How about a promotional video? We should be promoting our great features like the Hedberg Library, the Armory, the Performing Arts Center, The Southern Wisconsin Air show, Blackhawk Tech, The Rotary Garden's, Business Parks, Shopping, Parks & Recreation, our work force, and so on. Executives and business owners have to want to live here. The kind of money we're investing and wasting on ice rinks could be dedicated to marketing and sending a team across the country scouting for new businesses. Right now I feel like the city is buying time until GM reopens Janesville. There seems to be no sense of urgency. We someone somewhere to be our champion. Someone who has sales skills and some life left in the tank. If there was ever a time for a proverbial kick in the rear, now is that time.

As soon as these people lose their unemployment benefits, they will no longer be counted as unemployed. The politicians will be bragging that the unemployment rate is going down and economic recovery is just around the corner. Its time to layoff some elected officials who don't understand that people don't have jobs, they don't pay income taxs, and thats where the money comes from to pay their high wage and benefits that they enjoy at taxpayer expense.

Some of them are probably waiting for the government to take care of you.

Again, the government is not responsible for jobs. The government is responsible for creating an atmosphere that is supportive, and conducive to job creation and growth. You get the feeling some of you are not interested in taking care of yourself, but waiting for the government to take care of you.....

Good luck on your road trip - it's exactly what Janeville needs. Will the Gazette hold your job for you?

Sure wish I could raise me some chickens in the back yard.

"By offering more recreation and diversity of activities we definetly have a better chance of luring in more businesses." – pthdmf
Historically, one of the major factors that contributed to GM first coming to Janesville and subsequently hiring so many? The fact that the then equally hard pressed taxpayers had the courage and wisdom to invest in a new high school (later Marshall Middle School and today JPAC/Marshall Apts.) for the betterment of the community over their own almost empty pockets.

<Shivers just reading the name Scheiffer>
Please now, I am going to have recall-nightmares.
Ignorance is bliss I guess.
Umm...Its not a negative aditude. It is a negative reaction to uncalled for spending. Lack of generating jobs. I think the City of Parks has, well enough recreational activities. By the way, Fact not negative/ Whom will run the longtime 4th of July activities this year? { Keep it in the Black.} Have you not noticed that, people don't have the money to participate in these events? Thus my fact not negation. Pipe-Dreams come from those whom do not go by the facts. Then when they see the truth in numbers, they respond feeling threatened? They thrash out at the common sense folks that are in a great minority now days.
Please, if not for the care and comfort of the majority of the counties population, do support the effort to draw more business and commerse that will enhance and benefit the community as a whole? Do not defend silly wasted money/space. Atleast not until we are 100% sure that the economic needs of the area are sustained. Otherwise, You do make yourself look very impartial to Your own selfish desires.

Hank, you misunderstand city government. The City Manager is an employee without the authority to spend on "pet projects". (Heck, Steve Scheiffer barely got away with expanding the staff break room for a few measly $K.) The spending that you oppose is approved by a vote on the council, who was duly elected to make those judgements (and may be voted out if they are not popular). The council likewise would have the authority to making changes to zoning. Janesville, however, has no legal means or authority to offer tax credits, other than establishing TIF districts.
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I do wonder if the city is making any plans to implement the Development Opportunity Zone authority (essentially a super-TIF) that was enacted for Janesville by the state a year ago. That might be a way to create the incentives you desire (which I agree with).

If we let Hank in charge of the city there would be none to speak of. He seems to have the mentality that we should have nothing here to offer to try and lure any businesses in. Without investing in recreational places the city would have nothing to offer to employers that look at what types of things there will be for their employees to do in off time to relax. If we only offered what Hank thinks is right for the city we would be living in a town with one road and not spend money on anything other then trying to keep ourselves alive. By offering more recreation and diversity of activities we definetly have a better chance of luring in more businesses.

Once again, lots of complaining by the usual suspects, but no solutions.

If your negative attitude in person is half as bad as what you continually post here (you know who you are), nobody will hire you. Maybe it's time to darken someone elses neighborhood. I hear there are jobs in Texas.

Have to agree with Hank.

This is not the time to frivolously throw money at pet-projects. It is time to scout new business and industry that can enhance the community as a whole. Not a select few. This Few-Game Plan is what Obama is doing nation wide. Throw money at, and create little job outcome.
It is discusting to be helpless in a way that, our representatives do little to nothing to ammend this. By Aprils end/Mays begining? Quote me here; " If you thought the First wave of the economic bomb was bad, just wait until then folks." Can't draw a 'seasonal-use' crowd of spectaters with zero funds to pay for the tickets if, they cannot pay their bills.( May I add here, we should all participate in going and sitting in a cold building in winter, and paying out our food money to watch guys skate around, and cheer them on as they take our bread and butter.)
Just watch what happens to your school tax this year. Open your eyes when the normal gas prices are sky-high this Memorial Day.
At which time I will write about how when we need to buy bulk for sustaining our families, it is cheaper to race to Illinois, blow the gas, and make a profit that way shopping.
It is too bad that we must continue to support eventual failures to produce for the local economy as a whole. I sure hope the city had placed stipulations on those co-partners? If the rink does not produce/ turn it into a meat packing industry. You see? There is always a fix. <grin>

Hank, as always, your math has no relationship to reality.
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And while I have confidence in our boosters, paid and unpaid, the problem is not that we aren't tooting our own horn enough. The problem is that we are competing with 5000 municipalities in the same boat.

Next week, 8,000 unemployed workers in Wisconsin will lose their unemployment benefits. Close to 100,000 more will lose benefits in April. Why is this not front page news? All we get is Mike Sheridan and the ice arena? Maybe a little detail is in order.

Be prepared to see an accelerated exodus out of this crumbling city. People have had it with the city council who seem stuck on spending money on unnecessary toys meant to "attract" businesses when the general perception is that we need a more direct approach. Steve hit the nail on the head on this one. Let's get the word out about our skilled, educated workforce and sell this area to potential businesses instead of trying to bait them in with something shiny like a sheet of ice.

You are correct. It is long past the time that promoting Janesville, its talented workforce, and the abilities of this community would have made things easier for a good number of people. I myself felt it when it should have been happening.{2 years ago.} I shared it with those whom could make the difference. I was ignored then as I am afraid we will be now.
They are filling up their community plates with too much junkfood nonsense. Who we are dating, where do we live, untrue factual unemployment numbers per REAL unemployed physically People. I mean come on Representatives Of This Area?!?! Pull head from those deep regions of Arseville, hear the popping sound and make a difference to your voting public.
The longer reps fail to assist and cure their primary domains, the worse it will be to repair after the tide rolls away.
Its late but not too late to fill Your plates with Healthy Hearty Investment into the counties future Meals.
Get Cooking Politicians!!!