Bob Vasquez releases plan to give citizens of Toledo a raise.

This just in from the Bob Vasquez for Toledo City Council campaign from a press conference that was held earlier:

Bob Vasquez comments in press conference regarding top administrators’ pay raises. Held in front of Dave’s Home-Cooked Foods. 9-14-06

We have heard a lot in the last couple of days about giving raises to the city’s top administrators. Today I want to talk about how we can give the citizens a raise.

When commenting about the proposed exorbitant pay hike interim Council Woman Lourdes Santiago said "I'm sensitive to what the community is saying, but I also need to be sensitive to my employees."

Bob Vasquez states that is not good enough. I want to represent the citizens of Toledo not the top administrators in the city.

At a time of high unemployment in Toledo combined with the fact that the salary for the average Toledoan is below what the top city administrators are making, we need to look at how we can put more money in the pockets of our citizens. To that end I propose a 3 point plan.



1. That we reduce by 1% the sales tax for Toledo owned businesses. This means that people who shop at Toledo owned business will pay 5.75%. and not 6.75%. This helps promote Toledo’s economy and put more money back in the pockets of our citizens. I will work with the county commissioners and our state representatives to make this proposal a reality.

2. That we give a tax credit to small businesses that provide health care for their employees. Toledo should make it easier for businesses to provide health care to its employees by creating tax incentives that lower utility costs and infrastructure improvements.

3. That the citizens of Toledo be allowed to vote on all special assessments. This gives the citizens a voice. The interim Council Woman Lourdes Santiago voted to impose a 25 million dollar tax levy without allowing the citizens to have their say. That amount of money will have a real impact on families. Let’s give the citizens an opportunity to say how they want their tax money spent.

I believe these are 3 common sense approaches to putting more money back in the hands of citizens.

In closing, I am also requesting from the City’s payroll Department, as a matter of public record, the amount of severance pay that was received by those administrators who retired and now hold positions with the current Administration.