There’s certainly a great deal of truth to your evaluation of the mayor’s political motives, strategies and tactics on this issue, but I see a close resemblance between Mayor Taylor’s fire fighter/police officer hiring predicament and President Obama’s Afghanistan war policy. Consider this.

Obama appointed Gen. McChrystal as Commander in Afghanistan to shake up a deteriorating war effort and in-short, won’t “pull the trigger;” add more troops, and implement the war strategy presented to him by Gen. McChrystal whom he presumably hired to change the course of the war.

Mayor Taylor appoints his own Generals (Chief Martins and Chief Oliva); experts in their respective fields, and presumably ignores their advice to fill necessary, vacant positions. Without question, Martins and Oliva should be required to statistically justify filling these vacancies—and I believe Chief Martins has—but if the mayor doesn’t trust, and won’t accept justified staffing requests from the “generals” responsible for the city’s front line public safety, then maybe the Mayor should relieve them and appoint new “generals” in their place. But with all the deserved praise and accolades the mayor regularly heaps on both men and their departments, I suggest the mayor start walking the talk, and maybe, just maybe, he would gain some credibility with reasonable-thinking constituents.

And the door mouse? He passed me by singing, "I'm late! For a very important date!" I have no idea where he was off to since he hasn't received his tax bill yet.

Happy Halloween!

The tactic of threatening to decimate our protection by reducing the Fire and Police Departments is just another example of the “sewer politics” emanating out of Franklin’s mayor and the budget committee.

The commodities being proposed for cuts will always be the kinds of things that panic the public. The purpose of this proposal is not responsible governing but public conning.

The scheme is to appall the taxpayers by the threat of debilitating the most prized intities of a community – Fire and Police protection. This, it is hoped, would instill a community panic attack and then a reaction of support for the budget including replies of: “Go ahead, raise our taxes if things are as desperate as this.”

This is the ol’ sly Brer Rabbit ploy to get what he wanted from Brer Fox after he caught him. He exclaimed, "Oh please Brer Fox, whatever you do, please don't throw me into the briar patch." [ Those unfamiliar with this American Folktale….Brer Rabbit was bred and born in the briar patch.]

Tom’s “Tar Baby” threat, hopefully, won’t “catch and hold” the majority of those in Franklin who understand his political stratagems.

“If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy.” ~ Thomas Jefferson