Salerno, remember, was long-time city manager of the city of Sunrise, Florida. Sunrise is a suburb of the fast growing dynamic Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida metropolitan area. Cities like Sunrise are going to blossom even if their city government shut down.

About the only thing fast growing in Wichita is tax growth, certainly not population or business growth. There is a reshuffling of Wichita’s retail fast food and commercial businesses to the east and west sides of town as they race to get out of the way of the new downtown arena mess.

Now I believe we are seeing Wichita’s architect and commercial real estate elites who serve on the city manager selection committee try to recruit a city manager who will continue to extract lots more taxes from middle class Wichitans “to develop the (unwanted, uneeded, white elephant) arena site for the people.”

The other obnoxious co-initiative will be to attempt to convert some portion of Wichita property taxes to a HIGHER SALES TAX. Why is this BAD? Because the tax-paying public will only see a “reduction” in their PROPERTY taxes, not the onerous increase in sales taxes that are more or less out of sight, out of mind … EASY COME, EASY GO TAXES. Perfect cover for big-spending bureaucrats.

Now back to Mr. Salerno, he probably is a top city manager prospect with lots of experience under his belt mostly in fast growing east coast states. Like all hired-gun managers, his primary goal will be to get the big-money tax pipeline going and, reportedly, as is already normal here in Wichita/river city, without any public input.

Is this what Wichita really wants?

AND RANDY THINK IT IS GREAT!

I presume Salerno is being paid well by our city government to travel to Wichita to take a look at Wichita and to have his brain picked by the mayor and city council. I suspect the mere act of being considered by Wichita will go on Salerno’s resume of recent experience.

Of course, on his tour of the City, Salerno had to see the stupidity of building the downtown arena for no logical economic justification. I suppose that could provide some modest incentive for a prospective city manager to claim expertise in rescuing an area around a new arena.

But my guess is Salerno, who might be one of the nation’s premier city managers, will want to remain in more populated areas on the east or west coasts where productive economic developments are more feasible and interesting.

Here in Wichita, attention is needed on improving infrastructure and completing on going projects such as construction of Highway 54/Kellogg … and get off this easy come, easy go by local politicians to provide more “entertainment venues for the people.”

Confidence by the taxpayers of both City of Wichita and Sedgwick County is at an all-time low so this needs to be rebuilt somehow.

here’s a link to the article.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/durham/durham/story/1053563-p2.html

We just “fired” a city manager with the same kind of attitude and leadership style and paid him well for the opportunity to get rid of him. So now we’re going to replace him with his clone.

Good job. Common sense is truly dead.