My way or the highway

Ron Kim must have a thing for highways. At least that’s the impression one might get after the Public Safety lapdog’s election-year display Tuesday. Kim abruptly left the City Council meeting, pouting off like a spoiled child denied a piece of candy at the checkout counter.

“I don’t need to spend any more time on this council,” he proclaimed, before storming out with his contention of supporters and all the bravado of a shunned Hollywood movie star.

Kim also scrapped the rest of his agenda and left the council one vote short for the rest of the meeting and didn’t even bother to sit through the budget presentation. Had he stayed, perhaps he would have heard a good indicator of why his pie-in-the-sky approach to the police department debacle would never work out.

Already facing a 5 percent tax increase, the city simply can’t afford any of the new police departments Kim has foisted. Spa City residents will feel pinched by this years’ increase as it is; add an additional $200 per average-priced household onto that amount and the already dwindling middle class will shrink even more. Perhaps that’s the logic: raise taxes to a point where nobody but the uber-rich can afford them and the city won’t have to worry about crime anymore.

Admittedly, Kim has long made the new Public Safety complex his sole mission in office. But in two years, he and his contingent haven’t forwarded a single proposal that would make a bit of fiscal sense. Sure they seem plenty viable to Kim. Then again, so does having three quarters of the city’s top-20 highest paid employees under his jurisdiction.

First, Kim entertained the ludicrous idea of renting a police department from a private builder. When this wasn’t received well, he suggested the $17 million Taj Mahal of buildings, of which the construction cost alone would have caused an unreasonable tax burden. After this plan was nixed, he resuscitated the private development plan from the operating table, throwing in two key elements: rent to own and purchase by VLT revenues.

At first glance, it didn't sound like a bad idea. Pay for the building’s $1.4 million annual rent with the $1.5 million the city will surely get through VLT revenues. Spending this money to bolster the police deparment also seems to fall under what uses the money was intended for: offsetting the negative costs of having a bustling casino in the city. New shinny police station, happy cops and at absolutely no cost to tax payers. Sounds great, right?

Not exactly. First of all, the already too expensive $17 million price tag would balloon to $42 million. This fails to take into consideration increased energy bills, upkeep, or even the cost to hire more city employees. Then consider that the state wasn’t too keen –no pun intended –on forking over the VLT revenues at all this year. And as any state resident or political junkie could attest, the tide in Albany can change markedly over the course of three years, much less three decades.

These points could easily be dismissed as political rhetoric or obstructionist talk, were they coming from Commissioners Tom McTygue and John Franck. Both are on the other side of the Democratic isle from Kim, who is nearly attached at the hip to Mayor Valerie Keehn. But it’s usually wise to take heed when Matt McCabe –the proverbial Switzerland of commissioners and the guy who balances the city’s check book – is raising red flags.

McCabe has balked at just about every idea except selling City Hall to finance the project. Even then, it was never clear whether he suggested the sale to make a point or to actually put the historic building on the market. McCabe was also the voice of reason who noted that most of City Hall will be empty if the police and courts move out; a point that neither Kim nor his dominatrix have properly addressed in the proposals they blindly support.

Even when given all this, Kim figured it was time to pull some theatrics; make a quick point, stir up the crowd and then take the party on the road for some beers. While his stunt likely gained some favor with his City Police minions, Kim also solidified something else: he’s unable to compromise. In politics, that can be a dangerous beast, seeing as though there’s seldom a way to please everyone all the time. More disturbing is the fact that Kim is pushing the issue so hard with a month and change to go before the general election.

Saving a decision for after the election would clear a bit of the murky water clouding this issue. Instead, Kim is using the issue as a rallying point for his campaign, one which will indelibly fare only as well as Keehn’s. Still, it’s a shame they feel the need to hover a gargantuan tax hike over the heads of city residents for their own political gain. Hopefully, voters will follow Kim’s glib advice Tuesday and prove next month that he "doesn’t need to spend any more time on this council."