Friday, August 15, 2008

Hotel Utica Countdown: H+2

We're now two days past Utica Mayor Dave Roefaro's self-imposed 90-day deadline for resolving the Hotel Utica Debacle. In the private sector missing a deadline by two days is likely to get you fired, but Mr. Roefaro has obviously taken the undemanding standards of government work to heart. And why shouldn't he? It's not like being Mayor is his full-time job.

Heh.

Snarkiness aside, in the unlikely event that the mayor and his crack team of economic advisors actually do issue some kind of plan today I'm willing to bet it consists of, ultimately, doing nothing. Sure, it'll be dressed up with some happy talk about saving jobs and keeping the Hotel on the tax rolls, but in the end Mr. Roefaro will just roll over and let things continue as they are. If he's willing to ignore the fact that his own Economic Development Commissioner is an epic tax deadbeat there's no reason he should hold anyone else to a higher standard.

After all, things like deadlines and standards are what you have in the private sector. Expecting them to apply to government is just a naive fantasy.