*Ding* it's done.

Channel 2 did a poll: 71% said Giambra should resign; 20% said he should not. 19% said the sales tax should have been raised to 9.25%. 78% say it should not be raised. 41% say the county layoffs will be good for Erie County. 52% say they will be bad. Finally, on the public's confidence in Joel Giambra - can he fix the budget problem? 90% say no. 7% say maybe. 2% say yes. Stick a fork in him. Also - check out Stefan Mychajliw's interview with HRH Joel I. It's an eye-opener.

Mychajliw: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the penny sales tax passed, that money wouldn't have been rolling in until mid-March or late March?" Giambra: "Right. And the budget was predicated on only having the revenue for the ten month period." Mychajliw: "So if that money wouldn't be rolling in until late March anyway, why not give yourself a month and a half to make layoffs?" Giambra: "Because we've been spending at a higher rate. All right? And the money's not there, the money's not coming now. We don't know if the money's coming." Mychajliw: "Do you feel as though the sense of panic is necessary? That you could have given everybody a few more weeks to hammer out specific job cuts?" Giambra: "No, Stefan. I thought what we did two weeks ago was judicious. Every two weeks is 18-million dollars (in payroll). So I tried to anticipate the worst situation, which unfortunately occurred.” Mychajliw: "There is an old saying that says out of crisis comes opportunity." Giambra: "I've said that." Mychajliw: "Is this a real opportunity to reform County government?" Giambra: "Absolutely. We've been reforming County government for the past five years, Stefan. I've reduced general fund spending by 40-million dollars. In five years, that's reform." Mychajliw: "There are a lot of people who say you should resign. What do you say to those folks?" Giambra: "I have no intentions of resigning. I've said this to Maryalice when she tried to do this to me live."

71% of Erie County residents disagree with his majesty.