I have recently had a few emails back and forth between myself the city attorney and the mayor regarding an issue with the city council. During the Council's retreat it was proposed by one of the council members that they should just have the Mayor Pro-tem (Gary Gill) assign council members to committees rather than having a vote as is the common practice. This was informally agreed upon although it was not unanimous.
The Duvall Municipal Code (DMC) says:
"The following designated committees shall be standing committees of the city council and the membership of each committee shall be appointed by a majority vote of the council for the respective term of the council members so appointed or as otherwise determined by the city council in its rules and council procedures
A. Finance and administration committee;
B. Land use committee;
C. Public works committee;
D. Public safety committee;
E. Economic development committee."
Please note the highlighted section. It clearly states that the members of the committees should be appointed by a vote of the council not by assignment from the Mayor Pro-tem.
I asked if the city was looking into this as an issue and the Mayor told me they were not and if they needed to change the DMC then they would. I asked the city attorney and he asked if I really thought that the average citizen cared how the committees were assigned.
I see this as a bigger issue. I see this as an example of Council violating the law and no one thinks it's a big deal. I find this lack of respect for the law and thus a lack of respect for the citizens a very disturbing and discouraging turn of events.
So you tell me, is this a big deal? Can the Council just make it up as they go along and rewrite the code when it doesn't fit their current way of doing things? Do you care about this?
I think someone needs to call the Attorney General and see what he has to say about this. I can't believe they are so pious and have such disregard for the law.
ReplyDeleteI can see this being an oversight but they now realize they did the wrong thing and don't care and are going to just cover their butt by changing the law after the fact. This is totally unacceptable. Can we recall the mayor?
Mike
Rob,
ReplyDeleteYour points are taken, but if a majority of the council votes on the assignment by appointment, then they have excercised the majority vote required.
What committee or council member were you hoping to influence?
I said they agreed but there was no official vote taken. It was announced by Glenn Kuntz that this would be a better way to handle the situation and does anybody have a problem with it? There is a recording of the meeting if you are interested in hearing how it actually went.
ReplyDeleteI find your position and assumptions interesting.
Please explain how a citizen would influence a councilmember by ensuring they follow the law?
What does the DMC have to say about the duration of an appointment to these committees? If the minimum duration is at the will of the city council, then I have to wonder what would stop the Mayor or other powers that be from loading up the committees involved in a pet project with people favorable to his or her agenda?
ReplyDeleteThe city council changes committee assignments every year. But they could be done on whatever timeline the council decides.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the political side of things were discussed before the council retreat and that some council members were able to influence what committee assignments they received. This type of "spontaneous change" is rarely spontaneous.
An example of this is about 10 minutes or so after Gary Gill announced the committee assignments, one council member was asking questions about when assignments should be completed. They were assigned to a new committee that they were not on before and then said something like, well I assume that I will be chair of this committee... (I don't have the exact quote in front of me). It seems a very presumptuous thing to say unless you have prior knowledge of what the committees are and the assignments have already been discussed.
I really think this was a planned event and it makes it all the more disapointing that they did not work within the confines of the law to accomplish what they wanted. Instead they decided that political gain was more important than following the DMC.
I hate this sort of political crap. When will the council members get it? They are in their positions because we let them be there. All this business of disregarding laws, restructuring the local government and making up bureaucracies to make a personal profit has to stop. It is time to remind them who they work for. And their bosses are not happy.
ReplyDeleteMike
I agree with greenbike's earlier post. At this point, Rob/TP, your every political stunt is doing nothing but undermining your "mission" and (by association) digging Vicky Edwards' political grave ever deeper. Keep up the good work! JP
ReplyDeleteJP,
ReplyDeleteWelcome back. I fail to see any logic in the argument you make. Perhaps you can enlighten us. So here are a few questions if you are brave enough to answer them.
1. What political stunts?
2. How does what I do have any effect on a councilmember who I helped run for office 2 1/2 years ago?
3. Do your actions dig the political graves of politicians you have helped?
Mr.Patches (aka JP) I have met with Vicki (notice the i not the y- such attention to detail) when she was running for city council. And while she did not recieve my vote, I am wondering what she has to do with this website? Secondly, if you have nothing to add to the discussion that is pertinent to the post find somewhere else to linger. Those of us who are concernned for the future of our town and have no other forum to feel truly informed would like to read intelligent debate. If you are unconcerned with whether or not our local leaders are law abiding I pray you do not live in my town or neighborhood. If you do live nearby, keep it to yourself. Its like finding out your neighbor is an adulterer or pothead. Sometimes its best not to know.
ReplyDeleteRob/Thomas, Sorry for utilizing your forum to address a comment by someone else. I will not do it again but whatever you choose to call yourself, can we get over it already and get back to the topics our local papers are afraid to address.
Sincerely,
Jayne
Thomas, I wonder how many quotes you will get in council meetings and workshops now that the cats out of the bag? Good Luck on moderating the inappropriate comments! Also,do you have a counter on here? I am curious to see how many people visit this site? Regina
ReplyDeleteBack to the reason for the post. I have a huge problem with this type of action by the council. It worries me when they seem to feel free to ignore the law. Yes this may be a small departure but it shows their attitude is not in the right place. It is really discouraging.
ReplyDeletedave
I think this is a very important question, especially as it pertains to "the big picture." Voting on committee positions that everyone already agrees upon may be a formality, but if we become so informal that due process is ignored, bigger mistakes will be made.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in the vote in the right margin in these regards as well. Is there now a law about Council members being paid for city jobs? That seems like an obvious conflict of interest. And yet it has happened before and may happen again (esp. if this sustainability stuff passes). We can't be sloppy about these kind of things. Due process is important.
-Carolyn Durant
Carolyn,
ReplyDeletePlease be patient. There will be more about this coming out very soon.