Monday, September 12, 2005
Byron de Arakal and Obese Consent Calendars
Commentator Byron de Arakal, in his contribution in the Daily
Pilot Sunday, hit the nail right on the head. His observation
and quantification of the bloating of the consent calendar
during recent City Council meetings made it very easy for even
the most casual observer to understand the problem. When he
tells us that, based on his analysis, over the past three months
the council attempted to handle items representing $22.7 million
- 21% of the city's budget - via the consent calendar, it sure
got my attention. In fact, when I called him to verify his
numbers he told me that he made a little error - that those
numbers were for the last three meetings, not months! So, the
problem is even more serious than he, and I, first thought!
In my opinion, the expanding consent calendar is just a symptom of a broader problem in this city. To me, a more than casual observer of things going on at City Hall, it represents an example of questionable and inadequate leadership in this city.
One only had to watch the most recent City Council meeting on September 6th to understand what I mean. That meeting ended up being a disjointed affair, with the agenda shuffled like a deck of cards in an attempt to accommodate the large and diverse constituencies present that evening. Mayor Pro Tem Gary Monahan had the agenda juggled so an issue involving approvals for a restaurant co-owned by his pal and protege', Planning Commission Chairman Bill Perkins, could be heard early. He then took the rest of the night off, leaving the other four members of the council to deal with the remainder of the agenda. The obese consent calendar only contributed to the confusion.
This council, under the leadership of Mayor Allan Mansoor, has changed the rules several times since it was seated, but accomplished only the perpetuation of chaos on the dais. For example, earlier this year they decided they needed to shorten the meetings, so they moved to cut them off at midnight. However, since that decision we've seen meetings stretch on into the wee hours even more frequently.
Combine that with the almost under-handed way some council members have attempted to sneak items onto the agenda under the radar or to engage in debate of subjects not on the agenda and you have a formula for corruption. Their attitude and heavy-handedness may be best demonstrated by two examples. First, the way they handled the closure of the Job Center earlier this year. Second, the way they first de-funded, then disbanded, the Human Relations Committee without notification to the group or acknowledgment of their efforts on behalf of this city.
A cynical person might observe that this council - at least, the current ruling troika - seems to be dedicated to the reduction of citizen participation and the information made available to them. It certainly appears that their preference is to avoid any debate that might interfere with their pre-fabricated decisions.
Then there is the appearance of catering to one particularly persistent activist in this town - a man who took the podium on September 6th to complain to the council about what he perceived to be unwarranted criticism of his influence. This, from a man who appears to have never met a microphone he didn't love or a podium he didn't embrace. He can't have it both ways. He can't jump in front of the spotlight, then complain when it follows him back into his hole. He can't expect people to give his opinion credence without wondering about his motivation. If he doesn't like the attention, he can simply stay out of the spotlight.
I find it ironic that it was de Arakal's commentary more than three years ago that also dealt with the leadership, or lack thereof, in this city that prompted me to write my very first letter. Time passes, players come and go but things don't change much, do they?
In the two weeks since Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast we've heard pundit after pundit rant about the failures by politicians and bureaucracies in their responsiveness to the crisis as it unfolded. We've all probably heard enough about that, but one thing is clear in my mind - leadership is the key to handling any kind of crisis and what we saw along the gulf coast was a failure of leadership.
For this reason, I find myself wondering about how our city would fare in such an event. Do our elected leaders have enough wisdom, intelligence, integrity and maturity to be responsive in a crisis? Do they have the leadership qualities so essential to bring us through something like, for example, a major earthquake? These questions alone should be enough to encourage more residents of this city to pay attention and speak up when they don't like or understand something that's going on in this city.
8:19 am pdt
In my opinion, the expanding consent calendar is just a symptom of a broader problem in this city. To me, a more than casual observer of things going on at City Hall, it represents an example of questionable and inadequate leadership in this city.
One only had to watch the most recent City Council meeting on September 6th to understand what I mean. That meeting ended up being a disjointed affair, with the agenda shuffled like a deck of cards in an attempt to accommodate the large and diverse constituencies present that evening. Mayor Pro Tem Gary Monahan had the agenda juggled so an issue involving approvals for a restaurant co-owned by his pal and protege', Planning Commission Chairman Bill Perkins, could be heard early. He then took the rest of the night off, leaving the other four members of the council to deal with the remainder of the agenda. The obese consent calendar only contributed to the confusion.
This council, under the leadership of Mayor Allan Mansoor, has changed the rules several times since it was seated, but accomplished only the perpetuation of chaos on the dais. For example, earlier this year they decided they needed to shorten the meetings, so they moved to cut them off at midnight. However, since that decision we've seen meetings stretch on into the wee hours even more frequently.
Combine that with the almost under-handed way some council members have attempted to sneak items onto the agenda under the radar or to engage in debate of subjects not on the agenda and you have a formula for corruption. Their attitude and heavy-handedness may be best demonstrated by two examples. First, the way they handled the closure of the Job Center earlier this year. Second, the way they first de-funded, then disbanded, the Human Relations Committee without notification to the group or acknowledgment of their efforts on behalf of this city.
A cynical person might observe that this council - at least, the current ruling troika - seems to be dedicated to the reduction of citizen participation and the information made available to them. It certainly appears that their preference is to avoid any debate that might interfere with their pre-fabricated decisions.
Then there is the appearance of catering to one particularly persistent activist in this town - a man who took the podium on September 6th to complain to the council about what he perceived to be unwarranted criticism of his influence. This, from a man who appears to have never met a microphone he didn't love or a podium he didn't embrace. He can't have it both ways. He can't jump in front of the spotlight, then complain when it follows him back into his hole. He can't expect people to give his opinion credence without wondering about his motivation. If he doesn't like the attention, he can simply stay out of the spotlight.
I find it ironic that it was de Arakal's commentary more than three years ago that also dealt with the leadership, or lack thereof, in this city that prompted me to write my very first letter. Time passes, players come and go but things don't change much, do they?
In the two weeks since Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast we've heard pundit after pundit rant about the failures by politicians and bureaucracies in their responsiveness to the crisis as it unfolded. We've all probably heard enough about that, but one thing is clear in my mind - leadership is the key to handling any kind of crisis and what we saw along the gulf coast was a failure of leadership.
For this reason, I find myself wondering about how our city would fare in such an event. Do our elected leaders have enough wisdom, intelligence, integrity and maturity to be responsive in a crisis? Do they have the leadership qualities so essential to bring us through something like, for example, a major earthquake? These questions alone should be enough to encourage more residents of this city to pay attention and speak up when they don't like or understand something that's going on in this city.
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