| Versagi Voice | |
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2012 Commission
Meetings |
| Commission meetings are often
boring, sometimes interesting, occasionally irritating, and rarely
exciting, but attending them or watching them on television offers insight
into issues and personalities which would be difficult to achieve any
other way. That's transparency.
Some readers confuse two similar terms: Public Comment is that time early in the meeting during which individuals are offered up to 5 minutes to talk about almost anything. A Public Hearing is the discussion period focused on a specific agenda item like a lot-split or an alley vacation. See Does Public Comment serve democracy? Below, occasional observations and impressions. For the official minutes, go to the city's website.
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Crime fighting dominates Everyone agreed that the whole Crime Prevention issue should be one of the topics addressed during Saturday's long-range strategy session being held in Troy. (As the meeting began, Capello won approval of her motion that hereafter any long-range planning session about Royal oak will be held in Royal Oak.) The rest of the meeting was routine, dealing with the location of trash receptacles, sidewalk cafes, a walk-up window, and the coming appointment of a resident to serve on the party bus task team. The meeting lasted about 90 minutes.
Another CITCOM 'A' This long and productive meeting included several serious debates, but with the exception of one snippy aside from a commissioner to the city manager, the tone throughout the evening was polite and respectful, as CITCOM addressed demolitions, dancing, enforcing motel ordinances, where parking tickets are paid, and the sale of surplus equipment. The split votes were:
There were absences during two or three votes: no way to determine whether because of a phone call or a call of nature or a decision not to go on record about the agenda item.
The three new commissioners -- Kyle DuBuc, Mike Fournier, and Peggy Goodwin -- participated substantively in this second CITCOM meeting of 2012 -- with questions, seconding motions, debate. Not a sign of posturing. Wisely, the commission postponed action on the request to promote a private sector sewer warranty program from which the city would earn income. The eight speakers during Public Comment were focused: Most of them were in favor of granting Fifth Avenue that dancing permit. Another long,
productive CITCOM meeting A couple of Police Department vacancies were filled. The Administration was granted more time to come up with proposed millage recommendations. Sidewalk repair and replacement were approved, including simplification of the billing procedure.. There were two Split Votes among the 18 items on the agenda for the meeting which lasted until 11:20: Rasor voted No on the change in the policy re Special Events Permits for the Dream Cruise, Rasor, DuBuc, and Fournier voted No on changes in the city's Solicitation/Peddling Ordinance. Commissioner Peggy Goodwin was added to membership of The Crime Prevention Committee, and there was unanimity to refer her document re neighborhood watches and need to increase public awareness to that committee. Commissioner Pat Capello's motion to request the Administration to prepare recommendations for a revised contract or procedure for handling and paying for Arts, Beats & Eats parking was approved. No Public Safety Contract, No Budget Commission Meeting: February 20,
2012 The Honorable Mayor When this was discussed at the Strategic Planning session, I fully expected to have a contract with the firefighters signed by this date and I thought there was a good chance that one or two of the three police contracts might be resolved as well. As of this date, however, none of these bargaining units are under contract. Without contracts in place, we
cannot provide the accurate cost projections the
Commission needs to intelligently discuss
revenue options at this time. I have to
recommend we defer this discussion until we have
settled with at least one of the major Respectfully Submitted, The message in that box, above, was the most important non-event in the 20 February 2012 CITCOM meeting. Its message needs no clarification. For the rest: There were 4 split votes:
Unanimously, CITCOM approved such matters as special event permits, appointments, other Traffic Committee recommendations, concessions agreement in Memorial Park on Dream Cruise Saturday, and replacing a Police Dispatcher. And work is under way to schedule a joint meeting with the Planning Commission and the Downtown Development Authority. Noteworthy through the relatively short meeting (adjourned at 9:50) was that despite even a couple of seriously differing philosophies, not a voice was raised, not a snide personal attack was made. The 46th City Commission has had enough meetings of all types to generalize that the chronically contentious atmosphere which pervaded the 44th and 45th commissions can be attributed largely to former commissioners. A special meeting to explore the consultant's report about the Police Department is scheduled for February 27th.
Net financial impact of Fire
Dept settlement unclear Although the Fire Department characterized the new contract as "brutal" in an early press release, the "me to" clause in contracts with other agreements means that the City must reduce some of the savings previously negotiated with the other unions. So few details have been released that it would be meaningless to comment on the merits of this agreement. It does move the elected officials closer to their goal of being able to keep their promise of not seeking a millage increase until the Public Safety unions have agreed to concessions. The vote came quickly, There was no debate re Capello's concerns. The rest of the CITCOM meeting ran smoothly, and I'll report on it next week. UPDATE: City Manager Don Johnson has issued the following statement.
For Immediate Release
Fire
employees agree to pay cut and more The City Commission on Monday approved the tentative agreement for the two year period of July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013. The union voted overwhelming to ratify the agreement on February 29, becoming the City’s first public safety group to join all general employee groups in giving real concessions. Members of the Local have agreed to accept an immediate 2.5 percent reduction in pay; a wage freeze in the second year; moving all members to one health care plan with higher deductibles and more out of pocket costs; 20% contribution to health care premiums for all members; a $10/$40/$80 drug rider; mirroring of prescription drug coverage at retirement with prescription drug coverage for active employees; and increasing their contribution to the pension system to 6%. Employee pension contributions were previously increased from 2% to 5% in the previous contract. “Fire stepped up to the plate,” said Mayor James Ellison. “Thank you to Joel Smith, Fire Union President for his supreme leadership in working for his people in the fire department but with an eye to the well being of Royal Oak as a whole.” Smith had described the contract as “Brutal.” Ellison added “We were both hard-nosed and sometimes it wasn’t pretty.” According to City Manager Donald E. Johnson, “The savings in this Agreement represent real savings to the City in excess of $550,000 per year. It represents over 15% of a firefighter’s base wage. To obtain these concessions through a voluntary agreement is huge. This leaves the police groups as the only Royal Oak employees who have not agreed to a contract with significant concessions. We are hopeful this agreement will serve as a basis for obtaining similar concession agreements from them.”
Another short, boring, productive meeting The rest of the 22-item agenda went smoothly. Even with an occasional disagreement or two, the meeting took only two hours, during which the elected officials dealt with such topics as Demolitions; setting public hearings re removing diseased Dutch Elm trees and for revocation of hotel/motel licenses; allowing Barton Towers more parking spaces; approving appointments; adopting a tougher drunk driving policy; and hiring one Civil Engineer III. There was a little awkwardness during the discussion of the financial results of Arts, Beats & Eats. City Manager Don Johnson summarized that the financial pluses and minuses for the city must be weighed against the impact of having several hundred thousand visitors over four days. Commissioner Mike Fournier gave an informal report of information he received after attending an informational meeting re Bus Rapid Transit. An oddity is that there were five 6-0 votes as Rasor, Ellison, and Fournier found occasion to leave the room at separate times. For the suspicious: There seemed nothing meaningful about the agenda items they didn't vote on. 19 Mar 2012
Despite a flash of anger During that discussion, it was revealed that Detroit TV stations place crew in Downtown Royal Oak on weekends anticipating there will be an incident. They don't wait to hear something is happening. Normally sedate Commissioner David Poulton was angry and for a few minutes raised his voice to almost a shout. Normally smooth petitioner's attorney Kelley Allen was a bit off-her-game, so much so that her very visible gum-chewing became a distraction to TV watchers.The issue? Cantina Diablo's never-ending less-than-clear list of changing requests which follow each settlement with LCC and CITCOM. Even the way the issue prematurely made it to the agenda (see LCC report, above) has raised eyebrows. The result: split votes about Diablo's several requests:
At Ellison's suggestion, backed by City Manager Don Johnson, the commission approved the First Reading to repeal the Sidewalk Cafe Ordnance. Discussion before the vote made it clear that the ordinance makes it clumsy to address individual variations or to anticipate unique situations which in any case would be addressed individually. Repeal, rather enact an audience: good government. Participating in the dialogue more than usual, as chair, Ellison handled most of the meeting firmly but friendlily during a night when almost everybody had something to say about most items. Unanimously, CITCOM: Postponed taking action re revoking hotel/motel licenses for nonpayment of taxes and water bills . . . Referred to the newly formed Arts Commission the request about keeping in the city the lion sculpture currently on the sidewalk outside Ariana Gallery . . . Approved donating $1,000 to the Memorial Day Parade budget. Though not as revealing of mindsets as are split votes, even this early tabulation of parliamentary initiative shows a couple of patterns which are likely to persist during this 46th Royal Oak City Commission, even as the newbies become more knowledgeable and forceful. A couple of patterns among split votes:
Not quite a pattern are the 6-1 splits. Poulton, Goodwin, Rasor, Ellison, and Capello have found it necessary to cast the only No-vote one or more times.
Split vote confirms CITCOM's
pro-entertainment majority Commissioner David Poulton, whose long questioning and comments seemed to be leading toward a No-vote, switched to support just after Mayor Jim Ellison had spoken in favor, joining Ellison and Commissioners Kyle DuBuc. DuBuc and Goodwin took opposing views, but there was none of the shouting across The Table which occurred too often during meetings of the previous commission. My first communication from a couple of readers, paraphrased: " You know how Chuck Semchena was an automatic No-vote when it came to bars and alcohol? Well, we now have four automatic Yes-votes." (The absent Jim Rasor and Mike Fournier are self-labeled progressives.) The elected officials continue to conduct themselves professionally, no posturing (although some readers consider Capello's repeated questioning of details obsessional). No long speeches. Not a single personal attack. The three Newbies -- DuBuc, Fournier, Goodwin -- have moved effectively into place. Observers may disagree with their votes now and then, but their overall behavior at The Table has been exemplary. Except for without debate approving the Fire Department's request to replace six retired firefighters, CITCOM dealt with routine matters of minimal interest to other than serious city hall observers.
Give this gang a bonus
Forty-five minutes were spent on two liquor license petitions.
Well, five minutes on one, 40 minutes on the second. The long and serious debate had to do with Hamlin Corner, proposed to fill the years-long empty space at 386-390 Main Street. Commissioner Pat Capello repeated the objections she had first presented at the Liquor Control Committee (see above). Capello went further, adding observations and statistics at such great length that it reminded me of former commissioner Semchena. Pat reinforced that memory when she said, in effect, "I'm not saying I won't ever approve another license transfer." Commissioner Jim Rasor questioned her numbers about such matters as taxes paid by bars, but he offered no counter-data. Commissioner Peggy Goodwin offered two observations: (a) Adding more bars adds to already overburdened police work and (b) the more downtown becomes an entertainment district, the less likely are we to achieve a desirable balance with retail. During Public Comment, Debbie Campbell suggested that Royal Oak has become a "drinking destination" not an "entertainment destination." Commissioner Mike Fournier, in a well-spoken comment, waxed philosophical about "use vs. source" of assets. Hamlin won approval on a 6-2 vote, with Capello and Goodwin voting No. Among the 21 Public Comment speakers, 8 were in favor of Hamlin, 5 against. Versagi Voice has two or three times commented on the civility with which this 46th is operating. About this alcohol-focused debate Mayor Jim Ellison said it was the best discussion in his eight years as mayor about such matters. The only other split vote, 6-1, with Commissioner Dave Poulton voting No, was on a Cinco de Mayo permit requested at the last minute by Fifth Avenue. For the rest, CITCOM unanimously approved a dozen routine items.
Adjourned at 11:19 The happy mood prevailed for most of the meeting, although there were three split votes:
The votes were unanimous re such items as Cooperating with the School District in converting to fiber optic cable . . . Granting a couple of Special Event permits (Oak Apple Run and Baconfest on the same day . . . Approving a couple of Planning Department recommendations. The only time when two or three commissioners and the mayor displayed mild irritation -- each in his or her own way -- was concerning the apparently flexible way waiting lists and appointments to some city committees and commissions are handled. In past commissions, the political games occasionally played with appointments were painfully obvious.
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07 May
2012 Who hires? Who fires? Who changed the budget rules? |