The Ruinous City Council Bill 2011-400 (Pension Funding for certain public employees)


Just more of slick & slippery tactics by your elected rep's...........this e-mail was sent to Council yesterday, and highlights the obfuscatory methods and obstacles erected to avoid or inhibit intelligent and sane discussion by the public on a matter that could simply BANKRUPT our fair city. Looks like we'll be needing a repeat of last September's taxpayer turnout for whenever this bill comes up again (soon).
  
Dear Council President, Council Members, and Finance Committee Members,
  I have been following subject Bill with great interest for a considerable time, and being aware that it falls under the purview of the Finance Committee, checked the published agenda for this morning's meeting (Tuesday, 02 August) to find it NOT LISTED. I therefore decided to watch the live internet streaming of the meeting instead of attending. Imagine my incensed frustration to find that the Bill was debated indirectly through 2011-377 & 2011-378, and Public Comment was allowed (though NOT PUBLISHED in the agenda). The only notice of Public comment appeared in the Agenda Minutes, which were posted this afternoon at 15:00 hrs.  If one did not attend the Agenda meeting at 09:30, he/she would not know about this oppurtunity.
How can you disenfranchise the Public in such a manner? This is not the Government we, as taxpayers, voted for last May! To use such tactics is to do a disservice to all your constituents - especially with a Bill having hundreds of millions of dollars in effect on taxpayers and the very foundation of the City's financial future.
 I and many others more qualified have useful thoughts on why 2011-400 needs to be discarded in its present iteration and re-formulated completely. We were precluded from offering these ideas to you by virtue of the aforementioned maneuver, and per the posted Minutes of the Agenda Meeting,
"2011-377 and -378 (future pension benefits and funding) – Chairman Clark stated that, at the request of the Council President, he will offer a public comment period for citizens who want to address any pension issue.  No public input will be allowed at next week’s Council workshop on pension issues."
What, then, is the purpose of a "Workshop", if not to receive intelligent, thoughtful, researched, and cogent thoughts from the diverse public, and debate among Council members themselves?
 I ask you, in the name of good stewardship of City Finances and responsibility to the Taxpayers, to publish in advance, and allow equal-time open public comment either at the Workshop scheduled for 08 August between 13:00-16:00 hrs., or another time prior to moving this Bill forward.
Yours truly,
D. R. Carr

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Comment by Russell C. Snyder on August 3, 2011 at 1:20pm

Seems D.R Carr followed all your rules and you hoodwinked the public by not advertising that discussion was to take place.  When this administration was elected it was in hopes of a fair dealing with the tax payers and you have circumvented the tax payer coming out the gate.  In a sense of fairness, it is only right you publish in advance or allow open comments at the Workshop scheduled on August 8.  Is that not what a work shop is for?  I am sure this was something that was overlooked by the counsel as you certainly would not want to exclude the tax payer on purpose.  If that was your intention it speaks very poorly of our newly elected counsel.

Yours truly

Russell C. Snyder

Comment by Patricia M. McBride on August 3, 2011 at 1:06pm
For those who do not know as yet, if you go to a committee meeting, you will not be allowed to make any comments about bills. They are not having comments from the public any longer, but those who want taxpayer money and are supporting the bills because they involve them or their group getting the benefit of the passed bill in either $$$ or allowing them to do something the public may or may not want, ar allowed about unlimited time to try to sway the council to pass the bill in their favor. Further as Dan stated, the agenda is not be published properly, so you may go and find they have decided not to even discuss the bill you have an interest in. I don't know what is going on with the new city council, but I highly recommend we find out what it takes to recall some of these folks as they are not friends of the taxpayer. They think they are far to clever and far too "in charge of us" instead of the other way around. I am tiring totally of Mr. Yoost and at least one or 2 other members on the council for the way they are treating the public and the favoritism being shown to those who want city money and favors. They need to rethink their stance or they need to be removed and replaced with someone who has in mind that what they do is a "public service".

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