Elected leaders should be well prepared

    Part of the mission statement of Citizens for Responsible City Management (CFRCM) is to strive for a fiscally responsible city government. The “fiscal” responsibility is probably the most important aspect, because it does deal with how the taxpayers’ dollars are spent. But, I also think it is very important to make sure we have overall responsible representation as well.     As you are well aware by now, CFRCM successfully gathered enough signatures to put a charter amendment on the November, 2009 referendum. The city manager requested and obtained a legal opinion from the city attorney that this was actually a revision instead of an amendment. The letter from the attorney, along with instructions from Manager Buck, was then forwarded to the city council for action during the August 17th, 2009 meeting.
    It was spelled out very clearly what needed to be done. The council must vote as to whether they agreed with the attorney that this was actually a revision to the charter. If they agreed that it was a revision, then it was clear that the next step was to vote to put the question onto the June 2010 ballot as to whether or not a charter commission is to be established. The council voted unanimously that it was a charter revision. Having done that, any further action to be taken was set in stone.
    However, when it came time to vote to put the charter commission question on the June 2010 referendum, it was very clear, at least to this observer, that several of the councilors had not read the legal instructions from the attorney that were supplied in their council packets. One councilor wanted a workshop to further discuss this issue, while another councilor said he was not prepared to vote on the issue that evening. Time constraints and the law mandated that they vote that night. Yet, several of these councilors did not know that. They were not prepared. I am concerned that if they did not take the time to properly inform themselves of this issue, how many other issues are voted upon in the same manner.
    At last Monday’s council meeting, two young ladies were present. Attending a city council meeting was an assignment for a class they were taking, and it was the first such meeting they had ever attended. On the way out, I asked one of them what her impression was of the meeting. She said she found it interesting, but asked why the councilors don’t read their packets before the meeting.
    Making informed decisions for the people they represent should be a priority for our elected officials. Therein lies the responsibility in responsible city management.
    Please check out CaribouWatch.com for meeting dates, agendas, letters and current events. Our next meeting will be held at the Van Buren Road Lodge on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.