Road repairs
Do you remember that last year about this time, repaving the streets became a big issue? It was said that it was too late in the season and only a couple of weeks before elections.
Well…? Three days before this year’s elections roads are being repaired and there are no comments.
Let’s start thinking about next elections
We have a whole year to find candidates to replace some members of the Lawrence City Council in November of 2015. I cannot emphasize enough the need to open our eyes to see how uninformed they are when it comes to the proper way to conduct a council meeting and how the City Charter should apply it to their decision-making process.
I have expressed my opinions regarding the city council many times, always explaining my reasons. My biggest complaint is how ignorant they are of our City Charter. This is like our bible spelling out everything and when followed, things would be simplified.
Take the time to check my column of July 1, 2014 where I explained their handling of the city attorney’s contract. It begins with the following: “The City Attorney, Charles Boddy, left last week as a result of the mayor’s refusal to sign a new contract, the city council’s half-baked decision-making process – let me correct that, ignorance of what they are doing – and the fact that he has had it with the abuse and disrespect with which he has been treated by some members of the council.
“There has been no excuse or reason for not wanting to renew his contract and I want to explain why I believe that the councilors have not read their own parliamentary rules as a result, acting illegally.”
In that article I explained how the councilors took a vote to fire Mr. Boddy which ended up in a 4-4 tie. District A Councilor Sandy Almonte was absent for that vote and she later admitted that while she supported the city attorney, she knew he didn’t have the votes and if she showed up she was going “to get beat up.” As chair of the Personnel Committee, she should have made herself available for that beating – and do her job!
They omitted rules and broke others in the City Charter making their actions a stupid circus. The city attorney remains on the job because according to the expiring contract, it was automatically renewed for another five years since the city council failed to act. The way it stands is that Mayor Dan Rivera advertised the position and they are taking applications. We’ll see what happens when they are ready to interview and hire someone for a position that is not legally (in Mr. Boddy’s judgment) available.
By the way, according to the City Charter, the city attorney works for the city council, not the mayor. The mayor must sign all contracts but has no say on who the council hires. So, why are they so obedient to the mayor’s wishes?
Councilors are very aware of a rule that is customarily ignored regarding 90-day temporary appointments yet Mayor Rivera appointed Theodore Rosario, the agronomist, as City Engineer for one year to sit at the office to study and see if he can pass the civil engineer license. Council President Modesto Maldonado assured me that he will not be allowed to stay beyond the 90 days. What I don’t understand is why the council allowed the mayor to make an illegal one-year appointment. I’m sure they won’t be able to undo his decision because Mayor Rivera is walking all over the council.
We need strong people in the council, people who read and follow the City Charter as it was established, people who are not intimidated by any mayor, and people who do their homework when they are off the Council Chamber.
Comcast cable contract
I remember that the Comcast Cable Contract expires on November 4th and I wanted to find out what has been done with it. Just a few days ago this week, I found out that a public hearing took place on October 2nd at City Hall. After calling several people who should have known, I found out that the meeting had been advertised in Lisa Torrisi’s Facebook page although the city clerk later provided me with copies of the Eagle-Tribune notice of the public hearing.
I firmly believe that this was a concerted effort to keep the majority of the population of this city ignorant as to the content of such contract. I have been complaining about the power given to Lawrence Community Access Television (LCAT) in dealing with the interests of our residents. If anyone should have been notified that this public hearing was to take place, it should have been me. That announcement would have been all over Spanish radio and certainly in Rumbo – free of charge!
There were very few comments offered on Ms. Torrisi’s page showing that they had no knowledge of what it was about and they were referred to a link where they could read it.
Rich Russell, a concerned citizen who attends every council meeting and makes sure to be on top of everything happening in the city, responded by saying, ”The first sentence in paragraph three is a line of crap. They are only concerned about their bottom line and could care less about the customer!”
Working in secrecy is not a good form of government.
