Board of Aldermen meetings for November.
Please click on the header for the dates and times of the BOA meetings to be held this month.
Looks as though there will be some interesting subjects, so why not try to attend. Who knows, with luck we may even see one of our "missing" Aldermen come back!
Tom Ford
NO. 246
Looks as though there will be some interesting subjects, so why not try to attend. Who knows, with luck we may even see one of our "missing" Aldermen come back!
Tom Ford
NO. 246
posted by Crestwood Independent at 18:27
43 Comments:
How about a new ordinance; if an alderman misses a regularly scheduled boa meeting, their pay is docked by 1/24th their annual pay, regardless of the reason - excused or unexcused.
What does everyone think?
That sounds right to me. Unless the Alderman is verifiably ill, or departed they should be docked. Look at the NFL, no play, no pay!
The only problem here is what to do when they start owing us money?
Tom Ford
Why arent you including the Mayor? Recall when Breeding under Brasfield was off almost 3 months straight? No one said a word then. Breeding also wanted the BOA to work without pay due to th City's money problems but was told that per state law they couldnt do that. I wonder if the same could be said for reduction in pay for missing meetings? Of course there is always recall which would have been easier for all of us if Prop. 5 had passed.
Recall would have been way too easy if the proposition passed.
Thank goodness Prop. 5 didn't pass!
The whole purpose of setting a reasonable percentage of signatures is to get a representative enough number of voter signatures to convince the board that were it to come to a citywide vote, the outcome would more likely favor the position of those who initiated the petition. The same cannot be said if the percentages were lowered.
If we follow your logic, then the purpose of setting percentage requirements is to make it easier for the petitioners to gather the required number of signatures, so why not reduce it to five percent? Because that is not a representative number, and would have very little impact on the board's deliberations.
Martha Duchild
so what about the new ordinance idea, what do you propose vs. oppose?
I agree with the ordinance IF the absence is unexcused. There also should be a limit to the number of excused absences.
Seem to have many executive sessions...legal matters? Not with this administration, right? The average citizen never knows what really goes on.....
11:20 Pm blogger: We do have access to the executive sessions, albiet once they are over, but we can find out what was discussed.
If evryone feels the need to know (and why not,) tell me and I will publish the topics after the sessions.
Tom Ford
Being an official in a municipality should be an honor. When an elected official misses meetings for whatever reason on a regular basis, he should resign or be docked. Being an official should not be used to make a car payment, it should be used to serve the community. One cannot do that unless they fulfill their duties.
This is not a hard one.
P.S. The Breeding who is mentioned on this blog as wanting to defer the stipend during our financial crisis while he served as acting Mayor, is this the same man who received an advance on his aldermanic pay? Is this strange or what?
4:30 pm 11/13 "Being an official should not be used for making a car payment"??? So if a board of aldermen member decided to use his $300 a month to assist in making his car payment, shame on him/her?
So now, we should dictate how the stipend given to board members on a monthly basis is used by them? What is that all about? They should be able to do with it what they want.
On the other hand, when you give a city administrator $800 plus a month to make payments on a high end BMW that is his and not the city's, like Mr. Greer, that's bad news and the fools went right along with it. That's what you should be mad about. One self-serving maniac, got every nickel he could out of this city and everyone let him do it like he was the reincarnation of the Savior.
Aldermen Breeding is a young man with a family. So he got in a bind and needed the money early. So what. He asked for an advance because he had a problem. What's yours? When it came time for the regular payroll, he never got another check! Why do you sweat the small stuff instead of looking at the bigger picture.
If the kid needed money, what is wrong with advancing him his paycheck. Shame on you for being so ignorant. I hope that it never happens to you. You'll probably go rob a bank rather than ask for an advance.
The City said it was OK so maybe your beef is with the mayor OKing it. Well I guess if Mayor Fagan OK'ed it, you wouldn't be opening your big horn mouth about it, would you? And so, I guess it is really about this administration, just like everything else. Get a Life.
Yawnnnnnnnnnnnn
10:40 PM 11/13 Yeah and while you've got your mouth open yawning.....stick your foot in it.
Well, well looks like the previous several bloggers got their licks and yawns in, particularly Mr. 6:56. Seems he has his pet peeves as apparently does the blogger to whom he addresses. One was condensed, one was not. Nothing wrong with that. The world is big.
It appears bloggers are not to "sweat the small stuff," but this is what seems to make up the "bigger picture" in this town. As for beefs, looks like both bloggers have lots of ground chuck going on. One lean, one fat. I sense this all over the blog.
I especially like the well worn "Get a Life." What that seems to mean here is if you don't agree with my assessment, you are wrong. If you have a contradictory beef, your beef is rancid.
I notice on this blog that when questions are asked, they are never answered. Like:
How did that city employee come to have a city provided BMW and romance?
What exactly does the Retail Development Lady do at city hall?
Why do so many people think the City Attorney should resign?
What is wrong with asking why a city clerk gone at mailing and printing time?
How many excuses for absence from a BOA meeting is an alderman allowed?
Is the city in the loan business? Is a "full time" on the payroll code officer needed in a city of 12,500 and 3.6 sq. miles?
Did the BOA see and approve the long Charter mailing which cost $14,000 before it was printed, stamped and mailed? If not, Why?
Did the expired Charter Board obtain permission to do this, if so, from who?
When an alderman calls another alderman a "name" at a public meeting is this okay?
Did the City Administrator see and approve the Charter Mailing without our BOA having some oversight? If, so why? If not, why?
Did the BOA have privvy to the fact that $8000 was being spent on a study during our financially insecure period? If not, why?
What was this new C/A thinking, possibly that "it is great to be the king?"
Is the City A. a lone read?
Reigning in the spending is the topic for which we should all be ground chucking. Picking on one another. Well, opinions are free and flowing on a blog. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with questions either. All mine have been picked up on this blog or in the paper and on the reading of them I remember them not being answered but arousing my curiosity. Not just because they are fair questions, but why the answers are avoided.
But preaching gets old. Pity Parties get old. Expired politicians with anger problems get old. Over spending and tax increases get old. Politicians who play God get old. This seems to be commonplace. OLD.
Another fair topic would be this never ending and immature politics game which rears its ugly head so often at our city hall. Here is where the "Bigger Picture, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, Beef, and Get a Life" come in. Let me add one: "Cool It."
If the Kitchen gets too hot, open the back door. You sure don't have to agree with me or one another on a blog. But you are apparently in the game, concerned and this matters. Keep it clean, keep it interesting and most of all let's keep our community in progress and growth mode.
How about another question already posed on another blog?
Who is this lawyer Hesse guy who reaped a fortune from our city? I was told his billing provided only the date and the amount, no description whatsoever of services rendered. Check this out! $400,000 is not small change. What was Greer's cut? Where was the oversight of the BOA, the Finance Officer, the C/A, the Ways and Means, the Budgeting process and the City Attorney? Turning heads at city hall must need arthritis medicine by now. No wonder a bank is needed to prop up our city. Maybe we need the Attorney General to step in. Private Pool, TDD, Bonds... Maybe Fairview Heights should be forewarned. Maybe voters should be pressing for answers.
Why would a small city like Crestwood have so many lawsuits, so many problems, and invoices without descriptions, and so obviously need audits? Why did the last 2 City Administrators leave under expensive and secretive circumstances? Why did a mayor resign? I think we should invite John Gresham to town. He may have the answers.
Crestwood must "have been" a virtual Pot of Gold. Talk about a Beef. Man, we are talking Tenderloin here.
Let's get some answers!
I doubt if any of these questions will get answers either on this site or from the elected officials. I for one would not want to get up in public and pose any of the "obvious questions". Seems any time controversial questions are asked at meetings get the rath of the mayor. Don't want to be on his hit list. Notice how no one hardly ever gets up in public to comment or ask questions? If they did we might get answers. Guess we will just be in the dark. I'm getting tired of trying to understand and be informed.
Blogger 1:02 PM, November 14, 2006... Ask Tim Trueblood about the $400,000k. He knows.
Like Tim, the Trueblood, would tell us about the $400,000.00.
Please rename this blog the "Crestwood Indignant"...everyone who posts seems indignant about everything. I know this word is probably too complicated for most people who are on this blog..but I think it describes the overall tone and attitude much better. thank you ....thank you very much
8:47 PM blogger: It would seem that you do not understand the true nature of a blog. And while I am at it the word "indignant," because by your very tone you are being "indignant!"
If this is more than you can bear my I suggest Mr. trueblood's blog, or failing that drop the $125.00, design your own, and your off to the races. All you need then is folks who, when not at high tea, will direct some "civility" to your tome!
Tom Ford
To 1:35 p.m. November 14th blogger:
If you have any concerns or questions regarding the administration, this blog is not the place to find the answers. Please come to a board meeting and speak up. There are plenty of seats available, and it's always nice when more points of view are heard. Even if you do not receive the response you want, at the very least you will get your concern on the public record.
Martha Duchild
I like the part on this site that says an alderman should be docked when he misses a meeting. Presumably this income is not actually needed and the tenure is inspired by civic responsibility. This was never an issue until the last 2 years when one of the aldermen decided to come only when it was convenient. His constituants are totally fed up with him. So he is the one who inspired this notion. Always there is the one proverbial rotten apple who messes up the applesauce. This one when he does come does nothing but lowrate the Mayor and some of the other aldermen with surleness. This only proves one thing, he is unfit. Sadly, it appears a couple others have chosen to step in this same manure. Rather than work together, they like to chose sides. How pathetic. Great for our city - right! Watch the votes on the board fellow residents and note the difference between positive and negative and who is constructive and who is negative and who asks the "hard questions."
Not 1st time, Breeding was gone for months on end when he lost his job and worked in KY and still claimed to rep. Ward 1
5:54 PM 12/2 Well I never heard Breeding tear down the mayor or make attacks on fellow aldermen like the alderman from Ward 2 has done in the past while on the dais.
I love it when he doesn't show up for meetings. After all, he is a busy guy! It makes for a more professional meeting and you don't have to be on pins and needles all night. He got by with that with the previous mayor and was allowed rant and rave. This mayor turns off his microphone when he starts and he has nerve enough to get angry about it and cry about it to his family and friends.
He knows nothing about this city but what Roy haters have told him; and he thinks he is the smartest one of the bunch.
He thinks by his criptic words and smart mouth he is making points with his constituency but he has turned us all off with his vocal prsentations; that is when he is at a meeting. I have never heard Breeding do that.
If you think you can do better, file for alderman next time and see if it as easy to condemn Breeding when you are sitting up there on the dais. Let's see how well you do.
One thing for sure, you won't win any contest when you let your mouth overload your booty like the alderman I am speaking of.
He is just another major "suck up" who thinks he has got his church and community fooled and will always win his seat. But by his deeds, we know him.
6:40 Dec. 1 Bloggger was not referriing to Ald. Breeding. He seems to be civil although he does waffle sometimes not knowing which drumbeat to follow. It does seem he is trying to lose the politics agnle and work for the city.
The absent Alderman is in Ward 2 and he has been a total embarrassment to the city. Yes, the meetings are much more constructive when he is not there. Ward 2 deserves much better.
5:14 PM blogger: Correct, Ward Two could do a lot better than the "senior mound of sound" we now have as our Ward Two "representitive" (I sent another E-mail, and still no reply, and don't tell me he doesn't do E-mail's.)
We need a candidate to come forth from Ward Two (hopefully from St. E's as that seems to be a pre-requsite,) one who will listen to all of us (not just the elite few from "the club," or his circle of friend's.)
I pray that there is one out there, else we become the laughing stock of the universe!
Tom Ford
We are working on it, believe me!
Thank goodness! I, for one would rather have a stuffed teddy bear in that chair than the waste of space we have now!
Tom Ford
5:14 12/3 Right On! Bravo!
I agree Ward 2 needs an alderman who attends meetings, answers e-mails and has a more reverant attitude. This guy is a train wreck. He has made Ward 2 a laughing-stock.
However, I don't necessarily think a new alderman has to be from St. E's. This one must have been plucked from a dead tree. Ward 2 does not all attend St. E's and the other alderman is from St. E's, which is fine. But I think we need to do away with the idea that the candidate must represent just one faction of the ward. Time to end that chapter, the one where aldermen must be a member of Crestwood Swim Club and St. E's. This has caused a decided and unjustified slant in representation which is not necessarily appreciated by all members of this parish. Ward 2 needs an alderman who has a mind of his/her own and who is his own person. Ward 2 really does have a bad case of factionitis. And the abovementioned absentee alderman is not much more than a thorn in the side of his constituancy which is also apparently his congregation. We are watching the other Alderman whose credentials are somewhat the same and looking for signs of congeniality and his ability to work as a team member and for the betterment of our city. Not for the cronies with whom he is associated. This has become a tell tale sign of a step backward. He should aim for achievement not devisiveness. His votes and input are being watched.
If, however, a candidate does happen to attend St. E's, then hopefully he/she will forego the "politics" historically connected to this Ward and break the trend. This kind of politics has thwarted needed progress and delayed same and has historically worked to oppose those trying to bring the city back to the standards and civility needed to see financial strength and maturity in our city government.
Whenever opinions on an elected official become chewable fodder for many who wish to be represented by a person who has the integrity needed to serve in a reputable manner, it is time for change. Big Time!
Correct, we need to do away with the idea that a candidate must come from St. E's, and the swim club, but are the voters in Ward Two ready to do it?
For the last 36 years that I know of it's been that way except for Tim Trueblood. If any of this rubbish going on at the meetings is to change, we will ALL need to support a candidate who is for ALL the Ward, period!
The other Wards have voted in some very promising people, and the City is moving ahead, will Ward two catch up, or are we to be the one Ward stuck with a "foghorn Leghorn" caricature for a represenitive? You tell me!
Tom Ford
Plain and simple, if an alderman does not return their calls, they should leave office or forfeit their paychecks. It would seem the 2 Ward 2 aldermen are above returning calls. This is no longer rumor, but fact. Apparently their agenda is not to serve. Maybe they are working overtime to figure out how to prove the swim club is legit.
What do you think about that idea, Mr. Malter?
Get the Aldermen to make it a law,instead of bumping your gums here, get out and do something about what you think is wrong. That's what I think.
S.W. Malter
Thank you Mr. Malter. We did do something about it, we added censure to the Charter.
So, you are contacting your aldermen to start censure the process? What law have the aldermen in question broken that would bring about censure?
You need the law first.
S.W. Malter
S.W. Malter is having too much fun on this blog trying to make everyone crazy.
Obviously he is on something. Not too sobor if you ask me. Maybe Malter means "malt liquor". Anyhow, I think he should be ignored. He thinks he is funny and cute. Maybe he doesn't get enough attention at home.
You hear about wierdos on line all the time. He sounds like one of them.
I think we should proceed and act like he doesn't exist rather than answer his comments.
He states that we should put things into law regarding the aldermen, when we are not the lawmakers. I think he sounds like the expert so he should take the aldermen to task.
Ignore away poster 9:09 but the fact is there has been no law broken by any Aldermen that would bring about censure. Once the ALDERMEN pass a law, yes then they could censure themselves, but what are the odds of that happening.
Amazing the conlusion you have reached because someone is able and willing to debate you and is not intimated by you. "Malt liquor, lack of attention at home, not sober, wierdo". These are the words of a frail mind at work, that is unable to stretch their brain around a problem that requires them to think out side the box. Instead of debating the points a poster makes, you attack the poster because you are afraid of the poster. Proceed away dear poster and you will still be talking about these problems and what to do about them a year from now and still not any solutions. Sorry if my postings have made you work your brain a little too much.
S.W. Malter
Ah, 9:09 blogger, I wouldent get in a verbal battle with "Malter!"
First of all he/she has the right (same as you do,) to post whatever as long as it's not profane, or a direct insult with no basis of fact!
Second, he/she seems to be somewhat bright on the up-take, and, from what I have read there is a very good chance you will loose!
Third, we are all here to lend our views and ideas to this blog, not to hurl insults at one another, so .........
Tom Ford
Mr. Blog Master, I thank you for your clearifcation of what the standards are on your great blog site.
I hope you see the point I am trying to make in my most recent postings. And that is the elected offcials of our city will only take on their own house cleaning if we the people force them to do so. This action of force by the people should not be limited to just censure, but should be on issues as recent as the idea of allowing animal control officers to enter our homes without due process of our laws.
That has been the direction of my posts, it will take action by the people of Crestwood and by action I mean more than voting ever year, to force this Board to do it's job. I sense the current BOA is a bit shy in standing up for what they believe the majority of the people in their Ward want if it means going against the Mayor. That is not a knock on the Mayor, he seems to be very effective in using his power to bring about the votes he favors, not withstanding those who have said on this blog that he has no control, to which I disagree. But the Mayor as the CEO of the City must be held at the highest level of accountablilty for the actions of the BOA...Again not a knock on the Mayor. HOWEVER, Aldermen must hear from their people and be strengthed by them when they have to go against a VERY politcaly strong Mayor. That is their job as it is our job to get the message to them.
Never forget that an Alderman has about 3300 people in their Ward, which make their base of power small compaired to the Mayor's City wide base. If just 1% of a Ward express a view point to an Alderman that should be enought to get their vote on a matter.
So in closing, it is the people from which all power comes in Crestwood, UNLESS the people allow that power to be taken from them by their inaction and give it to either the Mayor or in the case of a weak mayor, one or two Aldermen.
S.W. Malter
December 08, 2006 5:04 PM
One cannot get their points across to their alderman if he doesn't return calls or e-mails, or attend meetings, can they?
One cannot expect change to happen for the betterment of the city if no matter what, 4 aldermen play tag politics, can they?
One cannot expect progress if an alderman calls another alderman a snake in the grass or a grandstander when he asks the hard questions at a meeting, can they?
This sort of dilutes the "Power of the People" doesn't it?
11:41 blogger: I am not sure that "dilutes" the power of the people is quite right. No doubt it weakens our base, but it should make all of us mad enough to attend the meeting's and tell the malafactor were not happy!
A wise man once said, "ALL IT TAKES FOR EVIL TO PROSPER, IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING!"
Were doing something here, but it's time we let them know our feelings on the floor of the chambers!
Tom Ford
poster 11:41, so what if one alderman calls another a snake in the grass, maybe from his experience the alderman is just that? And how does that relieve you and others from doing what ever it takes to get your view point across to the other aldermen?
Are you sending your alderman letters/emails with cc to the Call or Times to be published as letter to the editor? Do that once and pretty sure you will get replies on the next letter.
Have you attended the BOA meetings and asked the aldermen the questions face to face that in letters they are not answering? If both your aldermen are not at the meeting, have the question written up, read it to the Board and give a copy of it to the press there.
You know, you are not helpless in this, you have to take action to get the answers you want. Quit wringing your hands and do something. Get up, lead, follow or get out of the way, but don't just sit there if you want something done.
S.W. Malter
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