Response to Walking Quorum Article - from Councilwoman Nancy Bielik - Dated:  2/15/05

 

Mr. West,

 

I read your article entitled “Walking Quorum” and found it informative.  Your belief that there is some kind of “back room” (my words, not yours) decision making going on in NRH certainly has an appearance of truth.  One recent example, more than any other, should have shown our citizens how bad the situation has gotten.

 

On the day Mr. Metts resigned from the Council, the Mayor appointed his replacement.  At no time did the Mayor discuss the replacement with the Council in any public setting.  Yet, at the Council meeting, as can be viewed on the tape, the Mayor turned to the left and right and said, “Who’s going to make the motion for Ms. Compton?”  A motion was immediately made.

 

Councilwoman Jo Cox and I were dumbfounded.  It appeared that the rest of the Council knew who was being appointed, but we certainly didn’t.  How did any of the other members know what the Mayor was talking about if they hadn’t discussed it in a Council setting?  It was obvious they had discussed it outside the public’s view.

 

Just this one example gives an appearance that the Mayor and some Council members, with no public meeting, reaching a consensus.  That would appear to be a violation of the Open Meetings Act, as it would constitute a quorum of the Council.  Such an action would be a violation of the Open Meetings Act, and disrespectful of our citizens.

 

Does this type of thing happen frequently in our city?  You bet.  Since the election, I have found all types of walking quorums occurring. 

 

During the City’s Goals Setting Workshop, I suggested that on occasion we should have more than one reading of an ordinance before approval or denial.  Let me assure you I was quickly shot down.  Why?  There is no reason most of our new ordinances have to sail through the process so quickly.

 

We receive our Agenda books on Thursday, have the weekend to look them over, and vote on Monday evening.  I, personally, receive no advance notice of what is going to be on the Agenda.  The weekend is spent driving around the city to look at parcels of land, formulating questions and trying to reach a decision.

 

On Monday I can email or call the City Manager.  Unfortunately, Monday is staff meeting day at City Hall.  That sometimes, but certainly not always, delays getting answers to questions before the meeting.  I don’t call other Council members with questions as I don’t want to be guilty of being part of a “Walking Quorum.”

 

Sometimes the Council meeting is the first opportunity I have had to ask questions on a particular agenda item.  I then have only minutes to reach a decision.  At a recent meeting I was still thinking about what to do on an issue, the vote was taken, and displayed on the screen, and I hadn’t yet pushed a button to vote.  (This can be seen on the tape.) 

 

How would I like to see things handled?  I would like major issues to have more than one reading, and to be given more time to research.  Any issue that requires a Public Hearing should definitely not be voted on the night it is first presented. 

 

This is a purely hypothetical situation:  an agenda item is brought up to change the zoning on a piece of property from residential to commercial to build a car repair facility.  Three citizens speak in favor and three speak against the change.  One of the citizens (remember this is hypothetical) says the project will flood his yard. 

 

At this point, I think the whole process should be stopped.  The concerns of the citizen facing the flooding should be taken into consideration, and the council should use the next two weeks researching before deciding what to do.

 

Instead, by the time we reach the Public Hearing portion of the meeting, we have already asked questions of staff.  The citizens speak, and the council votes.  That’s it.  You’re going to flood?  Oh well.   Sorry for your luck.

 

I wish there was some way I could ensure that our citizens got better representation from the Council.  They elected us, they pay the taxes, and yet they are the last ones thought of when anything is considered.

 

Does the Council appear to have a “Walking Quorum”?  You bet it does.  Am I a part of it?  Certainly not.

 

Nancy Bielik

NRH City Council