All seven members of the Common Council and City Manager Wollangk received a letter dated July 20 from "Impatient Taxpayer." S/he wrote:
Tune in Tuesday Nights 6 p.m. for the "Tony Palmeri Show" with featured guests, Paul Esslinger, Dennis McHugh, Jessica King and Bryan Bain. Tonight's topics will be: sewers, ducks, geese, floating docks, and street lights. Each of these people will get three chances to explain what they are trying to explain, and if you don't get it, then they will do it all over again at the next meeting. They will repeat questions and all will get to talk, otherwise it will look like they are not doing their jobs.
Mr. Bain brought up a good point, about repeating, or talking to(sic) much, which surprised me, because he is usually the one that is always talking and forever trying to explain himself. Then low and behold if you people didn't have the guts to talk for half an hour about talking too much.
Stop putting on a show and make a decision; you're on the Oshkosh Council, not 60 minutes.
Sincerely,
Impatient Taxpayer
I think that's funny, but I don't think Bryan or any other member of the Council has been talking too much. Believe me, if it was the "Tony Palmeri Show" the meetings would be going on much longer as I frequently find myself wanting to question the other Councilors but almost always hold back due to time issues. I'm sure every other Councilor does the same.
I think the meetings have been longer this year for some good reasons:
*Councilors are coming to the meetings prepared to discuss all the agenda items INCLUDING the "Consent Agenda" which traditionally does not get as much discussion. For example, we had a proposal a few weeks ago to annex into the city property that will become a tax-exempt church. Normally proposals like that get passed with no discussion, but I thought it valuable to introduce a discussion of the wisdom of annexing into the city property that will obtain city services covered by property taxes and yet not pay for them. Other councilors have introduced discussions on consent agenda items, and I think that's good.
*I could be wrong, but it does seem that more citizens than usual are speaking on proposed resolutions and ordinances. We all say we want more citizen input, so that too is good.
*It is true that this council does ask many questions and sometimes they are repetitive. We probably do need to be more mindful of that.
*Finally, I think most members of the Council feel compelled to offer rationales for their votes, sometimes lengthy rationales. I personally like to hear why and how a councilor has come to a decision, so I am not bothered by those statements even if they are lengthy. (Probably as more councilors see their statements held up for scorn on YouTube or mocked as "lecturing" they might say less--I think that would be unfortunate.).
I plan to continue to say what I think needs to be said (and ask what I think needs to be asked) while being respectful of time and the need to move the meetings along. I'm quite sure every other councilor would say the same.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
"Cheap"? or "cheep"? Like....maybe someone who "wants a a cracker"? Or not, just a thought. Maybe just someone who needs a good "cathartic" and not a cracker at all.
You know, when it comes to pointing an accusatory finger at suspects who might go around fomenting (today's vocab word) unrest for no apparent reason other than that they have a keyboard, writing invective replete with typos and errors that cause bloggers to write "sic", then I would certainly have to point several fingers at myself. However, this has an insider tone (and local postamrk no doubt) that is beyond what I could mimic, so I therefore am forced to conclude it is not me.
This is a pity since I deeply admire the way the person goes on blabbering and wasting time and demanding attention in a very public manner to complain about OTHER people going on blabbering and wasting time and demanding attention in a very public manner. Ergo I have no choice but to go on blabbering and wasting time and demanding attention in a very public manner myslef (sic).
AND...if I were to make pointed reference in this comment to certain key Oshkoshians, if I poked in the proper cages in the proper manner, we could get in the neighborhood of 382 MORE comments on this issue in one comment string to end all comment strings on the topic of Talking Too Much And Getting Nowhere. But I can't do that because you'd never apporve (sic) my comment.
As councilperson perhaps you could approve a new motto "Oshkosh - balanced on a razor's edge between parody and reality. Bring the family!"
I would have loved the length of this post had at "I'm sure every other Councilor does the same."
But then I read, very appropriately: "I think the meetings have been longer this year for some good reasons..."
And, sure enough, the post goes on longer.
I have nothing profound to offer. I just find it amusing,
JB
I rarely come back to see that damages my comments may have wrought. There is no point in me hovering over/defending my own remarks.This leads to un-ending comment strings with no redeeming value as mentioned above. That's the topic here though, so I make an exception today but dammit JB you could have done more - you have it in you. I looked at your blog.
First - allow me to say I am humbled by the presence of the Great Chief Oshkosh. Um, I imagine you must be a bit pissed at the shit that transpires upon your lands. Discord among the people, thoughtless building, even the noisy, messy airshow this week (that Tony can't rant about since he's a Public Official now). So, ya know...sorry about the gratuitous rape of all you hold sacred, etc etc.
But I know you could have done more with regard to length of comment, snark and pedantry. Anyone who writes like this following bit to "crotchety members of the undead", surely has it in him -
Great. We think this letter would be a lot more efficient if it read as follows:
“I’m old! I’m cheap! My life is joyless and so should be the lives of all others! I survive exclusively on the sustenance provided to me by the tears of small children!”
We feel that would get your point across to a broader audience, Asshole
Very nice.
But I have to nitpick on your impliction that Moby's twin would be named "Dick" since Moby's REAL name is Richard he is already both "Moby" and "Dick" himself.
The tax payer comments reminds of my peers at school. when someone wants to get in depth on an issue i can feel and see the anguish on many of my fellow how-do -i-get-an-A students. Many times even the prof, gets syllabus anxiety when the topic veets from the prescibed trax.
Okay but as an outsider I have to make note that until the recent Regime Change in Osh the oft-repeated complaint was that things were not getting discussed publically enough or in enough depth to assure voters that their Deciders made well-considered opinions on issues that effected many people and were implemented with public funds.
So I do recall quite clearly that back then the outcry was "TOO SHORT!". Now, just a few months later, the outcry is "TOO LONG!".
So I guess the only thing we can be sure of is that in Oshkosh size really does matter and apparently one particular citizen is feeling a bit overwhelmed, rather fixated, and in the end seems inspired to make a great deal of noise with no embarassment what-so-ever. Most unseemly indeed...
Post a Comment