Rubber stamp city council for finance director approval
Rubber stamp city council for finance director approval
5:20 PM
Rubber stamp city council for finance director approval. Barb Ryan spoke in a broken manner about how it would be good if council had more knowledge or participation before approving these
Rubber stamp city council for finance director approval. Barb Ryan spoke in a broken manner about how it would be good if council had more knowledge or participation before approving these
5:20 PM
Rubber stamp city council for finance director approval. Barb Ryan spoke in a broken manner about how it would be good if council had more knowledge or participation before approving these appointments. She wanted to make a motion for looking into that - but Bob Ryan gaveled the meeting adjourned within a split second of the 6-0 vote to approve Carter's appointment leaving Barbara stuttering. Bob instantly got up and left - with Barb looking at him departing and realizing she was not going to make any motion. Bob Ryan is history - and he did not seem to even want to be here today for the short meeting.
Council members all sort of mumbled their support for Carter. John Watts explained how, gee, we needed to have "continuity" with our finance department and so this meeting. As John always does, he did not address the obvious impediment to his reasoning. This time the impediment is why this appointment was not brought up at the last November meeting - since council has known for a year that this position would be vacant now.
Comment was allowed - even though it was not on the agenda. I was the only speaker - but Bob Ryan had no problem cutting me off at exactly 3 minutes. They did not like my comments. I did my best to put on the record why Carter is a very poor choice for finance director and why this process is contrary to open government practices. And as the meeting ended, I again had that weird experience of being among people who do not see me - where I don't exist. Am a ghost passing through. No one looked at me and they all obviously felt I had spoiled their little approval party. And I had. And their rubber stamp approval without any public discussion has given us a very second rate finance director.
9:30 am
How charming. The city council will not allow any public comment at the 11:30 am meeting this morning to confirm John Carter as city Finance Director. This process gets stinkier by the hour. Is this representative government or rubber stamping of behind closed doors arrangements? Has the mayor already polled the council members to ensure his easy and full vote of approval?
It pains me to write this stuff. I only hope Dan Pike realizes he is off to a very bad start and these processes are only beginners mistakes. Again, I think he is being betrayed by inside city hall advice - probably from the city attorney's office. They did not want him as mayor in the first place. Dan needs to slow down everything and say 'later' to the urging of city staff that is probably overloading him with 'urgent' decisions. And Dan needs to realize that his job is not working with bureaucrats in city hall but rather administering our city government for us citizens. All we want - all I want - is good government. This finance director appointment process is an example of all we rejected when we voted Dan Pike in as our new mayor. I am only one voice - one citizen. Alone I will make no difference. But I can try. I will be at today's city council meeting and will try to speak. We shall see what happens.
12:10 am
Open government means we citizens can follow events and participate when we feel a need to do so. Announcing a surprise city council meeting on 24 hours notice and having that meeting during the middle of a work day is not even close to open government. I am disappointed that our new mayor Dan Pike has allowed himself to be buffaloed into this move. Oh, I hear that there was a legal notice on Monday - but the post on the city website is Tuesday. This is not a good beginning for a guy who promised us a more open and "inclusive" city hall.
Why the rush? Is the creek flooding? Some emergency that just cannot wait till January? No. Tis to have the council confirm a new city finance director. A job we knew a year ago would be open now. Gentle reader, did you know of any of the candidates being considered? I did not. This appointment is for one of the very most important positions in city government. A post we elected the person to until last year. Yet I bet that you reading this did not know yesterday who will be your finance director today. This is not open government. This is government by ambush.
Bad advice is being given to our new mayor by someone in city hall. And he should figure it out soon and get rid of them. Dan should remember that city hall did not want him as mayor. They are not his friends. He is the outsider who was elected because he was going to end over 20 years of quiet behind closed doors decision making. Well, this is not a good start.
And then there is the candidate to be anointed today by a lame duck city council - a council that will not work a single day with this new finance director. John Carter does not have a very good track record of financial management at the Port of Bellingham. This is the guy who oversaw the losing of over four million dollars on the KAP fiasco in the early 1990s. He lied to the Port Commissioners and to the public for five months as he covered up the unraveling of the KAP shell game. Each month he had a chance to tell the truth and he chose to consciously lie by claiming that KAP had paid their monthly rent. He later admitted lying each month for five months at public Port meetings. He said KAP kept telling him they would make it all good. They never did and never intended to. The Port was taken by fast talking scam artists while John Carter was in charge of Port finances.
There is also the incredible financial debacle the Port got us into with the GP properties. Where was Carter's financial advice on this? He told the Port Commissioners what they wanted to hear - that all was well. Tilt. We can only fear how he will give his stamp of approval to any politically sensitive financial adventure the city bureaucrats may come up with.
The deal is done. The city council will trip all over their tongues later today to praise this supposedly wonderful appointment. I doubt there will be a single critical brain or voice in the council chamber today. Good ol boy John Carter, with close personal ties to all the good ol boys in the city and county, is now in the inner meetings with our mayor - the guy we elected because we wanted change and we wanted the good ol crowd out.
What happened to those KAP scan artists? Why the Port bought them out to avoid the public embarrasement of court or legal proceedings. The scamers made a huge profit. John Carter participated in the decisions to buy them out. This is not good judgement by a financial manger.
Rubber stamp city council for finance director approval. Barb Ryan spoke in a broken manner about how it would be good if council had more knowledge or participation before approving these appointments. She wanted to make a motion for looking into that - but Bob Ryan gaveled the meeting adjourned within a split second of the 6-0 vote to approve Carter's appointment leaving Barbara stuttering. Bob instantly got up and left - with Barb looking at him departing and realizing she was not going to make any motion. Bob Ryan is history - and he did not seem to even want to be here today for the short meeting.
Council members all sort of mumbled their support for Carter. John Watts explained how, gee, we needed to have "continuity" with our finance department and so this meeting. As John always does, he did not address the obvious impediment to his reasoning. This time the impediment is why this appointment was not brought up at the last November meeting - since council has known for a year that this position would be vacant now.
Comment was allowed - even though it was not on the agenda. I was the only speaker - but Bob Ryan had no problem cutting me off at exactly 3 minutes. They did not like my comments. I did my best to put on the record why Carter is a very poor choice for finance director and why this process is contrary to open government practices. And as the meeting ended, I again had that weird experience of being among people who do not see me - where I don't exist. Am a ghost passing through. No one looked at me and they all obviously felt I had spoiled their little approval party. And I had. And their rubber stamp approval without any public discussion has given us a very second rate finance director.
9:30 am
How charming. The city council will not allow any public comment at the 11:30 am meeting this morning to confirm John Carter as city Finance Director. This process gets stinkier by the hour. Is this representative government or rubber stamping of behind closed doors arrangements? Has the mayor already polled the council members to ensure his easy and full vote of approval?
It pains me to write this stuff. I only hope Dan Pike realizes he is off to a very bad start and these processes are only beginners mistakes. Again, I think he is being betrayed by inside city hall advice - probably from the city attorney's office. They did not want him as mayor in the first place. Dan needs to slow down everything and say 'later' to the urging of city staff that is probably overloading him with 'urgent' decisions. And Dan needs to realize that his job is not working with bureaucrats in city hall but rather administering our city government for us citizens. All we want - all I want - is good government. This finance director appointment process is an example of all we rejected when we voted Dan Pike in as our new mayor. I am only one voice - one citizen. Alone I will make no difference. But I can try. I will be at today's city council meeting and will try to speak. We shall see what happens.
12:10 am
Open government means we citizens can follow events and participate when we feel a need to do so. Announcing a surprise city council meeting on 24 hours notice and having that meeting during the middle of a work day is not even close to open government. I am disappointed that our new mayor Dan Pike has allowed himself to be buffaloed into this move. Oh, I hear that there was a legal notice on Monday - but the post on the city website is Tuesday. This is not a good beginning for a guy who promised us a more open and "inclusive" city hall.
Why the rush? Is the creek flooding? Some emergency that just cannot wait till January? No. Tis to have the council confirm a new city finance director. A job we knew a year ago would be open now. Gentle reader, did you know of any of the candidates being considered? I did not. This appointment is for one of the very most important positions in city government. A post we elected the person to until last year. Yet I bet that you reading this did not know yesterday who will be your finance director today. This is not open government. This is government by ambush.
Bad advice is being given to our new mayor by someone in city hall. And he should figure it out soon and get rid of them. Dan should remember that city hall did not want him as mayor. They are not his friends. He is the outsider who was elected because he was going to end over 20 years of quiet behind closed doors decision making. Well, this is not a good start.
And then there is the candidate to be anointed today by a lame duck city council - a council that will not work a single day with this new finance director. John Carter does not have a very good track record of financial management at the Port of Bellingham. This is the guy who oversaw the losing of over four million dollars on the KAP fiasco in the early 1990s. He lied to the Port Commissioners and to the public for five months as he covered up the unraveling of the KAP shell game. Each month he had a chance to tell the truth and he chose to consciously lie by claiming that KAP had paid their monthly rent. He later admitted lying each month for five months at public Port meetings. He said KAP kept telling him they would make it all good. They never did and never intended to. The Port was taken by fast talking scam artists while John Carter was in charge of Port finances.
There is also the incredible financial debacle the Port got us into with the GP properties. Where was Carter's financial advice on this? He told the Port Commissioners what they wanted to hear - that all was well. Tilt. We can only fear how he will give his stamp of approval to any politically sensitive financial adventure the city bureaucrats may come up with.
The deal is done. The city council will trip all over their tongues later today to praise this supposedly wonderful appointment. I doubt there will be a single critical brain or voice in the council chamber today. Good ol boy John Carter, with close personal ties to all the good ol boys in the city and county, is now in the inner meetings with our mayor - the guy we elected because we wanted change and we wanted the good ol crowd out.
What happened to those KAP scan artists? Why the Port bought them out to avoid the public embarrasement of court or legal proceedings. The scamers made a huge profit. John Carter participated in the decisions to buy them out. This is not good judgement by a financial manger.
