Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Ooops! Did He Say "Councilman Maczka"?



Well, I guess Councilwoman Councilman Councilperson Scott Dunn really did do that last night at the councilmen's  councilperson's meeting during the items of community interest. But I have a tendency to do the same thing. Back when I was growing up, it was councilman so and so, or chairman so and so, or policeman so and so, and then came along the gender neutral stuff. So councilman Dunn, you get a pass from me on that slip of the tongue, and will probably get a pass on it from all with the exception of the most intense of feminists.

But, to Councilwoman Maczka's credit, she has shown she has more of something, somewhere, than some of the other councilmen. She is a step forward, a big step forward, in comparison to some of the previous councilpersons. The city of Richardson is probably better for her being on council. (ya, that was kind of a compliment, but there is gaga precedence from me on that, according to Destiny)




The meeting started off with a surprise, at least for me,  during the visitor's section . Andrew noted some of the problems he and his HOA/NA have with some items in the Main Street project. He gave a good summary of some of the problems he has with some of the naming of items associated with the name of his neighborhood. They want to protect their name. There are also some problems he and his board see with the study and the plan the he and his board considered. His concerns seemed to be reasonable and present fairly and firmly. Watch the visitors section for yourself for some more information.

Another surprise was another citizen in the visitor's section speaking about the plan for the Sherrill Park contract propositions.

He noted a few things, and again it would probably be worth watching him make his comments in the video. First, we have a golf course that grosses about $4 million a year. Then we have a golf pro running the golf course along that is very well paid. He note that the city manager, who oversees a annual budget over $100 million dollars a year gets paid less that the golf course manager.

Another item is that the golf course is an "amenity". He notes that previously the city staff has pointed out that there are $100's of millions of infrastructure repair and improvements that need to be made.

Then there is the transfer of the golf course debt to the general fund. My guess, it looks bad to see that money was transferred from the general fund to the golf fund year after year. So it appears the solution for the bad looking numbers is to make them disappear by transfer the golf course debt to the general fund and show money being transferred from the golf fund to the general fund, making it appear the golf course is pulling its weight. Sleight of hand! I am glad to see someone else raising more than just eyebrows about that shell game.

The rest of the meeting probably of other stuff of interest, but those were the items I thought worth mentioning.



4 comments:

  1. I agree, Laura is a great asset to this council, and she will even be a greater one when she becomes mayor in May. Laura is a uniter and consensus builder, but isn't afraid to call fowl when she needs to. She is no "show pony", but a "work horse" who always steps up to meet the challenge. Her two decades of work in our community demonstrate her ability to lead.

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  2. Every candidate, whether running for mayor, or especially for a Council position must be able to point out to the public's satisfaction just what they have done to support the and protect public's interests, the taxes and increasingly, the fees, they are being asked to pay.

    Sitting question less through the one position staff presentations and rubber stamping that one idea will no longer be considered reasonable or acceptable behavior.

    There must be more than just one solution proposed by staff for Council acceptance. No more "we must have a step raise" " to make sure we can retain employees" when there are few if any workers leaving for salary reasons, and there are hundreds of applicants for any vacant position. No more should broad, generalized proposals be put forth by staff expecting approval without the specificity that will allow proper examination by not only the Council, but the public - as, for example, the vagueness of the three year contract suggested by staff to revise management of the golf course. Those elected to office must realize that the public will hold them accountable for real action. Simply maintaining the glad-handing, free breakfast, free lunch, free Eisemann and Wildflower tickets, free drinks, and fake smile appearances at HOA's and NA's are not what will get you re-elected. Anymore. If you want to keep your office, you need to start REPRESENTING the people who fund givernment, not automatically bobble head "yes" to those who "tell" you how you need to spend, and for what.

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  3. Dunn is always calling her councilman. Nothing new.

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  4. Laura wants to be called councilman. It is on her name plate.

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