“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.  People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

Cicero   – 55 BC

A few important reminders about the Academy of Local Politics.

1) Everyone should download the free ebook “Why Your City Council Makes Dumb Decisions and What You Can Do About It.” The link is on your right side. At the top. A common sense approach to better government which encourages a partnership between elected officials and their constituents. Did I mention it was free? What are you waiting for?

2) Just below that is the link to become a Facebook Fan of the Academy of Local Politics. Don’t miss a single post made here at the Academy.

3) At the top is the link to Moving Mountains and Molehills Local Politics 101. The definitive book how “Fight City Hall.” It comes complete with a checklist so you can’t forget to do something. A must buy for anyone who plays the game of local politics.

4) And of course the Contact Page. To contact me.

The Local Government Pontificator

The same as a merry-go-round horse, some people keep coming back.

Like how about a Town Administrator that the Town Board thought they fired.

A La Crosse County judge has ruled the town of Onalaska board violated a former administrator’s contract when it eliminated his position in late summer.

The town’s financial hardship did not constitute just cause to release Paul Kitzmann on July 28, Town Chairman Dave Paudler said.

“The town does not have the money to pay his salary,” he said.

If a town has to downsize … who can they get rid of Judge?

I’ve just read a story about about a pretty smart young politician.

Thomas Connor Moss a 21 year old student at Middle Tennessee State University. Mr. Moss is also running for an at large seat on the Murfreesboro City Council.

What makes Mr. Moss so smart at such a young age is what he said it would take to win this election.

“I can only win this election with help from voters in the university,” Moss said.

That is right Thomas. You can’t win any election without your base getting out and voting.

Never forget that.

I’ve preached about this before but it is a lesson that bears repeating over and over again.

Now it is the City of San Diego which is debating the virtues of Strong Mayor vs. Weak Mayor philosophies of government.

According to the National League of Cities website the difference between Strong Mayor vs. Weak Mayor is:

Characteristics of a “weak” mayor:

• The council is powerful, with both legislative and executive authority
• The mayor is not truly the chief executive, with limited power and/or no veto power
• The council can prevent the mayor from effectively supervising city administration
• There may be many administrative boards and commissions that operate independently from the city government

Characteristics of a “strong” mayor:

• The mayor is the chief executive officer, centralizing executive power
• The mayor directs the administrative structure, appointing and removing of department heads
• While the council has legislative power, the mayor has veto power
• The council is relieved of day-to-day administration

This is the lesson.

Strong Mayor doesn’t mean effective Mayor and Weak Mayor doesn’t mean ineffective Mayor.

It all depends on the Mayor.

Different strokes for different folks. We all have our own styles in everything we do.

That goes for management styles too. How many of us over the years have had bosses that we have liked and/or disliked based on their management style? I started to think about management styles while reflecting on my last post.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of books about management styles. In reality there are two extremes, authoritarian and participative management styles with most managers blending the two extremes into their own style. Obviously a manager who wishes to restrict an employees constitutional rights (even when off duty) like in my last post, falls into the authoritarian style.

Here is another one.

FLORISSANT, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) – A showdown in Florissant, Missouri, Monday night. Amid allegations long time mayor and former police chief Robert Lowery had been running election campaigns – in part on the city’s dime – the city council banned Florissant department heads from campaigning for candidates for city offices, even on their own time. It was a unanimous vote.

The crowd of close to 75 erupted in applause when he finished speaking.

While I am totally opposed to a Mayor or City Administrator forcing city staff/employees to work on their behalf for a candidate or issue, I am also totally opposed to the idea that these same staff/employees are forbidden to work for candidates or issues on their own time.

A city employee should not have to relinquish constitutional rights in order to retain their job.

There is controversy in the Pontificator’s home town.

In a nutshell Park/Recreation Director Ronn Kopp was suspended for eight weeks. The details of that suspension are irrelevant to this story. This story is about the punishment because in addition to the eight week suspension the Director must comply with a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).

What is in the PIP can be found here.

Two items in this laundry list are of importance to me.

* Detail of discussion occuring during department head meetings are not to be conveyed to members of the public, elected officials and/or committee members.

* Kopp may not lobby individual board members or council members, except the mayor or the council chair.  He may not organize the public to lobby or campaign for or against an issue.

Am I the only one who sees a problem with those restrictions and this?

* Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I admit Ronn Kopp is a personal friend of mine. I could be prejudice in my looking at this issue.

Maybe “Congress” in the Constitution means just that Congress, and City Councils can prohibit freedom of speech and right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances?

Huh? What do you think?

Am I clouded by being too close to the situation?

Or may this be unconstitutional?

Sometimes local officials stretch some rules if they can. Some try to stretch too far.

Allegedly the City Manager of Las Cruces sought to find out how far he could stretch his perks.

Assign city staff to babysit his children.

That’s a perk!

At the very least, I agree his contract should be revisited.

Can a Local Government Committee take votes by secret via email?

Some people in Racine believed they could.

Then to reaffirm that illegal email vote, they took another vote under “Old Business” on their next agenda.

Strike Two!

But it was just unintentional mistake. Sure.

State laws do vary but this is pretty basic.  Email votes are not legal.

Don’t even ask.

Sometimes a City Council has what they believe is a good idea. Then they try it.

This brings us to Spartanburg, SC. where Tammy tells the story…

City Council is going to start holding workshops every fourth Monday during City Council meetings. The purpose of the workshop is for Council and the public to have an in-depth learning experience about a particular issue facing the City. The workshop will last about 30 minutes. This week’s workshop is about Stormwater Utility.

Now…you may think to yourself…that doesn’t sound very interesting and well…hey, it may not be. BUT, if you want to understand more about what’s going on in your community learning about stormwater utility is important because it is something that MUST be addressed and it is expensive and it’s even more expensive if we’re not proactive.

Tammy, Tammy, Tammy, a workshop about Stormwater Utilities?

Yes, it is important. Yes, it is expensive.

But starting a new workshop program with riveting Stormwater Utility issues?

Good luck Spartanburg. I hope you pack them in.

But, I doubt it.

It’s like talking to a fence post.