I was talking with an alderman yesterday. A relatively new alderman. He was telling me about  two things he has learned in the past few months.

1) He discovered the various groups who promote economic activity don’t work together very well.

2) The city and county don’t get along.

I bet you guess he lives in your city, wherever that is.

I just participated in a poll asking if President Obama should go to Denmark to lobby for Chicago to get the 2016 Olympics. There have been over 60,000 responses so far to this poll. A whopping 80% said he shouldn’t go.

I didn’t vote with the 80%. 

I’ll save my criticism for real issues.

This happened right here in my hometown of Rice Lake …

In mid July an employee of the Parks/Recreation/Cemetery Department was caught red-handed stealing gas from a city pump. He admitted that he had stolen gas multiple times in the past. He was put on Administrative (paid) Leave. Charges were filed by the District Attorney … then dropped. He remained on paid leave.

Finally, after NINE weeks of being paid, and with no criminal charges, he was ASKED to resign.

Not bad for getting caught red-handed.

The City Council remained silent the entire time not questioning the process even once. 

How long would you be paid by your employer if you got caught stealing?

Today I will be putting the finishing touches on a new ebook, Why Your City Council Makes Dumb Decisions … and what you can do about it.

The information in this ebook is so important that everyone should read it. So, In order to make that possible the ebook will be free!

I bet you can hardly wait, huh?

Wow, I  have internet problems for  a couple days and people think I went on strike or died. I’m back in the saddle now, scouring the country for local government issues and news.

It is never easy for a Mayor to make Police Department decisions. No matter how insignificant the decision, it could eventually have unintended consequences.

Think this one might?

The mayor of a small South Carolina town says she banned her police officers from chasing suspects on foot after an officer was hurt running after a man.

Wellford Mayor Sallie Peake said Monday she issued the order in August after the city had to pay for an officer who missed work after chasing a “guy who had a piece of crack on him.” She said a drug possession charge was not worth the cost to taxpayers. But her written order said she did “not want anyone chasing any suspects whatsoever.”

The decision came after two town-issued cars were totaled within a month, although her order applies only to foot chases.

And, keep that bullet in the shirt pocket too!

So, this isn’t really a post about local politics.

But, when you are involved in local politics you deal with all kinds of people. You need to be ready for anyone.

Even guys like this.

A man who said he hurled thousands of golf balls into Joshua Tree National Park for more than a year to honor deceased golfers will be explaining his tribute to a federal magistrate.

Park rangers cited 57-year-old Douglas Jones for abandoning property, littering and feeding wildlife. Park spokesman Joe Zarki said Wednesday that Jones tossed some 3,000 golf balls from his vehicle.

Jones also scattered a few tennis balls and park literature and left fruit and vegetables along park roads. Jones says rangers spent 370 hours cleaning up, at a cost of $9,000.

Finally spotted in action last month, Jones allegedly told rangers he threw the golf balls to leave his mark and honor deceased golfers. The food was for stranded hikers.

I’ve tried to reason with people like this … have you?

Doesn’t work does it.

For the last two days I have been attending a conference with one speaker after another. Every speaker used PowerPoint. What has happened to us?

In the old days a speaker faced an audience and attempted to make as much eye contact as possible with those sitting in the room.

Now speakers turn their back to the audience and reads off the screen.

This is one change I don’t like.

There is certainly a time and place for recalling elected officials.

Then there isn’t. 

Eight of the 13 Monroe County Supervisors who voted for a $30 million Justice Center will face recall this fall.

The recall was organized by Monroe County Taxpayers Relief, which opposes the Justice Center. Its leader, Dennis Clinard, said it wasn’t easy collecting a sufficient number of valid signatures, which ranged from 94 to 178 depending on the district.

I am not making any judgement on the merits of building the Justice Center. I just don’t believe an elected official should be recalled for voting one way or another on a specific issue. That is what regular elections are for.

Recalls are for removing sleaze.

A couple days ago I wrote about some problems in Lake Geneva, WI.

The Mayor had suspended four Council members for misconduct in office.  I still doubt the legality of a Mayor suspending fellow elected representatives, but he did.

Well, here is the latest from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel…

The remaining members of the Lake Geneva City Council took a pass Monday at appointing replacements for four members suspended by Mayor William P. Chesen after deciding there weren’t enough non-suspended members at their meeting to form a quorum.

The action followed a request for a restraining order against the appointments by suspended Aldermen Penny Roehrer, Mary Jo Fesenmaier, Arleen Krohn and Thomas Spellman in Walworth County Circuit Court, according to their attorney David Williams.

“It appears that without a quorum you can’t conduct business,” Williams said after the meeting. “The city is in a bit of a pickle here.”

Chesen suspended the four Thursday, alleging misconduct in public office and violations of open meetings laws.

But the suspended council members say the suspensions were retribution for their voting to appoint former Mayor Spyros Condos, a political rival of Chesen, to replace former Ald. Gary Dunham, who resigned last month.

The suspended aldermen also filed a lawsuit in circuit court challenging the suspensions, Williams said.

Circuit Judge John Race is expected to schedule a hearing on the request for the restraining order within the next several days, he said.

Chesen, who could not be reached Monday night, has scheduled a “removal from office” hearing for the suspended council members on Sept. 23.

It’s unclear how that hearing could be held if there are not enough council members present for a quorum, Williams said.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

Oh, how I wish I could be at that meeting on the 23rd!

I like roundabouts.

I like roundabouts much better than four-way stops or stoplights. Our first roundabout was installed  close to 10 years ago. We now have at least a half dozen of them around town.

I have never bought the argument that “old people” will get confused or any other such nonsense. Anyone who can’t navigate a roundabout should not be allowed to navigate a four-way stop or stoplight regardless of age.

The height of stupidity in the roundabout conversation was recently reached.

At the same time that the Legislature is trying to combat Wisconsin’s problem with drunken driving, a lawmaker is asking transportation officials to reconsider putting two roundabouts near Lambeau Field because some fans might be too inebriated to safely navigate them.

“While we would hope no one will be driving impaired, the reality is that with thousands of people leaving a football game or other event, the odds are that some drivers may be less than alert after spending three to six hours at the stadium,” Rep. Jim Soletski (D-Green Bay) wrote in a letter to state Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi.

Don’t install a roundabout because Packer fans might be too drunk after a game to navigate it?

Hey Rep. Soletski, the problem is not the roundabout!

Geez.

I have to tell you this is a new one on me. I wasn’t aware a Mayor had this power.

Lake Geneva’s mayor has suspended four members of the Common Council, accusing them of neglecting their duties and violating open meetings laws.

Mayor William P. Chesen also accused the four – Penny Roehrer, Mary Jo Fesenmaier, Arleen Krohn and Thomas Spellman – of creating “inefficiencies for staff and the citizens,” according to the suspension orders.

A Mayor suspending Council Representative for neglecting their duties? Creating inefficiencies for staff and citizens?

Could this story get any screwier?

The move came on the same day former Mayor Beatrice Dale and others launched a recall drive against Roehrer and Spellman, accusing them of not voting “according to the wishes” of their constituents.

 Roehrer, Krohn and Spellman said the suspensions and recall drive are payback for their vote, along with Fesenmaier’s, to appoint former Mayor Spyro Condos to a vacant council seat rather than schedule a special election.

Spellman said Condos’ appointment gives development opponents a 5-3 majority on the council. That’s something Chesen and development proponents won’t stand for, Spellman said.

Condos also is the target of the recall effort.

Dale initiated a successful recall drive that ousted Condos from the mayor’s office in 2001 amid accusations of unauthorized spending and other abuses that were disputed by the incumbent.

Chesen scheduled a “removal from office” hearing for Sept. 23.

It should be one hellofa meeting.

Here’s a shout out to SUUNews.Com from Southern Utah University.

Keep fighting the lost causes!

With the primary election just around the corner on Tuesday, Cedar City is again gearing up for an election, yet many students at SUU are blissfully unaware of this.

Countless signs, banners and stickers for city council and mayoral candidates fill the lawns, windows and vacant lots across the city.

Despite this saturation of the town, many college students choose to not get involved in local politics, citing that it does not affect them.

The University Journal Editorial Board thinks that nothing could be farther from the truth.

Elected city officials make decisions that can ultimately affect where student apartments are allowed to be constructed and what businesses choose to locate here.

This can have a direct impact on the availability of quality affordable housing and jobs for SUU students.

Students also argue that issues are not directed at them and that they feel disassociated from politics in general.

We think that young people must take the initiative to get out and vote to change that.

If college students are seen as an influential voting bloc, issues will begin to involve them more.

As residents of this city, all people, including students, have a right to cast their ballots and we strongly encourage each eligible person to do so.

However, with the right of voting comes an assumed responsibility.

It is the obligation of the voter to register and to educate himself or herself before they head to the polls.

There are numerous routes to find out information, though it may require a bit of effort on the part of the voter.

Attend an open forum or debate of the candidates, pick up a newspaper or track them down at a local event.

Still, if none of these reasons truly entice you to vote, the Journal still encourages that you vote simply because you can.

It’s the No. 1 freedom we have in the United States, and it is wasteful to squander it in ignorance and apathy.

Yes, it is a lost cause trying to impress on people the importance of local government.

But, some of us are just too stubborn to quit anyway.

Consolidation … merger … intergovernmental cooperation … call it what you want sometimes good ideas just ain’t gonna happen. This is one of them.

APPLETON — Even before Len Vander Wyst was hired as Appleton’s next fire chief, Mayor Tim Hanna had hopes of increasing cooperation among Fox Cities fire departments.

But with this week’s hiring of Vander Wyst, a former Appleton firefighter who spearheaded the merger of the Neenah and Menasha fire departments, and served as chief of Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue for six years, the mayor is dreaming of even bigger things.

“Ultimately what really makes sense down here would be taking the heart of the Fox Cities and making it a fire district, take it off the tax levy and have it paid for in a way that is more closely related to what its purpose is,” he said.

Appleton …   Menesha… Grand Chute … Neenah … Whoa Nellie!

How many partners you think are going to get involved in this merger?

The larger the number of partners involved in a solution to a problem, the less likely the problem will be solved.

This idea is DOA.

It’s not a bad idea, it’s just DOA.

Kenosha City Council is about to go where few other City Councils have gone.

Kenosha aldermen on Wednesday will consider an amendment to the city’s profane language ordinance that would allow city police officers and firefighters to issue warnings and tickets if profane, vile, filthy or obscene language is heard while the officers/firefighters are in the line of duty.

This is George Carlin material.

Alderman Patrick Juliana, the sponsor of the amendment, said the change is intended to allow authorities to quell situations where the language may cause further disturbance at a crime scene or during an emergency response.

“This does not mean that a police officer will hear something and will give you a ticket,” Juliana said. “It all comes down to a situation where it leads to escalation or incitement to another level.

Oh, this would allow the police to issue tickets, but it doesn’t mean they will? 

Racine is the only other one of the state’s five largest cities that has an ordinance directed solely at offensive language.

“We call it verbal abuse. It’s kind of a catchall,” said Stacey Salvo, a paralegal for the city of Racine.

Racine’s ordinance states: “No person shall use, state or utter in another person’s presence any abusive, obscene or threatening word, gesture, phrase or language intended or naturally tending to provoke or incite an act of violence by such other person.”

Other cities back off

 The state’s three largest cities — Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay — do not have ordinances that refer only to offensive or inciting language. All three say language issues would fall under their standards for disorderly conduct.

“If something with language was going to be charged, it would be under disorderly conduct, which is kind of broad ordinance about conflict that could cause a disturbance,” said Kurt Behling, assistant city attorney for the city of Milwaukee.

Madison cited similar standards, and Green Bay said language had to meet certain requirements to be considered for its disorderly conduct violations.

You know, I think police officers hear vile, filthy and obscene language every day.

I think they know when that language crosses the line of disorderly conduct and when it doesn’t. 

I don’t think ordinances such as this serve any purpose at all, except it provides fodder for local political junkies like myself.

Raise you hand if your community has problems with ducks or geese.

I see a lot of hands out there.

Any good solutions?

How do you stop people from feeding them?

Or, does Eau Claire sound like it could be your city?

Sue Kaul knows how tempting it can be to feed the ducks that frequent Half Moon Lake. She used to feed the feathered fowl herself.

“I think these people mean well, but it’s totally against the natural cycle of feeding,” Kaul said.

Feeding ducks concentrates the waterfowl and their nutrient-containing droppings in a lake that already is too fertile, she said.

Another problem with ducks is they carry the fluke, which causes swimmer’s itch. The city no longer has a swimming beach on the lake, but people still wade and sometimes swim in the water, Kaul said.

Oh how well I remember  swimmer’s itch. Some people are very susceptible to “the itch” others are more immune. I can get “the itch” just by looking at duck in a lake. I swear.

Another problem with feeding …

some of the ducks were too tame and too heavy to fly. Obese ducks were dying in the winter, apparently freezing.

So, please don’t feed the ducks and geese.

But, if in season shoot away!

Count me in opposed to President Obama attempting to spread  propaganda to school children during school hours.

Students in grades pre-K-6, for example, are encouraged to “write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.” 

At a later date students will be held accountable to their goals of helping the President?  Excuse Me. 

Let me see if I have that right … yes, it says teachers will make students accountable to their goals of helping the president.

Can you imagine .. Can you just imagine the outcry if George Bush had scheduled an address to school children and through the Department of Education would make students accountable to goals of helping the president?

I would have objected to Bush  just as much as I object to Obama using the Department of Education to spread their personal agendas to elementary children. It’s wrong no matter who is doing it.

As a long time advocate of eliminating the Department of Education this just gives more fodder.

Give education decisions back to local school boards!

Eliminate the Department of Education!

I always say I am a politician and darn proud of it.

But, somedays  …

Forty-two percent (42%) of U.S. voters say a group of people randomly selected from the phone book would do a better job than the current Congress. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that an identical number (42%) disagree, but 16% are not sure.

Last fall, just 33% thought the random group could do as good a job.

I previously announced my intention to ride across Iowa during RAGBRAI next summer.

You may be wondering how things are going? Well, it’s been a busy month. First I decided I needed more than one speed on my trike and new tires meant for road riding rather than the knobby tires I did have. I also wanted an old retro style  odometer/speedometer that didn’t rely on batteries and could be easily read. So, the trike went in the shop for modifications.

Prior to the modifications I rode for 250 miles. I am calling those miles pre-training. Then I sprained my ankle and hyper-extended my knee. (Long story, non-riding related)  Those injuries kept me off the trike for about 10 days.

After the past eight days, while still nursing the injuries, my new odometer now reads 147 kilometers.  That would be 91 miles. I have a long way to go … but it is a start! 

If you are riding RAGBRAI next year watch for the Academy of Local Politics Express!