Some days all I can do is just shake my head…

It’s happened so often that it’s now a cultural cliche: the gay politician pretending to be straight. In most parts of the nation, homosexuality or bisexuality is a clear electoral liability.

Not in Center City’s 182d state House district. There, it’s a badge of honor.

Veteran Rep. Babette Josephs (D., Phila.) last Thursday accused her primary opponent, Gregg Kravitz, of pretending to be bisexual in order to pander to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender voters, a powerful bloc in the district.

“I outed him as a straight person,” Josephs said during a fund-raiser at the Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant, as some in the audience gasped or laughed, “and now he goes around telling people, quote, ‘I swing both ways.’ That’s quite a respectful way to talk about sexuality. This guy’s a gem.”

Kravitz, 29, said that he is sexually attracted to both men and women and called Josephs’ comments offensive.

I could be shaking my head over this one for a while.

Success

1. At age four success is … not peeing in your pants.

2. At age 12 success is … having friends.

3. At age16 success is … having a drivers license.

4. At age 20 success is … going all the way.

5. At age 35 success is … having money.

6. At age 50 success is … having money.

7. At age 60 success is… going all the way.

8. At age 70 success is … having a drivers license.

9. At age 75success is … having friends.

10. At age 80 success is … not peeing in your pants.

11. Success is winning an election at any age.

As many new local officials take office across the county at this time of year remember…

Political campaigns and the skill to keep political support while governing, are inseparable from the reality of what you say and what you do.

Author unknown

It is amazing how many politicians don’t know or forget that.

And oh one other thing … character does matter.

In the beginning, there were plans to create a “Plan.” But those who should be involved in creating the “Plan” stayed away.

“I’m too busy,” some said. “I don’t care,” said others. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” claimed the uniformed.

So, the planning of “The Plan” went on without input. As Ad Hoc Select Few proceeded without direction from the masses.

When “The Plan” was presented for approval, the masses said among themselves, “It is a crock of shit and it stinketh.”

The masses went to the Ad Hoc Select Few and said, “It is a pail of dung, and we cannot abide the smell.”

The Ad Hoc Select Few went to the Planning Commission and said, “It contains that which aids plant growth, and is very strong.”

The Planning Commission went tot the City Council and said, “It promotes growth, and is very powerful.”

The City Council presented “The Plan” for voting saying, “This powerful Plan will actively promote growth and vigor in our community with powerful effects.”

The City Council looked upon “The Plan” and saw it was good. And “The Plan” became law.

And that my friends, is how shit happens!

I love concrete.

And now I can love concrete and the environment at the same time…

The outer road along Interstate 44 near Six Flags St. Louis is freshly paved _ with asphalt made from recycled swine manure. It is believed to be the first time asphalt has been created from swine manure. Two St. Louis County companies, road contractor Pace Construction Co. and the engineering firm Innoventor, joined together on the project.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Innoventor perfected the process of converting the animal waste into a bio-oil used in asphalt binder.

Hog producers are optimistic that, if the project works, it will create an additional source of revenue while helping the environment.

Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of “crackpot” than the stigma of conformity.  And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost.  - Thomas J. Watson

This just in …

The officials at the Liverpool City Council are planning to ban the word obese for children.

It has been seen that the highest childhood obesity rate is found in Britain. In Liverpool, approximately half of 11 year old boys and 40 percent of 11 year old girls are overweight.

The plans to ban the word obese  for the age group of 9-11 were stimulated by the suggestions made by the School Parliament.

OK, I’ll label these guys are “crackpots.”

Just because you ban the word doesn’t make the kids any less fat.

There was in a certain town, a 5 ton bridge. It served the community well for many years. One Tuesday morning a 10 ton truck traveled down the road and crossed the 5 ton bridge. The bridge, having only a 5 ton capacity, immediately broke and the 10 ton truck plunged into the river below. The people of the town gathered around the accident.

“What happened?” someone asked.

“The 10 ton truck went trough the 5 ton bridge,” was the answer.

“What shall we do? asked someone else.

A man, who would probably someday be mayor answered, ‘well, first we will rent a crane to pull the truck out and get it on its way – then we will hire a crew of men to repair the bridge.”

This done, everything went smoothly until the next Tuesday morning when the 10 ton truck again crossed the 5 ton bridge with the same results. Everyone gathered around the bridge.

“Didn’t this happen before?” someone asked.

“Yes” was the answer.

“What did we do then?” someone else asked.

“Well,” said he man who would be mayor, “we rented a crane to pull out the truck and then hired some men to fix the bridge.”

So it went every Tuesday, the 10 ton truck went through the 5 ton bridge and the crane was rented and the crew was hired to repair the bridge.

Then one day a man who would be know as the “young up and comer”, said, “I can save the town much money. Let us buy the crane instead of renting it. We can depreciate the value and write off the expense. It will pay for itself in three years, plus we can train our own men to fix the bridge. So the town leaders were able to show a great savings to the community.

Some people wondered why the truck wasn’t rerouted or the bridge reinforced, but then they thought – you know, that’s the way things are.

– Author Unknown

Local elected officials are underpaid. Not everywhere, but most places.

But with that being said, now is not the time to ask for a raise from $37,000 to $80,000.

Some Dallas City Council members appear ready to ask voters for a pay raise and longer terms, even as City Hall struggles to balance its budget with drastically reduced services, layoffs and pay cuts.

On Friday, council member Tennell Atkins said they should be paid $80,000 to $100,000 a year and serve four-year terms. He wants to see voters amend the city’s charter in May 2011 to make it so, he said.

As it stands, most council members make $37,500 a year and serve two-year terms.

Jeez. Can you believe it?

It takes guts for a politician to admit a mistake and take responsibility for that mistake. We all know they seldom do.

That is why this story from Clinton, UT piqued my interest.

The Clinton City Council has voted to give its city manager, the mayor and itself a written reprimand over $83,000 that was lost when the FDIC closed Centennial Bank on March 7.

City manager Dennis Cluff also will be docked three days’ pay, about $1,300.

The city treasurer will have more oversight, and new policies will be implemented to make sure the city never loses uninsured money in a bank account again.

“I think this won’t happen again,” said Councilwoman Anna Stanton, who made the motion that ultimately passed 3-2.

Council members David Pearson and Cheri Reed, who wanted a stiffer penalty, voted against it.

While I agree with Pearson and Reed and believe a stiffer penalty was in order … at least they did SOMETHING as they admitted a big mistake had been made.

Many city councils would have tried to sweep it under the rug.

What would your council have done?

I was reading a blog named Rebound. It is written by Sarah, a freshman at University of North Carolina. Sarah writes in part …

Local politics are BORING, its all local ordinances, trees, roads, signs and is rarely anything shocking…

Maybe it’s a cynical view, but how valuable is local news exactly? Does anyone really care what the town council has to say?

Sarah, Yoo Hoo, I care.

I care about the police department and what they do for the community. I care about the fire department and the protection they provide me. I care about where my poop ends up so it doesn’t harm the environment. I care about the electricity that powers the computer I am using this minute. There are many services provided by my city and county that I care about.

Maybe when Sarah grows up she will care…?

Sure, I can agree with Mayor Daley.

The Mayor is being criticized by some for his appointments to the City Council. He has now appointed 19 of the 50 Chicago council members. He denies those appointments are just puppet votes for his proposals. The Mayor claims he appoints the best candidates possible.

I have long advocated vacant council appointments be made by the Mayor. It is the least messiest way of filling vacancies.

I’ve got your back Mayor.

Many thanks to Kevin Underhill at Loweringthebar.Net for the following …

The author of a book about the parking situation in London (which is evidently so bad an entire book can be written about it) says that area city councils routinely issue tickets to city-owned vehicles but then dispute the tickets, requiring them to appeal against themselves in an effort to force themselves to pay themselves the amount of the fine.  Or in an effort to not pay it, I guess.

Barrie Segal wrote that in one case, the council failed to offer any evidence against itself, and then tried to recover costs from itself on the grounds that its lawsuit had been unjustified.

Parking disputes in England are resolved under provisions of the Road Traffic Act of 1991.  Motorists who want to challenge a ticket first present the challenge to the council for the area where the ticket was issued.  If the challenge is rejected, there is another appeal to an official known as the Parking and Traffic Adjudicator.  After the Adjudicator (a much scarier title than “judge,” although it seems a little misplaced in the parking context) rules on the appeal, either side may seek costs, but costs are allowed only if a party’s behavior is found to have been “frivolous, vexatious or wholly unreasonable.”

The council that sued itself was Islington, which believed (wrongly) that its individual departments had independent legal status.  In 2007, an Islington officer ticketed an Islington vehicle, but the department that got the ticket appealed.  Because the department is not a different entity, in legal terms the council was appealing a ticket it got from the council, and under the rules above, the council was hearing its own appeal.  After the council rejected its appeal, it then appealed again to the Parking Adjudicator.  But having appealed, it then presented no evidence, and the Adjudicator voided the ticket.  Feeling its appeal had been an outrageous waste of time, the council asked for costs, thus accusing itself of having acted frivolously, vexatiously and/or wholly unreasonably toward itself.  The Adjudicator declined to award costs, pointing out that “[t]he legal status of the two parties in this appeal amounted to one and the same.”

Several other councils have reportedly sued themselves as well, including one that managed to win its case and so had to pay itself the fine.

And you think your city council is screwy?

I have always believed that political apathy starts at the bottom. That is the citizens. They do not go to meetings when issues are being discussed that impact their lives. They do not speak up at the earlyist opportunity to provide input. I recently came across an article that challenges my theory.

It was written by someone who just refers to himself as Dan. No last name. It was written in 2002. Dan lives in Britain, but what he says could also refer to the United States. Dan believes that apathy comes from the top down. Not the bottom up.

Dan writes, “It is an inevitable end result from the transition of politics from an art form that is dominated by those who engage in politics for the love of politics, and a genuine desire to improve conditions and see good done, to cooler, colder, more calculating ‘career’ politicians, who see it as a job, like in any other company, where the goal is to keep the current party, or company, in power, without the regard to what happens in the country as a whole.

Politicians are, indeed, apathetic. They seem to have no true beliefs these days. This is sad, but also inevitable; since to belong to a major party these days is to allow oneself to be submitted to their rules – namely, you must not have an opinion unless it is that of the party. There is no belief behind their politics.”

Dan continues, “Now, if the politicians really cared and were there for love of country, then they would be more outspoken and genuinely campaign for what they think is right. But they do not, since they love their jobs far too much for that. They stay in the safety and toe the party line. They are apathetic, in short, about genuine politics.”

Dan’s conclusion is, “If politicians or other commentators bemoan that no younger people these days are interested in politics, then how can they be blamed? They should look around them – the politicians aren’t interested in politics, the politicians in power aren’t interested in the public’s wishes, and the public, in term, has nowhere to turn to get things done. They created my apathy. They must remove it.”

Dan is certainly correct. Partisan politics now permeates our government. It does not matter what the issue is. If one party supports an idea, the other party opposes it, just for the sake of opposition it seems. There is no attempt to find common ground to solve problems. The bickering is non stop. Politics as we know it today, is split along party lines. Period. Exclamation point!

Dan, you’ve made me think. I’m not ready to agree that apathy is a problem that starts at the top down. But, you definitely have made me think about it.

Yesterday I was at the State  Capitol. I need to tell you a story of one of the State Senators.

Back in the mid 80′s I was a young Mayor. We had an upstart radio station that bought some fresh voices to town. I don’t even remember the names of most of those voices.  But one of those young radio announcers went on to a successful TV news career before being elected to the State Senate.

Shortly after he was elected I ran into him. He reminded me of way back when he was a young radio announcer and had to interview the local Mayor. He never forgot  how an open and accommodating I had been to him. I vaguely, very vaguely, remembered him from that time.

It just goes to show that you better be kind to everyone coming up the ladder … you never know how high they may go.

They might become a State Senator or even more.

And it is good to have friends in high places.

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 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.

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.

Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

Let’s talk a little drunk driving. I’m weaving this story into local politics through the police department.

A South Dakota woman who prosecutors say had a blood-alcohol level almost nine times the legal driving limit has pleaded guilty to two drunken driving charges. Authorities said 45-year-old Marguerite Engle was arrested Dec. 1 when she was found passed out behind the wheel of a stolen delivery van along Interstate 90, with a blood alcohol level at 0.708. The legal limit in South Dakota is 0.08. Officials have said Engle’s blood alcohol level likely is a record for the state.

She was arrested again in late December, with a blood alcohol level more than 3 1/2 times the legal limit.

Engle faces up to two years in jail when she is sentenced on Feb. 23. In exchange for her guilty pleas, prosecutors have agreed not to pursue other charges, including receiving stolen property and drug possession.

She blew a .708 …  A new state record … Followed up by another one in the .30 range!

This a menace to society. A real genuine menace to society and she only get up to two years in jail?

Have I ever driven when I shouldn’t? I’m from Wisconsin what do you think?

BUT A .708 !!!!! Not even in my college days could I do that.

Two years isn’t enough.

What do you think?

I have long described myself as a devout capitalist. For that reason I have no problem with this idea.

New Berlin — With the economic downtown continuing to put a financial squeeze on municipalities, one Waukesha County community may allow advertisements on its Web site as a way to generate new revenue.

If New Berlin does permit such ads, it could become the first municipality in southeast Wisconsin and perhaps the state to allow advertising on a municipal Web site.

“As far as I know, no other municipality in Wisconsin does something like this,” New Berlin Ald. Ron Seidl said. “We’re just trying to come up with a different way of generating revenue for the city. I don’t believe raising taxes is always the way to generate extra revenue.”

Even if ads do show up on newberlin.org, it won’t be a get-rich-quick venture for the city.

The hoped for ads, from local businesses or national chains with stores or restaurants in New Berlin, likely would raise only about $7,000 annually for the city.

“Obviously, it’s not going to be a huge amount, but we’ll do anything we can to help the city,” Ald. John Hopkins said.

While I believe this is a good idea, others may disagree.

How about it students?

A long favorite blog of mine is no more. Mayor Sam has said adios.

Mayor Sam (aka Michael Higby) and his cronies covered the politics of Los Angeles for the past 5 1/2 years. While I was not a daily reader I checked in often to see what Mayor Sam was up to.

Every city should have a local blog like Mayor Sam exposing the inside politics of their local government. I sure wish my city had a Mayor Sam digging up and reporting what our newspaper won’t report.

Hopefully many students of the Academy of Local Politics will go on to blog about their city politics. It is a noble endeavour. And your city need not be a big city like Los Angeles. Every small city also needs a Mayor Sam.

So goodbye Mayor Sam. It’s been nice knowing you. You did good.

There is trouble in Kenosha … Trouble with a capital T.

And that rhymes with B … which stands for Bikes.

A proposed ordinance is intended to get a handle on the city’s rules for riding bicycles.

The ordinance, sponsored by aldermen Michael Orth and Don Moldenhauer, would rework the city’s language on safe bicycle riding in the wake of several bike riders who were ticketed last year for riding with only one hand on their bicycle.

Q: How did this issue come to the surface?

A: At least three bicycle riders were ticketed in the city last summer for riding with one hand on their bike’s handlebars. Doug Nelson, one of the people ticketed, said he was just reaching to get his water bottle. The tickets were issued during a time the Kenosha Police Department was practicing strict enforcement of traffic and pedestrian safety laws thanks to a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Q: Is it illegal to ride with one hand?

A: For the most part, at least right now. The city’s ordinances state it is illegal for people riding bicycles on city streets, alleys, highways or public thoroughfares to ride without both hands on the handlebars, unless they are signaling for a turn. Both feet also must remain on the pedals, unless the rider is disabled and has permission from the police department.

Q: How much does a violation cost?

A: Tickets for these offenses were $82.50. Morrissey voided the three violations that were reported by last August.

Q: What does the new language say?

A: The current text states: “No person operating a bicycle shall remove both hands from the handlebars, or feet from the pedals, or practice any acrobatic or fancy riding.”

Q: Why will this change help?

A: “It could create an embarrassing situation for the city to give citations for something that is not uncommon for riders to do,” Moldenhauer said. “It just clears things up, and I have been assured it will alleviate any situation like we had last summer. We need to correct this and move on.”

Q: Any other changes in the proposed ordinance?

A: There is language that would prohibit bicycles to ride two or more abreast except in a single lane of a street or highway where traffic travels in the same direction in two or more lanes, paths, trails and lanes set aside for bicycles and bicycle tours and races. Bike riders also must always ride on a permanently-attached seat.

Q: Why bring this forward now?

A: “The goal is to get this done before the serious cycling season gets under way,” Orth said.

Q: What still needs to be worked on?

A: “We need to clean up the language to make it consistent with the state,” Orth said. “We have to make sure the police department is on board.”

Q: Is there anything else surprising in the existing bicycle ordinance?

A: Adult tricycles require a “slow vehicle” sign. And no one may operate a unicycle of any size on city streets, alleys, highways, public thoroughfares or sidewalks in business or industrial districts without the permission of the police chief. That permission can only be granted for parades and special events and may be subject to a test of operating skills.

I don’t know who to blame for this situation. Should it be the Kenosha Police Department for accepting, or the State Department of Transportation for funding a program to crack down on outlaw vigilante cyclists who dare to reach for their water bottle? Or both?

As for the new language …  it says that a rider must always ride on a permanently attached seat. That sounds to me like standing on the pedals to go faster or up a hill would  be illegal. Duh?

Just where could someone go to learn how to ride a unicycle? If you can’t practice on a unicycle how could you pass the operating skills test to ride it in a parade? Double Duh?

And as for the slow moving sign on the tricycle … my tricycle pictured above has multiple speeds and I cruise at 12-15 mph. Faster than many bike riders who lallygag along. Triple Duh?

While most communities are attempting to make their area more pedestrian and bicycle friendly, the Kenosha City Council and Police Department are making  fools of themselves.

Lobbyist … Scarlett L?

Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Even at the local level of government, lobbyists are ever present making sure their members or client’s views are considered as solutions to problems.

How lobbyists are identified varies from one city to another. What brings this issue up is the City of San Jose…

Working Partnerships a non-profit association does not object to disclosing their lobbying efforts but they object to the term “lobbyist.”

Are there bad apple lobbyists? Of course.

Are there bad apple priests and ministers? You betcha.

There are there bad apple every things.

Come on Lobbyists … say it loud … I will lead this cheer … a few bad apples won’t silence us …

I’m a Lobbyist and Darn Proud of It!

It is always great to start a new semester! Refreshed, relaxed and rarin’ to go.

Well maybe not so relaxed, but certainly refreshed and rarin’ to go.

I don’t know how rarin’ to go the city council in Sioux Falls will be?

The Sioux Falls City Council could face a major shift with half of the council seats becoming open next year.

Four City Council seats will be vacated with no incumbents running in the city election April 13. And if Councilor Vernon Brown wins the mayoral race, that means five new members will join the eight-person council in May.

What is the number one reason that city councils make dumb decisions according to “Why Your City Council Makes Dumb Decisions and What You Can Do About It?”

Well that would be rookie mistakes.

So watch out Sioux Falls.

I sure hope your new aldermen get some training.

There are taxes and then there are taxes.

Then there are sin taxes. Alcohol, tobacco and the such.

Pittsburgh is contemplating a new sin tax…College!

In a sudden change of course, Pittsburgh’s mayor asked the City Council Wednesday to postpone a vote on the nation’s first tuition tax on college students, holding out hope that the city’s 10 colleges and universities will agree to provide economic help voluntarily.

If approved, the tax would affect students attending college in Pittsburgh and would raise more than $15 million in annual revenue that is needed to pay pensions for retired city employees. Mr. Ravenstahl said he still hoped to get an agreement with the universities or seek a final vote before Dec. 29.

The proposal was being watched closely by other cities struggling with similar budget gaps. Students and college officials in Pittsburgh have argued that the tax would set a bad precedent in altering the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations and pose an unfair burden on institutions that already contribute substantially to the city.

In Harrisburg, the state capital, lawmakers sought to get in front of the mayor’s plan. Representative Paul Costa, Democrat of Turtle Creek, has drafted a bill that would explicitly prevent municipalities from taxing tuition.

This thing is on hold right now, but watch out. Even if Pennsylvania does pass a bill which prevents this tax, the genie is out of the bottle. You know there are other Mayors out there saying “Why didn’t I think of that?”

College. The next sin.

I feel the pain of  Mayor Becky Ault.

Following multiple interruptions during session by the public, Mayor Becky Ault encouraged citizens to take a more active role by coming to more than one council meeting. “You need to come to more council meetings and become more informed about what we’re doing,” she says. “Don’t just at the very end of it jump up and say ‘we don’t like this’ – get involved with us.”

I’ve even written about it in “Why Your City Council Makes Dumb Decisions and What You Can Do About It.”

I guess I more than feel Mayor Ault’s pain. I’ve made it close to a full time hobby advocating citizen involvement.

So frustrating.

Virginia Scanlon is my new hero. 

A citizen’s citizen.

But, she’s had it.

The 68-year-old Eau Claire woman is refusing to remove snow thrown by city plows onto the sidewalk in front of her 11th Street home.

“It is my responsibility to clean off snow when snow falls. It is not my responsibility to shovel off snow the city pushed on. I feel I am being used as labor for the city and not being compensated,” Scanlon said. “That snow belongs to the city, and their sidewalk can store it.”

Shoveling snow is hard work, but Scanlon’s location makes the task even more daunting. Officials acknowledge this but say a city ordinance requires property owners to clean sidewalks within 24 hours after a snowfall.

The sidewalk in front of Scanlon’s yard directly abuts 11thStreet, with no boulevard. On the other side is a retaining wall because her home sits on a hill, a situation some of her neighbors share.

Scanlon is upset her side of the street lacks a boulevard, where snow could be moved easily, while a boulevard is on the other side where residences have flat lawns. She must shovel snow up and over the retaining wall she estimated at 3 1/2 to 4 feet high.

“At 68, my arms are getting old,” she said.

Long ago, Scanlon said, Scanlon’sstreet had boulevards on both sides.

Amundsonnotes the street was widened to provide parking spaces, and there isn’t enough room for a boulevard with the hill on her side.

Hiring a snow removal service would be difficult for Scanlon, a widow who is a caregiver for a healthcare facility and lives with a daughter who has health problems. “Do you think I’m working because I have money? I’m 68.”

Property owners could receive a citation each time they do not remove snow and ice from sidewalks. Each violation is $213.10, on top of fees the city charges for cleaning the sidewalk, Barnhardt said.

The city doesn’t inspect everybody’s sidewalks but acts upon complaints, he said, adding the city will send more than 600 letters a year to people who violate the ordinance.

But Scanlon said that if the city fines her, she will submit a bill for her past snow removal work.

Oh man … if I had a house that use to have a boulevard for snow removal, and the city took it away, and then started plowing heavy street snow on my sidewalk that I had to lift shovel by shovel over a four foot retaining wall … I wouldn’t be as calm as Virginia is.

Virgina you are a saint.

The City of Eau Claire should be ashamed of themselves.

In the ebook Why Your City Council Makes Dumb Decisions and What You Can Do About It, the need for training is discussed.

I recently read where Georgia requires training for elected municipal officials.

This from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government website…

The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) and the Vinson Institute coordinate the training required by Georgia law for mayors and city council members elected or reelected after July 1, 1990. This one-and-a-half-day program is offered at the University of Georgia and other locations throughout the state. It provides an orientation to city government and prepares new municipal officials to face the variety of situations they meet upon taking office.

Is there any other states that require elected municipal officials to attend training … does yours?

(Oh, and if you haven’t downloaded Why Your City Council Makes Dumb Decisions and What You Can Do About It  … you really should.)

I’ve recently come across the website KillerCampaigning.Com.

One of the recent posts on that site was written by Nevada County Commissioner Joni Eastley.

Joni lists her 11 must follow rules for elected officials.

I especially like her rule #10…

 NEVER make the mistake of listening to (and believing) the first “story” you hear. There are two (and sometimes more) sides to everything. Be a good investigator and gather all the facts before you make a decision.

I have no idea how many times the first story I heard was not exactly correct. Not even close.

I encourage all to read Joni’s entire list HERE. 

It is chuck full of nuggets of wisdom!

There may even be an extra credit pop quiz in Local Politics 101 class?

Every now and then I read about a Mayor that suggests changing from a paid fire department to a volunteer fire department.

The latest comes from LaCrosse, WI.

A memo Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland sent Mayor Harter on Nov. 10 indicates the mayor asked the chief to report on converting half the department to a volunteer force withing 1.5 years and the full department within three years.

“He asked me to do something and he’s the boss,” Cleveland said. “These types of decisions aren’t mayoral decisions or council decisions or chief’s decisions. They’re community decisions. It all comes down to what level of risk are they willing to assume.”

The fire chief said he couldn’t speculate how many volunteers would be required to staff La Crosse’s four fire stations. The department this year already has fielded 4,228 calls for service.

This is the problem. Successful volunteer fire departments (and yes there are very successful volunteer fire departments) depend on tradition. Sons, and now daughters, following in the footsteps of their fathers. It is not just the tradition but the immense amount of pride that goes with it.

The tradition and pride needed to staff a volunteer fire department cannot be developed overnight, or in 1.5 years or even three years.

Can anyone think of one instance where a full time staffed fire department reverted back to a volunteer department successfully?  If so let me know.