Voters Aren't Getting Their Money's Worth

Yeah, we met practically all day yesterday in City Council. And even though Dee Andrews' idea to allow homeless to sleep in their cars was mercifully taken off the agenda which would have lengthened the meeting probably until past the 11 pm at which it finally ended, we have yet to hold a budget hearing at which time councilmembers can vote on restoring the cuts made by Mayor Foster and City Manager Pat West.

What you did see was a whole lotta of disrespect going on and a mockery of the process.

While some councilmembers discussed the transfer of RDA funds and other aspects of the budget, others got up out of their seats,walked around, chatted with staff and themselves, and one even clapped after the City Auditor finished her presentation. A vote was switched (after prodding that the wrong vote had been cast) at the last moment so the WestPac couldn't get another chance to review a proposal that impacts their funds.

Makes one wonder if some have already decided and why we even bother to go through this charade every budget year.

The budget deadline is September 15th. Let's see how many more times between now and then a budget hearing is cancelled.