of the on 7/30/05 10:18 PM, Fredric Markus at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> . . . "Whatever possesses the personnel of park board management, civil servants and elected commissioners alike, of the notion that they are somehow not bound to these basic rules of conduct?" . . . 'Tis a puzzlement. Just whose interests are served by the Park Board's failure to keep minutes of their meetings? Certainly it's not the public's. In contrast, I have before me minutes of the June 14 Mpls. Heritage Preservation Commission meeting. Those minutes are an extensive, easily reviewed record. Unlike the record for Park Bd. meetings, I don't have to scan through a tape or DVD of the meeting. Instead I quickly gain a concise, yet comprehensive, summary of what transpired. In addition, this document becomes a permanent, easily referenced public record. Hats off to Comm. Annie Young for challenging the abandonment of minutes. The staff response to her probes of this issue seemed to infer that providing minutes would be more than one staff person (Diane Hill, who's characterized as a "fixed resource") could be expected to handle, since now she now has to sit in the taping room for meetings. Let's see. What staff is saying is that the Minneapolis Park Board, with an overall budget in excess of $57 million, can't AFFORD to take minutes of its meetings?! How is it that other bodies with far smaller budgets and with significantly less oversight responsibility can produce good written minutes of their meetings -- meetings equally as long and complex as those of the Park Board? The Preservation Committee minutes, to which I previously referred, are 17 pages long and contain meaningful summaries of staff recommendations, the public's comments (public hearing), Commissioner's statements, motions and votes -- in short, a meaningful public record. It's a miracle! What explains the fact that the Park Board, an elected body, refuses to follow normal practice? Whose cause is furthered? Why don't they want us to easily comprehend who said what and to understand who's responsible for what action? Can you say "accountability"? And is it possible that proper record keeping could then lead to requiring the staff to document THEIR meetings and decision-making processes? Could we begin to learn the origins of board actions before they can be suddenly sprung on some unsuspecting commissioners and a surprised public? Heavens-to-public-scrutiny! Where would it all end! The Majority Mafia has the power to direct the staff to undo this travesty of democratic process. What do they gain by subverting the public process in this manner? Unfortunately, Comm. Erwin charged the STAFF to find out if including minutes was something that could and should be done -- the very staff that had already decided to dispense with minutes. Anyone want to place bets on the outcome of their analysis? The Park Board spends over $19 million derived from our property tax and local government aid (read YOUR money), and we need proper records of the proceedings that determine that spending. Contact the Board and ask for proper written minutes of meetings which are reviewed and approved by the Board and made available to the public. It's our basic right. Christine Viken P.S. Hang in there for the "Cookies." -- If you watch the rebroadcast of recent marathon Park Board meetings you'll hear comments by Superintendent Gurban that seem to indicate he thought taping of the meeting had already stopped. While it's the case that LIVE broadcasts stop after 3 hours, the entire proceedings are taped and rebroadcast from start to finish. Those who stick it out for the entire rebroadcast will find that some interesting things pop up. Doubtless that will end when Supt. Gurban becomes belately aware that the cameras roll until the meetings close. REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
