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DOGGETTJA
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| Joined: | Oct 24th, 2005 |
| Location: | Summerfield |
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Posted: Jun 4th, 2007 09:34 pm |
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It is perfectly OK for anybody to call the council members and poll them as to how they are going to vote on a subject. They don't have to tell you of course if they choose not to.There does not need to be any meeting of any sort to gather that information.
Also a meeting is only illegal if a majority of council members meet with out proper notification and conduct business. The council had been gathering information for months on the ballfields. They are constantly informed of changes by staff. The council has to weigh all the information and come up with the answer.
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Jim Flynt
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| Joined: | Jul 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Bermuda Triangle |
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Posted: Jun 6th, 2007 01:52 am |
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I have been meaning to post a note that a couple of weeks ago, I had received a really nice letter from the Town of Summerfield saying Thanks for sponsoring a 'brick' in the park brickway and also to let me know the brick had been installed and was ready for viewing. I had already taken notice of the installation from comments posted here and had stopped by to see the beautiful new park brickway.
I just wanted to say that I thought the Thank-You Letter from the Town of Summerfield was such a wonderful gesture and to let you all know how much I appreciated that note. How very professional and how inspiring such a gesture means to volunteers and supporters. Thanks again!
I simply wish that our town government here in Stokesdale would take some steps to say Thanks to community volunteers and supporters and encourage volunteerism in our community.
Last edited on Jun 6th, 2007 01:53 am by Jim Flynt
____________________
I Did It My Way (Frank Sinatra)
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S. Smith
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Posted: Jun 6th, 2007 03:41 pm |
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Jim Flynt wrote: I have been meaning to post a note that a couple of weeks ago, I had received a really nice letter from the Town of Summerfield saying Thanks for sponsoring a 'brick' in the park brickway and also to let me know the brick had been installed and was ready for viewing. I had already taken notice of the installation from comments posted here and had stopped by to see the beautiful new park brickway.
I just wanted to say that I thought the Thank-You Letter from the Town of Summerfield was such a wonderful gesture and to let you all know how much I appreciated that note. How very professional and how inspiring such a gesture means to volunteers and supporters. Thanks again!
I simply wish that our town government here in Stokesdale would take some steps to say Thanks to community volunteers and supporters and encourage volunteerism in our community.
Jim, I agree that is a very professional way to handle this situation. Last year I received a handwritten note from the mayor of Oak Ridge thanking me for my volunteer service, and I was touched and impressed by it.
But a year or two ago, some citizens and of members of the Summerfield town council objected to the town spending funds to send Christmas cards to volunteers as a way of thanking them for their service. As I recall, Dwayne Crawford volunteered to personally pay for the cards as opposed to having the town pay for it.
So there are two sides to this issue -- many people believe there is value in thanking their volunteers, thinking that the hours and work they donate are worth far more than the price of a card or letter, while others do not want government to spend money for anything other than what is absolutely necessary. While a card or letter and some postage is not a huge expenditure, their thinking is that it all adds up.
Any comments?
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happycamper
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| Joined: | May 4th, 2006 |
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Posted: Jun 6th, 2007 06:30 pm |
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I would like to think that sending a " Thank You" card that costs what..$1.00 or $2.00 is a small small price to pay for hours of dedicated service. I wish we could get back to some common sense when it comes to spending tax dollars. To me when I see folks "bucking" at something as small as this, it turns me off to what they think about concerning the big issues. I would like "big ticket" expensive items being put to a majority town vote ( not just a council vote) especially if it will dip into the bank account or have a remote possiblity of increasing my taxes!
It's like being considerd a "liberal" .. I used to consider myself more of a liberal than a conservative, however after listening to someone like "Rosie O'donnel" speak on behalf of the "liberal" position, I think I'll give the conservative approach a try!
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FatPappy
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| Joined: | Oct 25th, 2005 |
| Location: | Summerfield, USA |
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Posted: Jun 7th, 2007 12:27 am |
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S. Smith wrote:
So there are two sides to this issue -- many people believe there is value in thanking their volunteers, thinking that the hours and work they donate are worth far more than the price of a card or letter, while others do not want government to spend money for anything other than what is absolutely necessary.
Volunteers are absolutely necessary an' showin' our appreciation of 'em is too. We don't value 'em near enough, an' I ain't talkin' about monetary value, neither. We'd be in sad shape if they all got fed up one day an' quit. They volunteered fer the town, so I think it's entirely appropriate to spend a few town dollars to show our appreciation.
Pappy has to stop an' marvel sometimes at the audacious workin's o' certain minds an' the frivolous ideas that sometimes escape from 'em shamelessly an' poorly disguised as legitimate issues an' principles.
____________________
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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jwg
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Posted: Jun 8th, 2007 12:20 pm |
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GRITS wrote: I had a neighbor e-mail me these questions, can anyone answer them?
Is there anything written "rule of conduct" or "voting procedures" that these council members must perform their duties by?
How does it work that prior to the general meeting a decision is already made?
I may not be well educated on the ballfields however as a citizen of Summerfield it is my right to know if any violation has occurred here.
If so, then as a citizen of Summerfield I want to know my right on either removing said leader or reprimanding them.
Perhaps Rep. Earl Jones can help out:
http://blog.news-record.com/staff/scoopblog/archives/2007/05/recalling.html#comments
Rep. Earl Jones, a member of the PAC, has authored and successfully shepherded through the House a bill to create a recall election in Pleasant Garden. The bill now goes to the Senate.
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FatPappy
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Posted: Jun 8th, 2007 12:39 pm |
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Interestin', jwg. Welcome to the forum!
I certainly think we need some kind o' recall option in Summerfield. It's not somethin' to take lightly, but there needs to be some measure in the hands o' the voters to enforce accountability fer them what thinks they're above it.
On t'other hand, if there was a recall option, you'd prob'ly see somebody or other callin' fer one every second Wednesday o' the month!
____________________
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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S. Smith
Moderator
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Posted: Jun 8th, 2007 01:17 pm |
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jwg wrote: GRITS wrote: I had a neighbor e-mail me these questions, can anyone answer them?
Is there anything written "rule of conduct" or "voting procedures" that these council members must perform their duties by?
How does it work that prior to the general meeting a decision is already made?
I may not be well educated on the ballfields however as a citizen of Summerfield it is my right to know if any violation has occurred here.
If so, then as a citizen of Summerfield I want to know my right on either removing said leader or reprimanding them.
Perhaps Rep. Earl Jones can help out:
http://blog.news-record.com/staff/scoopblog/archives/2007/05/recalling.html#comments
Rep. Earl Jones, a member of the PAC, has authored and successfully shepherded through the House a bill to create a recall election in Pleasant Garden. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Thanks for that info, jwg, and welcome to the forum. To my knowledge, there is nothing to stop Summerfield or any other town from doing the same, but such a bill would have to be approved by the N.C. legislature. In other words, not something that happens overnight and the kind of thing that could get stalled in committee for who knows how long unless you can get some legislators on your side to help move things along.
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S. Smith
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Posted: Jun 8th, 2007 01:29 pm |
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FatPappy wrote: On t'other hand, if there was a recall option, you'd prob'ly see somebody or other callin' fer one every second Wednesday o' the month!
Pappy, I think the only thing that might stop that from happening is the fact that for most recalls, you have to get signatures of enough voters, the same as if you were asking for anything else to be added to the ballot. Generally speaking, I think that's 10% of the registered voters who voted in the last election (although that could vary depending on how the town charter is written). If you remember the petition to change how the mayor is elected and changing that the mayor has no vote except in the case of a tie, that's exactly what was done.
Lots of people might say they want a recall, but I don't know how many would be willing to go out and collect the number of signatures which would be required.
If you heard about the issue in Greensboro yesterday, Diane Bellamy-Small is now stalling the recall election to remove her of office. An adequate number of registered voter signatures had been approved, but now Bellamy-Small says she wants the signatures authenticated.
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S. Smith
Moderator
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Posted: Jun 8th, 2007 01:47 pm |
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GRITS wrote: I had a neighbor e-mail me these questions, can anyone answer them?
Is there anything written "rule of conduct" or "voting procedures" that these council members must perform their duties by?
How does it work that prior to the general meeting a decision is already made?
GRITS, Summerfield does have a "code of ethics" by which council members are supposed to operate. You can get a copy of it at town hall, or I think I have a copy in my file. PM me if you're interested in it.
As Jane said, there is nothing illegal about making a decision before a meeting and I'm sure it happens more often than you realize. As long as a majority of council members don't meet and discuss town business when the meeting hasn't been announced, it is okay. It is certainly okay for a council member to call other members of council to discuss how they are voting and even try to sway them to their way of thinking.
If council members are smart, they have done their homework ahead of time and hopefully talked to citizens about what they want. A lot of people don't know it, but although it certainly doesn't hurt to speak at a public hearing and I've seen council members change their mind at the last minute as a result, the time to discuss an issue with council members and let them know what you want is really before it gets to the public hearing/vote taking part of the process.
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FatPappy
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Posted: Jun 8th, 2007 02:54 pm |
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S. Smith wrote:
Lots of people might say they want a recall, but I don't know how many would be willing to go out and collect the number of signatures which would be required.
True dat! Recall is a serious bidness. It don't need to be too easy nor too quick. For one thing, it eats up a lot o' time that ain't bein' spent on other bidness.
____________________
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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GRITS
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Posted: Jun 8th, 2007 07:59 pm |
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| Mayor Mark Brown of Summerfield presented a $300.00 check to the Northern Guilford Middle School Marching band at their award ceremony this morning. This was awarded to them on behalf of the Town Council for their participation in the Founder's Day Parade. Thanks to all, for displaying very commendable and honorable acts of kindness. I am sure Dr. VanMiddlesworth and her students appreciate your thoughtfulness.
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FatPappy
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Posted: Jun 13th, 2007 12:26 pm |
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Well, the council voted fer the choice betwixt Mayor-Council vs. Manager-Council form o' government to go on the ballot in November. Yee haw! Tweence now an' then, Bill Hill will he'p the council to set up one or more public information sessions to inform the public in a un-biased mannner. Pappy has found that there's lots o' good information 'bout the two forms already out yonder on the internets an' elsewhar, an' I reckon anybody else who really wanted to find that information could too.
Speakin' o' bein' informed, I understand a Citizen spoke durin' the budget public hearin' portion o' the meetin' last night to complain that there was never any chance fer public comments on the budget. This public comment about the budget was made durin' a public comment session about the budget. Public comment session. About the budget.
Then there was the time recently when town staff hosted a public workshop to receive input from the public about the budget. They waited 45 minutes, I hear, an' no public showed up to publicly comment. I say, they waited 45 minutes an' no public showed up to publicly comment. I reckon that's one comment they heard loud an' clear.
Last edited on Jun 13th, 2007 12:28 pm by FatPappy
____________________
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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Steve Adkins
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Posted: Jun 13th, 2007 12:57 pm |
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FatPappy wrote: Well, the council voted fer the choice betwixt Mayor-Council vs. Manager-Council form o' government to go on the ballot in November.
Mayor-Council - this is good news, how many public speakers spoke up? What was the council comments?
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Steve Adkins
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Posted: Jun 13th, 2007 12:59 pm |
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FatPappy wrote: Speakin' o' bein' informed, I understand a Citizen spoke durin' the budget public hearin' portion o' the meetin' last night to complain that there was never any chance fer public comments on the budget. This public comment about the budget was made durin' a public comment session about the budget. Public comment session. About the budget.
Then there was the time recently when town staff hosted a public workshop to receive input from the public about the budget. They waited 45 minutes, I hear, an' no public showed up to publicly comment. I say, they waited 45 minutes an' no public showed up to publicly comment. I reckon that's one comment they heard loud an' clear.
I can probably guess who this citizen was, and if true, sounds like this citizen was peeved that the council didn't all go to this citizens house, sit at the kitchen table and listen to this citizens comments (complaints) for a solid hour.
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