Mayor, Council Provide 'Wow' Moments

When was the last time Mesquite citizens had a "wow" moment at a city council meeting?

Tuesday's gathering at City Hall was the first for the new mayor and council, and this fresh group did not disappoint.

Right out of the gate, the council showed that they aren't going to play games with the agenda.

The most important issue of the evening was to address the thorny question of moving the municipal election dates.

Instead of burying this important topic at the end of the agenda, which was frequently the tactic used by the previous administration, the new council faced it head-on as the first action item on the meeting lineup.

Then, when the council actually took on the topic, they did something extraordinary.

Instead of voting their own preference, they voted in accordance with the will of the people.

During their campaigns, Mayor Mark Wier and new council members Kraig Hafen, George Rapson, and Al Litman were very clear in expressing their opposition to moving the election dates from June of odd years to November of even years.

However, in the June election, the voters approved the move by an 11-point margin in a non-binding advisory question.

On Tuesday, the council voted 5-0 to instruct the city attorney to craft a change to city ordinance which would move the election dates.

In their first heady action as newly-elected officials, fresh from the ego-stoking election and at a time when a lot of politicians might be filled with their own self importance, this group stated and decided that the people had spoken, and that they needed to heed that direction.

No arguments, no posturing, no hints of the old "we know what's best for you" attitude that defined the previous council.

Wow!

Another "wow" moment occurred this week in a MesquiteCitizen.com article where Mayor Wier declared that future Technical Reviews will not only be open to the public, they will be noticed and agendized.  By law, this means that the public will be allowed to speak and ask questions during the meeting.  Also, contrary to the position frequently (and erroneously) espoused by the previous administration, the law states that council members not only can but should discuss the issues brought up by the public.

According to paragraph 3 of Nevada Revised Statute 241 2(c), the agenda must include "a period devoted to comments by the general public, if any, and discussion of those comments."

They still can't vote on an unagendized item brought up under public comments, or promise any particular action, but they CAN talk about it.

Also, by agendizing and posting a notice of the meeting, it frees the council to discuss or "deliberate" on the questions listed in the agenda.

In fact, the law defines a meeting as a "gathering of members of a public body at which a quorum is present to deliberate toward a decision or to take action on any matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction or advisory power." 

Wier's decision to notice, agendize, and make the Technical Reviews open to the public is worthy of a collective "wow."

Obviously we're all still in the honeymoon phase with this council.  But in only two weeks, they've shown a humility and willingness to champion the public's expressed intent, and an intent to follow through on their campaign promises of openness and transparency. 

In the face of oppressive and stifling summer heat, this mayor and council have brought an exciting breath of fresh air to this desert community.

Technical Reviews Finally Open...Almost

$500?  $500?!?  That's all, just 500 measly little dollars?

According to a story in last week's MesquiteCitizen.com, City Attorney Cheryl "Point of Order" Hunt cautioned the new city council during their first-ever Technical Review on Tuesday that deliberations during those meetings might lead to a fine for violating Nevada's Open Meeting Law.

The fine?  A whopping $500.

That's just a few bucks more than an individual council member used to get for a car allowance in a month.  It's about what the city pays an outside attorney for an hour of their time, or what they give to the myriad of consultants for two or three hours of work.

If that's all it takes for the people of Mesquite to hear the truth and for the city's business to be discussed openly during a meeting, it's a bargain and should be paid often.

I'm not a man of means, but I would certainly be willing to lead a fund-raising campaign to gather donations from the public in order to pay any potential fines levied against a council member for actually speaking up and speaking out during a Technical Review, or any other meeting.

For years, the City of Mesquite has mastered the art of using Nevada's Open Meeting Laws as a shield to hide their machinations.  If they spent a fraction of that energy in looking for ways to be more open, the people would be happier and the city government wouldn't be held in it's current position of esteem, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of a crooked used car salesman with a law degree.

Last Tuesday, the newly elected mayor and council gathered for a Technical Review meeting, the first of this new administration, and the first ever to be open to the public.

Previously, the city's dodge was to hold several of the meetings with only one or two council members, claiming that it was a requirement of the OML.

At Tuesday's meeting, the mayor and all five council members were in attendance.

Kudos to new mayor Mark Wier and the new council for opening this meeting to the public, a great first step.

The new mayor has done something noble, courageous, and worthy of our applause.  By making the Technical Reviews public, he has opened the process and taken the first step toward bridging a divide which has been alienating the council from its constituents for years.  Extremely well done, Mr. Wier!

Boos go to City Attorney POO and whoever made the rule that, while the public could attend, they were not permitted to speak or ask questions.

She also warned the council against talking, discussing, debating, or anything that might be construed as a deliberation, waving that $500 fine around like an NFL official's penalty flag.

Of course, nobody seemed to have a problem with silencing the public, even though there was only one actual member of the public in attendance other than city staff and the press.

According to that pesky Nevada Revised Statute 241, it seems to be a $500-worthy direct violation of the OML. 

Specifically, NRS 241.020 2(c) states that the agenda must include "a period devoted to comments by the general public, if any, and discussion of those comments."

So, not only is the public allowed to comment, the council members are allowed to answer back.

However, the excuse is that it wasn't an official, agendized meeting, so the rule doesn't apply.

Once again, it looks like City Hall is continuing to audition for the new hit TV show "So You Think You Can Dance Around The Law."

Also, what's the sense in having a party if nobody gets an invitation?

Wier and the council are half a breath away from the real fix, which is to make the Technical Review an officially noticed, agendized meeting.  By doing so, it meets NRS 241 head on, allows deliberation and discussion by the council, and permits the public to attend and speak up.

Once that happens, it will be up to the people of this community to actually show up and participate.  Hopefully the meetings won't devolve into protracted sessions of tedium with endless questions and political posturing.

Only then will the city truly be on the road to real transparency.

Mayor's Supporters Lack Class On Way Out

Tuesday night marked another moment of change for Mesquite.
As you would expect, the city council meeting was a night marked by accolades and appreciation for the outgoing mayor and council. It was the right way to go. Instead of recounting all of the council's missteps, mistakes, blunders, offenses, and violations of citizen rights, the crowd was gracious and offered platitudes and reminders of the good things done during the last four years. Not a single person came to the dais and offered a cheer for the departure of what has been a very bad administration, or rubbed it in about a mayor who received just 20% of the vote in the April primary.
It was a tasteful farewell.
What wasn't expected is how the mayor's supporters showed no class on their way out.
In the back of the Council Chambers, a group of the mayor's supporters could be seen on TV wearing black t-shirts that said "Y.O.Y.O." The same black t-shirt could be seen draped across the back of the mayor's chair.
Since I was "enjoying" the meeting from the comfort of my living room, I had no idea what the group was about, so I asked a couple of friends in attendance.
It turns out that Y.O.Y.O. stands for "You're On Your Own." On the back, the t-shirts said "No Help Is On The Way."
I could be wrong, but it feels like a disrespectful slam, a nasty-gram to the people of Mesquite.
I certainly applaud the loyalty of a small band of supporters, but there were more dignified ways of doing it.
The negative vibe was particularly ironic on a night when the mayor continued banging the "let's be positive" gong during her parting remarks, part of the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" refrain she has relentlessly beaten to death during her term. While the "silver lining" approach may sound noble, in reality it was merely an attempt to hypnotize city staff and the populace into believing everything was rosy, when the exact opposite has been true. It's like the street magician saying "watch this hand, watch this hand" while using the other hand to empty the crowd's pockets.
Anytime an elected official starts telling you that everyone needs to be positive, beware. It means you're about to get a screwing so royal that you'll walk funny for weeks. They might as well say "trust me," and we all know what that phrase really means when uttered by a politician.
Citizens shouldn't always "be positive" when watching their government. They shouldn't always "be negative," either. What we should always be is vigilant and aware. When people see the government doing something bad or going down the wrong path, it's not only our right to make negative comments, it's our responsibility. To do otherwise is to drink the Pollyanna-flavored Kool-Aid.
But hypocrisy has long been a trademark of the outgoing administration and its supporters. My favorite example was brought up again last night when the mayor talked about her support of the Constitution and quoted Samuel Adams in her farewell. I always found it telling that she and her supporters would tout their devotion to the Constitution during the same meetings in which she would crush First Amendment rights with heavy handed rules that often prohibited people from having their public say on important issues during council meetings. The Freedom of Speech thing wasn't so important when the mayor and city manager barred people from making their "silent protest" with donated food in 2007, after enforcing another anti-freedom rule which barred the Boy Scouts from going door-to-door for a food drive. (To be fair, that approach changed dramatically during the final six months of the mayor's term.)
Her supporters are also big talkers about freedom, then in the same breath demand background checks on anyone who dares to think about opening a business or taking a job at City Hall. It's funny when you think about it...who would have thought that "Big Brother" would actually be a woman?
The good news is that it's finally over, and the circus will be leaving. It's just a shame that the clowns at the back of the parade would take that opportunity to flip the bird to the crowd on the way out.