Wrapping Up

My time attending city council meetings has come to an end.
Through my time attending city council meetings, I've learned a lot.
I've learned about the workings of my city government.
I've also learned about the opportunity to be involved within my community and how important that is.
I've become more educated about the people that make decisions for my community.
I've also learned how hard their decisions truly are.
I found it really cool to learn that one of the current city council members is running for mayor of New Albany.
It's kind of nice to be able to make my own informed decision about their abilities.
The experiences I have had and the knowledge I have gained is invaluable.
I'm am incredibly grateful to have been given this opportunity and look forward to seeking out more like it in the future.
I leave this blog feeling like a more well-rounded, educated human being, and overall, a better person.

Religion's Place at a City Council Meeting

At the most recent city council meeting I attended, I noticed some changes that rather disturbed me.

It is possible that this has always been the case and I wasn't there to see it but at the last meeting I attended,

I'm not against religion as a whole, but I do believe that there is a time and a place to practice it.

While I'm sure that many, if not most, of the citizens of New Albany practice a Christian based religion, not everyone does. There are plenty of citizens of different religions or even no religion at all.

Prayer is a delicate thing.  And while I find it admirable that the council members wish to be guided in making the best decisions they can, I find it unacceptable to just do it without informing the public.
Thinking about this really makes me wonder, would people be so accepting of this public proclamation it was for a different faith?
Unfortunately, my most educated guess believes that most wouldn't. 

A Longg City Council Meeting

I have to say, as I left Monday's city council meeting, I was a little disappointed. 

For one thing, what kind of people are we electing here? 

Most of the council members seem to be successful adults.  

And yet many don't know how to correctly articulate their words.  

It seemed like every time some of the council members opened their mouths, the audience cringed.

Many of the council members make grammatical mistakes that even my 10 year old cousin wouldn't make.

Although I do not believe that the way one speaks directly correlates with their overall intelligence, these people are representing us. 

I will be able to vote in the next election, and I've heard that all of the city council members are up for re-election.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't re-elect any of the current council members, but I do believe that it is every voting citizens duty to actually become educated about the specific candidates.  

I'm not sure that's actually happening.

Anyways, on to the issues:

At Monday night's city council meeting, they unanimously outlawed the sale of synthetic cannabinoids. 

They also had a pretty lengthy discussion about putting a doctors building on the corner of Daisy Lane and Green Valley rd. They ended up passing this 7-2.

They also had a lengthy discussion about whether to take $200,000 out of a fund that the mayor has access to and putting it in the general fund to take care of our city's deficit.  Honestly, I think this sounds like a good idea as long as we make sure that money is actually being used to pay off our debt.  

Although the next thing wasn't necessarily big news, I think it further exemplifies the politicization of our city government.  As one of the council member's fought to get funding for some H-Vac, she was outvoted.  But instead of voting according to what she was fighting for, she voted against it along with everyone else. 

This is absolutely appalling to be because I feel that that is one of the major problems with our government.  We need politicians that have opinions, and actually stick up for their opinions.  

This may not make them popular at first, but in light of the country's frustration with politics in general, it will make them respected.  

See ya next time!

There's some pretty interesting stuff going on in the city of New Albany...

Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like there was a lot of tension in the room last night between the public and the council, and within the council itself.

From what I understood, there was some confusion about who actually controls the money for the city.

Ordinance G-10-18, which discussed setting salaries for the sworn members of the police and fire departments, stated that the salaries may be amended when the contracts for 2011 are signed.

What's the point then?
When the council was asked this question, their responses differed.

The first councilman seemed to approach the question a little less than diplomatically.  He seemed to be saying that the city council doesn't actually control the funds.
Really?
Who does then?
The second councilman seemed to take a more diplomatic approach and asked the council's attorney to look into how much they actually do have control over.

But in the end, the ordinance did not pass, with 7 nays and 1 sustainment.

This brings us to the big dog of the night.
Ordinance G-10-01, which states that  residents of New Albany would be able to purchase an individual parking space outside of their houses for $250 for the first year, and at a discounted for subsequent years.

One citizen proposed that $250 seemed a little steep, and when he added the numbers, it would only cost the city a little over $55. The city should make a profit, but not that much of a profit.

When it came time for the council to discuss the ordinance, I was less than impressed by how one councilman handled himself. He took quite a dig at the citizen who proposed a cut in the cost of the parking space. Saying something to the effect of,
'Why should we listen to some guy who comes in here and thinks the price is too high?'

Well I'll tell you why. It's your job!

This ordinance was tabled for future discussion, so I'm sure we'll hear about this again.

See you in two weeks!
 :)