WHAT IS THE PROBLEM ANYWAY?

The September Board meeting stretched into two nights, ending at 11:45 pm Monday night and continuing for a few MORE hours on Tuesday evening. Part of the reason for this was the addition to the agenda of many items by "one or two" Supervisors, as I understand it. Some of these additions were what I would call "cryptic" in that it was very unclear by the one- or two-word addition where such items were intended to go. But more on that later...

One such item was the price of disc recording copies to the public. The discussion was to require/allow only one meeting per disc (wasteful) and Hansen proposed charging $20 per disc copy!
Having raised my hand and being graciously called on by Board Chair Tim Murphy, I came forward and gave the Board a short recap of the history of this whole matter. If you are a longer-time blog reader, you may recall that first certain Supervisors in the past, including Mark Ceminsky, tried to keep the public from even receiving these recordings. WRONG! was the opinion given by then-Township attorney Patrick Kelly. (Mr. Kelly practices municipal law and has been voted a "Super Lawyer" by his peers for years.) Then the attempt was made to charge more, again with Ceminsky's involvement. ARGUED AND WON for lesser amounts. There was also an attempt to have just one meeting per disc. Guess who? There is ample room on a disc for a whole month's meetings, including public hearings. I argued that one and thankfully good sense prevailed. There were enough Supervisors on the Board then to vote in favor of you, the people.

So now Hansen and Ceminsky try yet again! Ceminsky suggested that the public be invited to record the meetings themselves. HOW GENEROUS OF HIM! The public already has the RIGHT under Open Meeting Law to record meetings in any fashion it sees fit and the Board or Commission do not even have to be aware that the meeting is being recorded!!

I asked what is the difference if someone is present at the meeting recording or someone else in the Township can't make the meeting but would like a disc copy to hear the discussion? I suggested that the only reason I could see to proceed down Hansen's and Ceminsky's proposed route was to make it less convenient and more costly for citizens to stay informed!

Hansen hastened to declare that the citizens should receive the information, but proposed by motion that the cost be the afore-mentioned twenty bucks. Ridiculous! I reminded the Board that it is not allowed to make money on fees, which twenty dollars would surely do. Why would a Supervisor try to make a month's worth of meetings cost from $40 to $80 or more, depending on the month? Does this seem right to you? Hansen also wanted just one meeting per disc. Again, a ploy to make it more expensive? You might be interested to know that only a couple of people consistently ask for these copies right now. How pointed, in my opinion.

Ceminsky chimed in with "This has continued to be an issue." I whispered to a person next to me, "That is because he keeps MAKING it an issue!" Well, my goodness! One might have thought something really terrible and disturbing had just happened! Ceminsky very emphatically: "Mr. Chair, this has got to stop!" (He repeatedly says this when I speak. He and Hansen are visibly unhappy when Murphy calls on me and I offer information that no one on the Board has put forward on procedure or what-have-you. I just want to be sure for everyone's sake that things are fully understood. I would not be okay with just sitting there and not clarifying things when the Board hasn't acknowledged or pointed out the finer points of facts, proper procedure, etc. Believe me, I have waited many times as long as I felt I could.)

This very same reaction happened when Steve Madden was on the Board and I whispered something to the person ahead of me about Ceminsky's having called the attorney not once, not twice, but three times without even going through the proper channels to receive permission to do so. Madden loudly declared that there was a "disturbance" in the audience. Then-Chair Budenski stated (I believe tongue-in-cheek), "Disturbance? Disturbance? I must have missed it. What disturbance?" 

It was stated at the meeting that the only thing the Board is obligated to give the citizens is the approved, written minutes. This is incorrect. Under Data Practices Law anytime the Local Government Unit stores or retains data this falls under the law, even if the intent is to destroy the data later. (The discs are destroyed once the minutes are approved under Eureka's retention policy filed with the State.)

Finally Supervisor Lu Barfknecht moved that the cost per disc be continued at $5.00. Hansen said, "Per meeting?" Barfknecht said, "Per disc." Well, citizens, let it be known that her motion passed 3 to 2 with Ceminsky and Hansen voting "no." Are Ceminsky and Hansen looking out for your best interests? What ARE they looking out for? Do they not appreciate that this blog can state that what is reported here is backed up by the disc recording? No question in my mind.




Of note, when I was Chair of the Planning Commission for three years, I always called on anyone and everyone, including Hansen and Ceminsky, who raised his hand. This same practice has been followed by the Town Board. I have noticed that anyone else who has his hand raised at meetings is called on and no fuss is made by the "Tag Team." Sometimes people have just spoken without raising their hands, and no big deal is made about it. Sometimes others have whispered to each other at meetings and even louder making it hard to listen, but no big deal is made about that either.


MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING I SAID...?