Yawningly We Go Along, Go Along, Go Along...

The budget meeting of October 26, 2013 brought together all of the departments to present their respective budgets. Besides the Directors, four Aldermen, and Mayor Nickolas Guccione were there to hear each department present. Those absent were; Aldermen Chris Gard, and Sonya Shyrock, both representing Ward 2, perhaps their constituents should ask them; what is more important than Wentzville's budget?

 

The meeting started at 8:00 AM and was scheduled to end at 6:00 PM with four breaks, one of those being a half-hour catered lunch. During, and after each Director presented their budget the mayor and aldermen had an opportunity to ask questions. Three of the Aldermen initiated discussions and asked questions: President of the Board, Rick Stokes, Aldermen Cheryl Kross, and Forrest Gossett. As you may have guessed, Alderman Michael Hays and Mayor Nickolas Guccione asked no questions and offered no original discussions, their lack of preparedness was astounding.

 

It's necessary to tell of Guccione's deportment: As an observer, Guccione looked to me like he had had a bad night, a very bad night. I noted more than a dozen times he had his head down with his eyes closed for at least a minute at a time. One of the Directors approached me after the meeting and asked if I'd heard him snoring? Here we have the CFO of the City, a man who is responsible for everything that goes on in the City, sleeping through the budget meeting. Most of the meeting I watched him because I knew that he would not engage and I wanted to let the voters know exactly who they elected. One time, Gossett was in discussion with a Director, a few seconds after he had finished, Guccione jerked his head up and opened his sleepy eyes, I assume the silence woke him. Twice he woke up to see me smiling at him and the third time he got up from the table and went up to the dais trying to hide behind Kross, I guess he thought no one could see him sleeping up there away from the action.

 

Mayor Nickolas tried everything he could think of to stay awake including trash basketball, and puffing on his E-cig, of course every time there was a break he would run right on out to the parking lot with Hays in tow, to light up, being cool like the Marlboro Man. After one of the breaks, Chief Harrison had to go out on the parking lot to retrieve the tardy mayor and his pet monkey. When he returned he had a toothpick dangling from his lips that he flicked and chewed on for the rest of the meeting. Guccione's obvious, and astonishing  limitations while trying to conduct this budget meeting were embarrassing, it makes me wonder what would happen to the city if he didn't have aldermen like Stokes, Gard, and Gossett there to keep him somewhat focused. According to talk on the streets, he has already picked his stable of candidates to oppose Stokes, Gossett and Shryock in the election next April.

The meeting ended around 4:00 PM and it had to be a record for a budget presentation of this scope and magnitude. Why did the meeting adjourn so soon? Its easy, there were only three of the four Aldermen present who were prepared to ask questions. Michael Hays was seen nodding his head a lot in agreement with everyone, and Guccione was asleep most of it. Maybe if Guccione would sleep through the regular meetings, they might get out before 10:00 PM. Just a thought!

 

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Discussions of a new city hall will take place in executive session and a decision will be made by January 15, 2013. The $285,000 spent for a study and all of the town hall meetings deciding where it would be located may be thrown out the window. These Aldermen will decide where it will go and the location will not necessarily be where the people of Wentzville wanted it to be. I did learn that it will not be on the site of the current Public Works Department. So of the three sites chosen by the people; Corner of Linn Ave. and Pearce Blvd, Public Works location, and the Whisk property, which are all in the downtown area, they may not be the actual site chosen. I am convinced that their selection will not be in the historic center of Wentzville, I hope I'm wrong. In my opinion, Aldermen Kross and Shyrock are spearheading the movement to keep it out of historic downtown.

 

Not one seated Alderman lives in historic downtown or have interest there and frankly, I don't know if I trust any of them on this issue, but I do believe that Aldermen Gard and Stokes offer our best opportunity of listening to we the people of Wentzville. What I do know is that Wentzville does not own the property in question and that's why the executive session decision. If I had to guess, it would be one of two places: Although I don't agree that it's historic Wentzville, It could easily be the Whisk property because of an easy connection to Highway 70; second, it may be located on the property behind Holt High School and be on the planned Schroeder Creek Road extension which will eventually be tied into Pearce Blvd.  I still believe the best place (along with many, many other citizens) is on the property in the center of town owned by the Freese family and leased to Commerce Bank, on the corner of Linn Ave. and Pearce Blvd.

 

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There have been rumors floating around for some time now within the City that some aldermen want to have Chief of Police, Ms. Lisa Harrison removed from her position. I do know that Guccione was the only Alderman to vote "Nay" when she was selected by the Board of Aldermen because he wanted to hire from within and was, for that reason, opposed to hiring Chief Harrison. Alderman Shryock has a different, and perhaps more petty reason for wanting her gone, and that's because Harrison instituted a no socializing with elected officials policy in the department. The reason Kross wants her gone is simply; the enemy of my enemy is my friend, which I will explain next time. Now it comes to Hays' pathetic reason; if Guccione wants her gone, Hays wants her gone. In accordance with Municipal Code it takes a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Aldermen to remove a Director level employee, one more vote and she's gone. I have copied the section of Municipal Code below:

 

SECTION 120.080: REMOVAL

B.   The Mayor may with the consent of a majority of all the members elected to the Board of Aldermen remove from office any appointive officer of the City at will, and any such appointive officer may be so removed by a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to the Board of Aldermen independently of the Mayor's approval or recommendation. (R.O. 2006 §120.100; CC 1988 §2-75; Ord. No. 642 §§2--3, 10-26-77)

President Bush used to talk about "Points of Light," and I believe that a number of these "points" may have been connected here within Wentzville's city government. In recent months some interesting, but seemingly disassociated events have transpired that may have connected the random dots. With the assistance of a report on an investigation by the St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney, very soon I will reveal what I believe to be a subversive plot to overthrow our Chief of Police, Lisa Harrison. The extended Coup d'état of Alderman Cheryl Kross, Sonya Shryock, and King Nickolas will be exposed. Oh, and I forgot to mention Guccione's pet monkey.