Show Us You've Got A Pair!

It seems a little early but our elected officials are gearing up for the April 2012 election. "Politicizing" has become—"the word of the day"—used often in recent board meetings by Mayor Lambi and retorted by incensed Aldermen in rebuttal of his agenda seeking accusations. It is obvious that our mayor is not making any friends in city hall and the word on the streets of Wentzville is that he's not making many friends there either. Lambi is alienating more of his friends and followers everyday. I have yet to be in a small business, barbershop, or other public place where his name was spoken with affection.

The aldermen whose terms will up for reelection are: Leon Tow, Ward 1; Vann Samples Ward 2; and Rick Stokes, Ward 3. Of those, Tow has already announced his bid for Mayor, Stokes is likely to run for a second term, and Samples status is unknown at this time, it has been said that he most probably would not run again. For Mayor, the known candidates at this time are: Alderman Leon Tow,Ward 1; and Alderman Nick Guccione, Ward 3. Where incumbent Lambi is concerned; he made an anouncement at a local meeting several months ago that he was running, since that time there have been conflicting reports. It is known that his popularity is at an all-time low and many of his financial supporters have pulled their funding to give it to one of his opponents. As a personal commentary I would like to add: with the mood and unified determination of the current aldermen, if he runs and is somehow reelected, it will be the most miserable four years ever experienced in his political career. Lambi, just as his predecessor Vickie Bodecker, has lost touch with the needs and wants of the people who elected him.

The election of 2012 is going to be complicated. In the Aldermanic elections, if Vann Samples, who has a good record as alderman decides not to run, it will leave a vacancy that could create havoc on the board. "Lurch" (Bill Schuette) like a shark will smell the blood and may seek to get back involved and once again bring lunacy to the city. A definite candidate for Ward 2 will be the ever-present Donna Sherwood who doesn't know the meaning of the term: "three strikes and your out." Unfortunately, "Lurch," who doesn't know it either, does know that anyone running against her would be virtually unopposed . Hopefully, the machine will find a candidate to fill Samples vacated seat. Another potential problem is if Tow wins, or loses his bid for Mayor, his Ward 1 seat will given up to anyone wanting to seek office. I hope Brian Brinkly doesn't get wind of it because if he does, he'd jump on it like flies on a manure truck. If by some strange happenstance he should get reelected someone needs to tell him to get a new sombrero to wear at board meetings.

One thing that could be positive about the mayoral election is if Guccione should win, he would be in a position to nominate someone to finish out his vacated seat. There has been talk about Darrel Lackey being the appointee. Lackey, a two-term mayor is known for his "no nonsense" approach and would be a great addition to this board. Lackey has been asked about running for office since he left but has always declined. This time would be different, no campaigning, no hassle, just be approved by the board and serve out the last year of Guccione's term. That would be a win-win situation for him and the city. I urge anyone who knows Darrel (and that's most of the town) talk to him about filling the vacated seat. It would be an enormous advantage for the relatively inexperienced aldermen to have his expertise and knowledge of the city back on board. Especially if Tow loses and his 30 plus years is no longer serving the city. Come on Darrel, show us you've got a pair, Wentzville needs you!

How Do You Skin a Cheshire Cat?

I'm sorry to say; the Wentzville regular Board of Aldermen meeting of August 3rd was not all that it was cracked up to be, or at least what I had hoped for. For the most part it was droll and even sleepy at times. I was anticipating a repeat performance of the explosion of previous weeks especially regarding the "Personnel Board." Alderman Guccione has worked very aggressively toward making law and I was certain that something more will come of it. If I recollect, the staff was directed to prepare an ordinance for the "Personal Board," which could have made an exciting first reading.

Citizens are not privy to the subtle changes often made in the agenda, I mean we go to city hall and look at the agenda in the glass case outside the front door on Monday, but by show-time on Wednesday it's a whole new ballgame. I guess it's the fault of the citizen for not checking the City's website to see if there are any changes, only to find out later that changes were made too late to post. So in reality, citizen spectators are not in the loop. At any rate, there was some scrambling going on in City Hall the prior week to head off the "Personal Board" ordinance at the pass.

Mayor Lambi opposes this ordinance to the extent of having his staff contact the city's special attorney Ivan Schoeder to defend Lambi's position against it. He doesn't want to allow the Aldermen to be the final appeal for Wentzville employees who feel they cannot defend themselves, or get a fair shake in the current appeal process. He feels that it would undermine his authority. On a side note, I don't know what the special attorney charged or how many staff hours were used to prepare an ordinance, that wasn't used, and defend this but it seems odd that when Lambi has a crusade, he has no regard to staff hours or other financial obligations in order to aid his cause. An excellent example of his waste of "valuable staff time" was the 501c organization LINC, to which he wanted the city to donate money. The aldermen reminded him that the city cannot donate money to a 501c. A week later he offered a "contract for services," drafted by staff, and proposed it to the board of crickets (see Meeting With a Bang posted August 1, 2011). But if aldermen request things, oh my! What a fuss he makes about using staff hours to give reports or request information. His immediate response is always, "do you want to waste valuable staff hours?"

Anyway, I assume there was an ordinance drafted but instead of a first reading, the "Personnel Board" was placed under Discussion items on the agenda. Which means the agenda changed somewhere in mid stream. The special attorney gave a talk on the reasons why the city could not set up a "formalized Personnel Board." Mayor Lambi sat there grinning like the Cheshire Cat the whole time. The aldermen asked questions and the special attorney responded to them. The attorney's focus was that; the city has a process in place for appeals and it is legal, but to appoint a hearing board as proposed is not; he has several state statutes and Federal laws to support him. Lambi concluded by rubbing his win in the aldermen's faces was by asking if the board wants to go forward with the ordinance, the "nays" outnumbered the "yeahs," five to one.

It disappointed me to see our mayor being so smug in his hollow victory; "hollow" is the operative word, this matter is not closed. One question asked by Alderman Gard set up what will follow. He asked the special attorney if the process in place can by changed by the board of aldermen? The answer was affirmative; I look for them to wipe the grin off of Lamb's face in the very near future. There's more than one way to skin a cat!

A Closed Mouth Gathers No Foot!

The work session of August 3, 2011 was an historic event. I saw and heard things that I've never seen and heard in a meeting of the board. First, Alderman Rick Stokes, who was obviously on vacation (probably in some tropical place) was on a conference speaker phone set up right in front of the Dias. It was an indication that something very important to the City was going to be discussed. I was correct in my assumption, it was the expenditure of $20,000,000 of taxpayer dollars.

The discussion which dominated the meeting was the bid process for the new sports parks and Aquatic Center. The aldermen were questioning the process by which the staff selected the contractor that would build these projects. Without boring anyone; basically, they wanted to know why the sports parks and aquatic center weren't bid out separately, rather than lumped into one contract. The aldermen believe that the companies that specialize in sports parks, or aquatic centers only, were at a disadvantage to companies who do both. The staff presented their position of why they selected a certain company to do both. The mayor was on the defense offering his usual diversions and usual ridiculous similes.

Mayor Lambi said something to the effect of; you can't change a flight plan when your taxiing to the runway and that the aldermen need to stop politicizing this project. After he got done telling the aldermen what they can't do, he said; "If you don't take staff recommendations, you don't need a staff, you can do it all yourself." Alderman Tow, angrily retorted; "I resent your remarks." Alderman Stokes, obviously insulted said, "I am not politicizing this, you are and I resent your statement." Alderman Guccione said, "If we passed everything staff puts before us without questioning it, we are just a bunch of bobble heads." Alderman Gard was angry pounding his fists on the Dias, "If this Board doesn't look for ways to make things better, and represent our constituents who elected us, we don't need a board."

This subject went on for what seemed like hours, it was the greatest aldermanic demonstration of getting the city on track, that I've ever seen. The staff was on their heels and Lambi had humiliated himself—again. Someone needs to tell him that a closed mouth gathers no foot! I'd heard about board meetings in the 1970s when some members had raised their voices and hated the mayors but in those days the boards were filled with aldermen who had axes to grind and special interests. This group of alderman's special interests lay in saving the citizens of Wentzville tax dollars, and they are in agreement about how to do it. 2011 is the year of the people of Wentzville.

The next meeting of the board of aldermen promises to be round two—they will vote on several issues that have been vigorously debated over the last few weeks. I recommend that you make plans to see your aldermen defend you against a city staff who is hell-bent on spending as much as they can and a mayor who can't find his ass with a radar screen. If you can't make it, make sure you watch the video of it on your computer next Thursday, it should be a daisy. Catch it at http://www.wentzvillemo.org/.

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Meeting With a Bang!

If you are a concerned citizen, the July 27, 2011 Wentzville board of aldermen meeting proved to be a most splendid occasion indeed. The Aldermen have taken control of overspending and the bulging bureaucracy in city hall, which is exactly what the citizens who elected them sent them there to do. This meeting started with a bang and heralded a long night for the unhappy mayor Paul Lambi.

After the usual Call To Order, Open Forum, Consent Agenda, blah, blah, blah, they got to Unfinished Business: LINC Services. In a last-ditch attempt to get the city to fund the 501c organization, Mayor Lambi introduced a "contract for services" to lure them into entertaining his pet project. He asked for discussion—the sounds of crickets could be heard from a block away. The city of Wentzville seemed to stop in time; no traffic or trains could be heard, only deafening silence. As the aldermen starred blankly into their computer screens, an uneasiness could be felt from the dais. After what seemed like minutes, suddenly the mayor spoke; "seeing no discussion, I'll close this item." BANG went the gavel. That shot was so hard, I swear I could see splinters flying—the staff woke up, the aldermen jumped, and the mayor got the message; the LINC subject was "finished business." This point in question is unfortunate; after all, LINC is a deserving organization. Mayor Lambi must have gone out on a limb and promised something to LINC Services that he had no place or right to promise. If he wants support for anything from this board in the future, he will need to query the aldermen ahead of time to see whether he has their support before embarrassing himself and the city. Ramming things through or intimidating a bunch of junior and first-term aldermen won't work anymore.

After the dust and wood chips settled, the subject turned to new business. The most interesting of it was the "Prospect Road (east) Booster Pumping Station Contract Award." Without going into great detail, our aldermen questioned and listened to testimony of the staff and vendors, and nodded through the flaccid justifications of the mayor. Following a lengthy discussion they rejected the staff recommendation and awarded the contract to an equally qualified lower bidder. The bottom line is a savings of almost $100,000 in taxpayers' dollars. To anyone watching the proceedings, it would be easy to surmise that the staff has favorite vendors whom they recommend regardless of the cost to the city.

Mayor Lambi has to have heard it loud and clear; these young aldermen are not afraid of him anymore. I have a hunch that the rest of his term is going to be tough. If he decides to run again in 2012, and he should happen to win, it's going to be the most miserable four years he's ever spent in office. If he's smarter than he's acted in his last two terms, he won't run for re-election.

I can't wait for the next meeting; it promises to be a dandy, It's going to be hard not to laugh out loud, or for the younger generation LOL. Inside, I'm sure I'll be ROFLMAO!

Elected Officials—Above the Law?

On the evening July 20th, the city work session lasted five hours during which the Board of Aldermen discussed several important issues of interest to the tax-paying citizens of Wentzville. The most significant being a half-million dollar reduction of the 15 million dollar general fund. The general fund is used for operating expenses, most of which are salaries. To accomplish the decrescence the Aldermen's suggestion was to reduce the $0.97 per $100 assessed value of property real estate taxes.

As much as I like the reduction in the general fund, they didn't stop there. The Aldermen then went after employee benefits, after announcing that the Wentzville employee benefit package is the highest in the sample group of cities. HR Director, Amy Holloway was directed to examine the benefit package and suggest items that can be eliminated and which items can have an increased employee copay.

This brings me to the most interesting hour of the evening, the discussion about the formation of a Personnel Board consisting of three Aldermen, three citizens, and a fourth Alderman whose sole function would be to break ties. This proposal was met with fierce opposition by the Mayor and soon-to-be-retired Chief Noonan.

The current policy is that when a department director recommends the termination of an employee, the final decision rests with the City Administrator, Dianna Wright. Other than legal action, this was the final appeal for the employee. What the board wants to do is add another level to the policy. This is where Mayor Lambi went into high gear defending the authority of his administrator. "This is a bad policy, It will lead to an increased number of law-suits from disgruntled employees," Lambi said. Alderman response was to suggest that there would be no more law-suits than if the final decision was made by the City Administrator or by the Personnel Board. "It will create a lack of moral and disrupt the chain of authority," said Lambi.

After several unsuccessful rounds of trying to defend the current policy, Chief Noonan spoke. He said, "When we go through all the process of appeals in the police department and the decision is made to discharge the officer by me and then Dianna, You don't really want to keep that man on the force do you?" Alderman Kross spoke up on that, "This change would not just be for police, it's all departments. If the paperwork and all the evidence is sound and in order, what makes anyone think that the proposed Personnel Board would overthrow that decision?" The Aldermen stated that it is rare when an employee appeals higher than the department head. Other Cities in the county have an appeal board policy much like the one proposed and they don't have any problem.

Mayor Lambi went on giving us all a lesson in government; "there are three branches of the government; executive, legislative, and judicial, you should not make executive decisions at the legislative level. We have department heads, an HR department, and City Administrator in the executive branch who all serve as an appeal process. It's the same as any company in the private sector, they don't take the termination of employees to their board of directors." Alderman Stokes rebutted; "In the private sector, The HR department doesn't report to an administrator. When an employee appeals in business, HR is the final word. If we were to use the private sector policy in the city, the appeal process would go from director to HR to city administrator and back down to HR."

Then came the highlight of the night. Lambi was running out of answers and began repeating old ones, then it came—I'm not sure if it was a confession or just another blunder but he actually said it. "This proposed policy will become very political, it will come back on elected officials." He went on to present this scenario; "If a mayor or other elected official had been out late at a reception or other social function where there was drinking, while driving erratically home he could be pulled over by the police. The policeman recognizing who was driving might say "Sir, you are weaving and apparently had a few drinks, let me escort you home." If that officer ever was to go through the termination process it could be trouble for the Personnel board." I don't know but that statement sounds like the voice of experience. Did Lambi just suggest that he and other elected officials are above the law and that police are to neglect their sworn duty? How corrupt is that? This is our mayor saying that if he or any of the aldermen get pulled over, they won't be charged with DUI or whatever infraction might be appropriate.

After that was successfully rebutted by Alderman Guccione, Lambi knew there were enough board members to direct the City Administrator to draft an ordinance to amend the HR termination policy, he leaned back in his chair and starred off into space. I think Lambi (at that moment) knew this board will not back down from him anymore. For several minutes the board and staff talked with one another, the meeting was out-of-order but Lambi didn't pick up the gavel. I've never seen that before in a meeting. Finally Lambi leaned forward and interrupted the chatter with; "What's next on the agenda?"

This Board is unified, they are taking charge of the city, I've never seen that before either. Here's a link to the city meeting of July 20th, copy and paste into your browser:
http://wentzvillemo.iqm2.com/citizens/VideoMain.aspx?MeetingID=1345&AgendaID=1307&FileFormat=pdf&Format=Agenda&MediaFileFormat=wmv

Behind the Scenes a Laugh a Minute

I find it extremely interesting to watch the body language between the mayor, city administrator and his staff when they are confronted and have no answer for questions by the aldermen. The veiled horror on their faces as they mentally scramble like a nest of mice discovered in one's home. God, I love watching while the city administrator fumbles with excuses why her staff hasn't provided information that was ordered weeks earlier by the board. And I love seeing the mayor getting his hackles up trying to repel the onslaught of questions.

Now for a little background: The rumor that the city administrator may get fired has been buzzing around town for the better part of a year. It is felt by most of the aldermen, that she has too much power and is intentionally keeping information from our elected aldermen in an attempt to push through legislation beneficial to the staff. Even perhaps, stalling requests for information which in turn gives her the time and opportunity to recompose the information or bill to the satisfaction of the aldermen. Shortly after being hired, Dianna Wright City Administrator made it known to the Mayor that he was not to attend her Tuesday morning staff meetings, being a good little boy he has complied. Well, I think they are on to her and the mayor who gives no guidance or direction at all. What a bum! The fun in City Hall has started.

An interesting issue came up in "open forum." A gentleman came forward with a newspaper in his hand and scolded the aldermen for their treatment of the city administrator. She is the best city administrator this city has ever had, he exclaimed. After he finished and during a break, a couple of the aldermen approached the man and tried to expel his dissatisfaction with them. This morning in a conversation with one of the aldermen, I asked, "Do you know who that was?" The alderman said they believed he was a plant by one of our ex-aldermen. I said, "no it wasn't." I was then asked who it was and said; "It was Mayor Lambi's brother-in-law." The alderman laughed so loud I thought the phone was going to be dropped. The mayor will try any form of deception to protect his bulging staff. If he were a real leader, he wouldn't have to do embarrassing stunts like that. What a Puss!

It has been reported to me that last night's regular City Board Meeting was standing room only. The reason was that an organization known as LINC was there asking for $18,000 from the city so they could exist for three more months. The reason they came was because Mayor (give the city away) Lambi invited them to lobby and shame the alderman into donating money to a 501c corporation. What I'm trying to wrap my mind around is why, knowing that they needed to pay salaries and utilities, they didn't plan for that by only helping the neediest of people. Perhaps it's a matter of poor planning by a poor board of directors. Lambi also invited several of the church pastors to the meeting to further shame the aldermen into doing something that they knew the city could not do. After several aldermen danced around the doing the right thing and doing the legal thing, Mayor lambi offered to give them a "contract for services," My immediate answer to that is; what is a daycare center going to give the city for its 18 large. Well anyway, Patch.com posted a blog by lead pastor, Mark Ford of the River Oaks Church imploring the aldermen to be a benefactor. Lambi is not going to let this rest, he's going to try his best to show the aldermen as heartless, Godless, and the most vile of vermin in the city (at taxpayer expense).

In closing, I would like to congratulate our Aldermen. I haven't seen a better or more intelligent board since I moved here almost 15 years ago, Thanks! I will write another blog regarding this issue. Stay tuned, I'll get to it ASAP.

For Our Own Good!

As citizens, our guard against those who would take our rights away must always be vigilant. Last week, I read on Patch.com that County Executive Steve Ehlman may veto the County Council's attempt to legislate a countywide smoking ban in bars and restaurants. After the article went online, Facebook was inundated with anti-smoking posts. One of my dear friends was leading a charge to write Ehlman in an effort to keep him from this veto. It saddens me when people whom I know, and many millions I don't know, can't see beyond the end of their noses — it's frightening.

It baffles me how these people cannot understand that this legislation is not about smoking or second-hand smoke, it's about taking away the rights of hundreds of small business owners to choose how to best operate their businesses. Steve Ehlman sees the big picture and that is; when does government stop crossing a very delicate line between the rights of the people and the servitude of communism. These misled people who are so ambitiously trying to stop smoking in the places which they frequent will go to any length to remove the rights of law biding citizens and their answer is to make laws. They do not understand that free enterprise is what built this country and in their efforts to remove rights from those who would try living the American dream are essentially eroding the foundation of the United States.

I saw one comment on Facebook to the effect; I hate going into restaurants where there's smoking, it makes me so angry. She went on to talk about how there's such a long wait in the no smoking section and there's hardly anyone in the smoking section. She concluded by saying that she and her family are no longer going to bars and restaurants that allow smoking. BINGO, she solved the problem, of course it came at a price — no more dining in her favorite restaurants. If more of those who believed in their cause would follow her lead, those very restaurants and bars that lose revenues because of lower patronage would conform or go out of business. Free enterprise works! But it is easier to bitch and write your representatives urging them to make new laws which will take more rights away from their neighbors than to simply picket those places that they have issue with.

I often wonder what would happen if the government infringed on the rights those who are so interested in a smoking ban. What if they were to outlaw Twinkies because of the high sugar content or McDonald's because it's turning our people into blimps, clogging arteries, and generally creating all sorts of medical issues? What then? What if you didn't get paychecks anymore and your money was deposited directly into the Federal Reserve and you were issued a card to use for shopping? And then, what if the government allowed you to only buy those items that were approved for you to buy? That would solve a lot of problems that so many liberals are working for today. If you were diabetic or overweight your card wouldn't allow you to buy those sugar-loaded items or fast foods that aggravate your condition. Your card would not allow you to purchase luxury items if your credit score is too low or behind on your mortgage, rent, or other debts. These things may sound like a stretch, but are they? They could then better control the health of the nation, relieve individuals of the burden of filing taxes each year, bring financial stability to the people, and keep big businesses from giving CEO's vulgar amounts of money. Damn, I think I've just solved all the problems of our country in one paragraph; take away the rights of the people and businesses "For Our Own Good!"