It’s gone from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal and Bond Buyer magazine; now, it’s global. The Harrisburg debt crisis was featured in a piece on the BBC World News yesterday.
And here, my friends, is the clip.
James Gordon reporter, copyright BBC.
Yesterday, I wrote about Harrisburg City Council’s latest Resolution – 31-2010 – which is basically a hodgepodge of new rules for city council meetings. It’s a housekeeping measure that happens every so often to keep things current.
What I reported and reacted to was this brief paragraph that was posted on PennLive -
Harrisburg City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to eliminate the public comment at the end of its meetings and allow people only to speak on city business at the beginning. Comments would be limited to three minutes and must be focused on agenda items before council that evening.
The way that reads (and the way that the Patriot reported it) sounds like comments at Council Meetings are limited to ONLY business listed on the agenda. “Comments would be limited to three minutes and must be focused on agenda items before council that evening.”
But after speaking with councilman Brad Koplinski before last night’s Rendall pep-talk, I gained some clarity on what is ACTUALLY happening with the new rules in Council Chambers.
The way the Resolution is worded does allow constituents to speak before council on ANY topic they wish, not just topics on the agenda. And had the Patriot News reporter done his job and reported accurately, there probably wouldn’t have been as much blowback on this- here it is, word for word:
COURTESY OF THE FLOOR
RULE NO. 9 Courtesy of the Floor is the order of business during which residents or taxpayers of the city of Harrisburg may address Council on any matter of concern, official action or deliberation which is or may be before City Council, prior to taking action. A sign-in sheet shall be prominently displayed, and all persons wishing to address Council must print their name, address and telephone number or e-mail address. The President shall set guidelines for such courtesy and has the option of establishing time limits consistent with the number of people who will address the members.
So there it is. It’s not, as the Patriot reported, that council has voted to “limit” public comment….it has voted to merely move public comment from the end of the meeting to the beginning of the meeting.
Furthermore, what citizens and taxpayers may speak about is not limited to agenda items, as clearly dictated in the following sentence from the new Resolution: “Courtesy of the Floor is the order of business during which residents or taxpayers of the city of Harrisburg may address Council on any matter of concern, official action or deliberation which is or may be before City Council, prior to taking action”
So there you have it. We CAN still speak before council on ANY topic that we see fit – but it has to be done at the BEGINNING of the meeting.
Which, in my opinion, is better anyway because now we don’t need to sit through the entire meetings to speak to council about bankruptcy or the Amusement Tax or potholes or prostitutes or dog fighting or whatever other ailments we feel the council needs to hear about.
So, thanks Brad “Cufflinks” Koplinski for clearing that up.
Hadn’t been to a City Council meeting in awhile so I thought I’d stop in a couple of weeks ago to catch up on the happenings of our local elected officials. I got there right as the meeting was ending at around 6:30, so after chatting briefly with Councilwoman Susan Brown Wilson and saying hello to a few of the regulars, Roxbury and I went over to Spice for a few happy hour beers.
Clearly, I haven’t been writing much about local politics lately. For a few reasons, but most notably, I simply don’t give a shit anymore.
Time and again, I’ve been disappointed by the (in)action of our local elected officials. Sure, on the campaign trail, they’ll say “yes” more times than a townie in the local seaside bar when the ship of starved sailors docks. But once the pomp and circumstance ends and everyone goes back to their post-election-year lives, it’s a different story.
The same elected officials who made promise after promise on the campaign trail will feign forgetfulness when the points they promised are brought up to them again in, say, March.
Therefore, I just don’t care. I’m here to bring great concerts to this city and that’s what I’ll continue to do. I tried to get these liars and thieves to understand my plight with the Amusement Tax but their lack of action on my single cause- my only action-item, my “cross to bear” has made it crystal clear that they do not work for us. They are supposedly “public servants” but I’ve seen VERY little that would make me believe anything other than the fact that most elected officials have an agenda and a personal objective and if a constituents request or point fits into a pre-existing notion held by said official, then that citizen is in luck. The elected official will “champion” their cause. But if a citizen or group of citizens has a groundbreaking and innovative request of their local leaders and truly wish to see some change happen inside a poorly managed, cumbersome, ego-driven, narcissistic, sociopathic and “Napoleon Complex” riddled elected body, they’re shit out of luck.
ANYWAY…Roxbury and I were having a few beers at Spice and in walks Freshman City Councilman Kelly Summerford. If you recall, I wasn’t (and still am not) a Kelly Summerford fan. And his actions last night further cemented my idea that this guy is not working for the people and is so far out of touch that it’s hardly worth the effort to bring him up to speed.
But I’m here to do that. Kelly- this one’s for you, buddy. You see these words? These words you’re reading right now? On this website? The critical lashing I’m giving to you and the rest of the elected officials that are reading this as well? It’s within a “browser” on your “computer” that you had to “type” in the “address” of to “get here”. (Or, someone “emailed” you a “link” and you “clicked on it”) See it? Got it? THIS, my friend, is a BLOG. And I am a blogger.
You see, I’m spelling this out as if I’m talking to a six year old because time and again, you fucking politicians can’t get it right.
This is a blog. Go ahead. Click around. Use the search box in the upper right to look for your name. Or anyone in an elected position within the City of Harrisburg’s name for that matter.
Kelly, technology has allowed people like me all over the globe to express our opinions and otherwise unreported facts that mainstream media doesn’t report on. We write these things on blogs. I am not anonymous. You saw me in person the other night. I shook your hand. Blammo. You know who I am.
Now, THIS PAGE however, is NOT a blog. That page linked from those words is what is called a “Message Forum”. BIG, BIG difference between a Message Forum and a BLOG. On a message forum, it’s much easier for a “poster” (or someone who writes things and gets them displayed on said Message Forum) to remain anonymous. It’s simple to create a screen name and post different, disparaging comments about a plethora of topics. Everything from whether or not Linda Thompson is a qualified leader or not to who has the best cheeseburger in town. That’s what a message board is for.
But if these elected officials don’t even know what a BLOG is, how can we expect them to lead our city into a more fruitful time?
It’s simple, guys- this is the year two thousand and ten. “Teh Internets” has been around for decades now. And blogs have been here for over ten years. Get to know them.
Blogs and bloggers CAN be your friends. Adversaries. Allies. Or, they can be your worst enemies. It’s your choice, really. I told you guys the other night that I think that EACH of you council members SHOULD have a blog. You SHOULD communicate with the public who elected you. That’s what you’re HERE for .
YOU serve US. Not the other way around.
So there you have it Kelly, Linda and whoever else was unclear about exactly what a “blog” is.
I don’t do this often- in fact, I don’t think, in the four years I’ve been blogging, I’ve ever asked the readers of this site to do anything.
But this, I’m going to urge you to support.
The wind of change is clearly blowing in Harrisburg. For the first time in nearly three decades, we’ll see a Mayoral race in November that does not include Stephen Reed on the ballot. Without a doubt, we’re going to witness an unprecedented change in the way that this city handles it’s business.
With that change, I want to turn up the heat on the Amusement Tax issue. What, to me, seems like a simple piece of legislation to be removed is, in reality, falling on deaf ears with City Council.
Last month, we witnessed GreenWorks Properties and Vartan finagle a piece of legislation that aleve them of a quarter-million-dollars per year in tax requirements.
Which lead me to conclude that- because little old Jersey Mike doesn’t own hundreds of properties in the city and doesn’t make thousand-plus dollar “contributions” to the campaigns of council members and Mayoral candidates that his voice doesn’t matter.
Sure, they’ve listened to me- but their inaction has left me frustrated, disappointed and, generally, bummed out about how our local government works.
So now, I’m going to ask you- the readers and supporters of this site to do a simple thing: copy and paste the following paragraphs, sign your name, and email them to all of city council and the Mayors office. Send more than one. Send one every day. But please- for the good of the entertainment of this city, send a simple email.
(If you choose to participate, please leave a comment below saying that you did it. Just so I can get an idea of whether or not this message is going through)
I’ve been harping on this for nearly five years now- and just as you’re probably sick of hearing about it, I’m tired of complaining about it. (A list of council members email addresses follows the body of the email)
Power to the people, right on-
Dear Council and Mayor of Harrisburg,
I’m writing today to urge you to please reform or remove city ordinance 32-1982 (Amusement Tax) from the rolls of the city charter.
We have concluded that this tax-which burdens independent concert promoters- is the single-biggest factor preventing the regular use of venues like the Forum, The Zembo Temple and City Island for larger, A-List concerts.
Driving to Philly, Lancaster, Baltimore, Reading and State College to see a great concert does zero-good for the City of Harrisburg- but benefits those communities in more ways than just a great concert. We patronize their restaurants. Stay in their hotels. Pay to park in their garages. And take all of that revenue away from the great City of Harrisburg.
Please support Mike Van Jura’s plight to reform this tax and create a level playing field for all local concert promoters.
Sincerely,
lthompson@harrisburgcitycouncil.com
wwilliams@harrisburgcitycouncil.com
sbrownwilson@harrisburgcitycouncil.com
bkoplinski@harrisburgcitycouncil.com
dmiller@harrisburgcitycouncil.com
gmartinroberts@harrisburgcitycouncil.com
kimpatty@hotmail.com
bgabler@harrisburgcitycouncil.com
mayor@cityofhbg.com
City Council Doesn’t Want To Hear Your Thoughts
From the June 8 PennLive:
Does Harrisburg City Council not want to hear from it’s constituency about issues not related to matters on the agenda? Apparently so. This move makes the statement that We do not care to hear what you simpletons have to say and we’re going to ignore you publicly.
Sure, citizens are able to speak – for no more than three minutes- at the BEGINNING of each council session only on items that are on the agenda for that particular meeting.
But here’s the rub: oftentimes, the City Council Website isn’t updated in a timely fashion and the documents regarding the agenda of the meeting aren’t provided until AFTER the meeting.
So, essentially, Harrisburg City Council has told the citizens of Harrisburg that it doesn’t particularly care to hear their thoughts. And they have taken the time to create an ordinance against it.
Furthermore, because this new “rule” is already in place and will not likely be on the agenda again, citizens may NOT address council in the public comment portion of the meetings about this.
Now, I completely understand that there are a motley crew of characters that regularly attend meetings and bludgeon our council with drivel and redundant nonsense following each meeting and often need to be reminded of the three minute time limit- but for every one lunatic that addresses council, there are dozens more with valid, pertinent and meaningful comments to add to the dialogue about what’s hurting (or helping) this ailing city.
But isn’t the public comment portion of a city council meeting considered “due process”? Do we not have the RIGHT to publicly address our ELECTED officials?
City Council must remember that they sought office so that they may SERVE their citizenry. Seems more and more these days that our elected officials forget what the root of their position is: to SERVE the community. And how are they going to SERVE the community without knowing what’s on their community’s collective minds?
If I were sitting on that council, you bet your bottom dollar that you would have heard a pretty loud “NAY” from me on this one…