The City Council will be meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall. The agenda (.pdf) includes a number of consent items the Council considers routine.
But there are two items of interest PRU readers may want to pay particular attention to.
The first is the City Attorney's report on Target Area 2 Insurance.
For those of you who may not know, the City Attorney will be reporting on whether or not the TA2 insurance issue, covered in a report by Craig Adams in the Journal & Topics, is in violation of the City's ethics ordinance -- Article 2, Chapter 5 (.pdf) of the City's municipal code.
The PRU Crew would like to suggest, when the Council dispenses with the above ethics item -- at some future point they consider taking a look at the issue of undisclosed communications. To our reading and knowledge, no current elected officials have officially violated that section of the ordinance, but the Crew believes attempts by certain task force members to raise discussion of pending matters of public business on certain official's Face Book pages probably isn't a good idea -- the Crew are big fans of "bright lines" where issues of discussion on pending matters of public business are concerned.
The second item of interest on tonight's Council agenda will be the "first reading of an ordinance for proposed text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, ZoningCase Number TA-09-02." The details of the Text Amendment are here (.pdf).
The Council will essentially be considering whether or not to expand its' own powers -- what are the odds?! -- even though the Planning and Zoning commission has recommended against doing so. And as we reported to you here, we feel "this is a very serious matter people should be paying attention to, as the potential for altering the dynamics of your City government are far reaching."
And tomorrow, technological gods willing, we'll post the indexed videos for your review.
October 19, 2009
More Monkey Business Tonight!
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17 comments:
What are the odds the aldermen will give themselves more power over land planning and the requests from individuals and developers. These aldermen are very short sighted.
Frimark made promises and the Aldermen who all supported him are going to look to keep those promises with as little effort as possible.
This whole thing came from Alderman Bach one of Frimark's biggest cheerleaders.
Don't look now but City government is getting hijacked!
PRU, I don't have a Face Book membership so I can't see what you are talking about. Could you explain that more?
Anon@1:12 --
A member of a task force, appointed by the Mayor, began to raise a topic on the Mayor's Face Book page concerning a matter of public policy currently under discussion by the task force.
The ethics ordinance forbids elected officials from discussion of public business with certain boards and commissions. Mayoral task forces, whose members are appointed by the Mayor, are not covered under the ordinance.
Moooooving forward, others of the Mayor's Face Book friends should consider the above very carefully.
Further, we will not be able to read the Mayor's Face Book page any longer -- once a member of the Crew criticized the Mayor for his Face Book activities, Park Ridge Underground was promptly "de-friended" by the Mayor.
Well PRU....you just need to understand there is transparency, and then there is transparency.
The PRU has a fb page? I had no idea.
Anon@2:03 --
We hold a Face Book account but we do not make any Wall postings to it. It was opened by PRU.ADMIN because we noticed on our meter we were getting visits which originated from a particular Face Book account and we wanted to see what that account was about.
As it turned out, that account was about an issue involving the Park Ridge Police Department.
Nothing earth shaking.
I finished finding the information in the ethics ordinance.
I don't see how it is possible for the former mayor to sell insurance to the city.
I can't wait to hear how the alderdunces could try to get around this one.
i think it's necessary to address this issue with Frimark, but I am disgusted that we have to waste time on it. There are so many other things that are important going on in this town.
Who has been the insurance carrier for the Uptown development all this time?
Anonymous 3:36 PM:
Great question; Although Legal is legal and illegal is illegal, this part of the equation is pretty nickel dime. The bigger question is why is Frimark the insurer in the first place? Is he the best price they could get? Or, has Mr. “You’re putting me in a trick bag” been dealing large scale insurance coverage to “Friends of Frimark” dating back to when he held the city’s gavel?
the excuse that Buzz Hill has been pitching that the policy was written by Frimark Insurance and not by Howard Frimark is absolutely positively complete bullshit.
To me you have two seperate questions. First, is it legal? Second, is it right? Just becuase answer number one might be yes does not mean that answer two is yes.
Unfortunately this kind of thing happens all the time. It happens with law firms involving public people or people who have recently left office. It is handled by another partner. I can see how this transaction might pass the "legal" test.
To me it does not pass the "is it right test". With all the alternatives for Insurance that exist, the city (whether elected officials or city administration) should have known better.
People who choose to be in government have to know and respect the well deserved cynicism they receive from the public. Especially in a situation where you have literally hundreds of other options, if it does not look right don't do it!!!!
Anonymous @ 4:33,
Mash note being sent your way! ^^
Exactamundo!
PRU got defriended by the Mayor? Trouble in blog paradise? Say it ain't so!
Anon@5:14 --
Our Pru Tech returned the favor.
how nice of Jackass Owens to show up at City Council tonight to make a statement on behalf of Frimark.
the arrogance is gagging.
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