Seek the sweet salvation For what we’ve done Give up resisting one by one One by one

    This one is too good to hold, although it was just yesterday I updated the blog!

    The mayor is busy redecorating and renovating his office and the adjoining space.  The reporter comes by and stops to check on what’s happening.  It catches the reporter by surprise.  This project hasn’t been discussed in the city council meeting.   Asked about it, the mayor reassures the reporter that it’s fine for him to be doing this project.  After all, he “cleared it with the city council,” he assures the reporter.

    Just how did that happen, the reporter inquires?  Well, the mayor reassures, he had the council persons come by  one-by-one, showed them the plans and got their okay to proceed.  So they didn’t need to vote on it in open session because they’d already approved it.

    I guess they forgot a public body cannot take action except through a vote of the public body, and that votes are taken at MEETINGS, which doesn’t include one-by-one meetings to cast your vote in the mayor’s office.

    Honestly, and people question why we need strict enforcement of this law?  Are violations that frequent?  Are people truly ignorant of the law?  How else are we going to drive home the fact that this is a law that needs to be read, understood and taken to heart unless we shift to strict enforcement?

    House Bill 316 will make that change.  And it proposed a huge reduction in fines for the strict violation standard.  Why, a judge could even decide a fine of ten cents was suitable for violating the law.

    It’s time we put some teeth in this law, even if they are worn-down dentures!