City councilors were recently miffed they were not a part of a contract negotiation. I found it a little amusing that this was the first time they said something about being left out of the loop. That’s the purpose of the City’s Home Rule charter, to give more power to the mayor and his adminstration while the city council gets to vote on malt beverage licences and sidewalk disputes. I emailed councilor Anderson yesterday and told him, repeal Home Rule, and the council will be able to end the veil of secrecy out of City Hall and be more involved with decision making. Of course the Gargoyle Leader doesn’t mention it once in today’s ED Board response to the situation;
City Attorney Robert Amundson says he thinks that the city charter allows the mayor to sign the contract without council oversight.
Judge Grumpy Butt is probably correct, he is no doubt referring to Home Rule.
Though the negotiation process already has begun, the mayor’s administration needs to get the council quickly up to speed.
That should take about 2-6 months, knowing the track record of Munson’s office.
And the council also might need to seek a clarification regarding what state law says about when these type of bids can be released to the public. That information will be helpful in the future.
It’s pretty clear right now. Under Home Rule the council is powerless, unless of course you need them to approve a new stop sign or a beer license.