Not About Listening but Better Information
I am a bit surprised and pleased to see how many people pay attention to some of the things we do on the council and always happy to explain why we, or at least I, make some of the decisions on your behalf that I do. At my coffee last Friday this was the main topic of discussion,as it was at several other gatherings I attended this last week. There was a letter to the editor and even a question to the PB Answer man.
In the Friday, May 12, letter to the editor, Mr. Bill Burt asked a couple of interesting questions implying that the city council doesn’t “listen to the people” because we made a decision reversing and earlier Planning and Zoning Commission decision on a Willow Heights development. This decision seemed to be inconsistant with a statement I made earlier that evening about supporting our civil service commission referring to supporting the decision of the Fire Civil Service Commission in the hiring of one of the firefighters last month. I truly support and commend all the volunteer commissions we have that dedicate their time and talents to helping us govern this great city.
It’s not a matter of “listening to the people” or of “support”. It’s a matter of missions and making the best decision with the best information.
The Fire Civil Service Commission “is responsible for the selection of entry-level Firefighters’” – “responsible” being the key word. In addition they reviewed the background check information, testing and interview scores, and participated in the interviews. THEY had the necessary information to make their hiring decision and they did. The council’s role is to insure that hiring policies and laws were followed and that they hire according to our staffing plan – which they did. I fully support this.
The Planning and Zoning Commission in this case is an “advisory” role. . We had the advantage of the fine work they did in their meeting to identify not only the standard requirements that development sites bring but also the concerns of the nearby residents. WE had more information to make the final decision. We not only had more time to investigate the solutions to the concerns and requirements but we also had benefit of a much more thorough presentation made by the developer’s consultants as well as the support of our Public Works engineers.
In short, we had more information to make a better decision and that’s what the process is about. Otherwise, why have two meetings?
I have a more lengthy response explaining the process and if you want it let me know. As always, I am open to discuss this with you or visit with me at my weekly coffee at Grandma’s Kitchen every Friday from 7am to ???.
In the Friday, May 12, letter to the editor, Mr. Bill Burt asked a couple of interesting questions implying that the city council doesn’t “listen to the people” because we made a decision reversing and earlier Planning and Zoning Commission decision on a Willow Heights development. This decision seemed to be inconsistant with a statement I made earlier that evening about supporting our civil service commission referring to supporting the decision of the Fire Civil Service Commission in the hiring of one of the firefighters last month. I truly support and commend all the volunteer commissions we have that dedicate their time and talents to helping us govern this great city.
It’s not a matter of “listening to the people” or of “support”. It’s a matter of missions and making the best decision with the best information.
The Fire Civil Service Commission “is responsible for the selection of entry-level Firefighters’” – “responsible” being the key word. In addition they reviewed the background check information, testing and interview scores, and participated in the interviews. THEY had the necessary information to make their hiring decision and they did. The council’s role is to insure that hiring policies and laws were followed and that they hire according to our staffing plan – which they did. I fully support this.
The Planning and Zoning Commission in this case is an “advisory” role. . We had the advantage of the fine work they did in their meeting to identify not only the standard requirements that development sites bring but also the concerns of the nearby residents. WE had more information to make the final decision. We not only had more time to investigate the solutions to the concerns and requirements but we also had benefit of a much more thorough presentation made by the developer’s consultants as well as the support of our Public Works engineers.
In short, we had more information to make a better decision and that’s what the process is about. Otherwise, why have two meetings?
I have a more lengthy response explaining the process and if you want it let me know. As always, I am open to discuss this with you or visit with me at my weekly coffee at Grandma’s Kitchen every Friday from 7am to ???.
posted by Bob Nowicki | 6:39 PM
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