2000-04-29 Charter Commission Minutes

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Transcript of Meeting of April 29, 2000Page 9 of 64 I think, going back to Mr. Pranke’s, I think all Commissions should be appointed by the Council. It necessarily isn’t going to change the outcome but I think if you get a diverse point of view. In other words, the Mayor doesn’t appoint, and obviously we’re going to get a different Mayor, but I think you’d get a diverse group of people that will look at things. You might have one or two Green Party people. You may have three Democrats. You may have three Republicans. The names really don’t mean that much here, but the direction the people are coming from makes a great deal of difference, and I think you would have a much broader spectrum of the island than the Mayor, no matter who the Mayor is, appointing all the Commissions. The lowering of the standards for offices I just don’t understand. You can claim you don’t need to be a qualified engineer to run this or that department. RAY: It’s a registered engineer. KRIEWALD: A registered engineer. Every position has qualifications and I think you have to have some minimum standard. I think that’s where our school system’s gotten in a lot of problems. Going back to the Commissions, like, almost every Commission you go to, you see the same people recycled through Commission, Commission, Commission, and having the Council people would be a very fresh approach to that. Unless you, I think, come out with much better proposals to put on our ballot, we’re going to essentially waste a hundred and thirty thousand bucks that this thing has cost. I think the people want to vote on something, and only maybe four or five items that they really want. I think you need to keep it simple. People reading - I don’t know where you’re at in your synopsis of this, but I think, Mr. Ray, that you should hold up to what you wrote in your letter, and that’s listen to the people. We want fewer items. We want easily readable items. And we want to vote on them. And I think you should listen to the presentation that has been given to this Commission. Two things on the upside. The website, I think, is just great and Sharron is just great. You have to be commended for that. Thank you. RAY: Thank you. Roland. HIGASHI: I just have one question. If the Council were to appoint any Commission, and you spoke of several, would that have to be confirmed by the fellow Council people, or would it be non-vetoed? I mean, what do you envision exactly? KRIEWALD: I would envision that each Council person gets to appoint and they’re accountable to the people that put them in office. If the people that put them in office don’t like the people that they’re putting in the Commission, two years they’ll be gone. That’s the way I’d like to see it done, but that’s my personal opinion. RAY: Mr. Santangelo. SANTANGELO: I believe one of the problems that we have with appointments of Commissioners and things, and I doubt if it’s applicable to you, but we have an influx of population and so often it’s their snapshot of how things are in their experience in being in a certain community, or environment, and that’s the way it’s always been and always will be because that’s how they’ve seen it. We are changing Mayors. I mean this next election is exciting in terms of there will be a tremendous amount of change. file://\\coh01\cohweb\council\charter_commission\minutes\minutes 04-29-00.html7/1/2011