Post Turtles, Part Deux

So last time, dear readers, the Curmudgeon talked about the post turtle. A quick recap of its characteristics:

He doen't belong up there.
He didn’t get up there by himself

He doesn’t have any idea of what to do while he’s up there

He’s elevated beyond his ability to function

And you wonder who could have thought it was a good idea (to put him up there ) in the first place.

Last time, (See http://copperascovecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/07/post-turtles.html) I wasn’t so quick to jump into the Post Turtle commentary regarding Place 6 councilman Mark-E-Marc Payne. Place 7 councilman Sorry-Charlie Youngs had me busy enough.

Welp, Mark-E-Marc didn’t disappoint during the Tuesday July 31 special Copperas Cove city council meeting, with the property tax record vote.

Payne had no clue what was being voted on, nor why. He was just bound ‘n determined to lower the tax rate so the city would have to figure out where to cut at least $134,000 from the proposed budget.   

Here’s the setup: the council was to take a “record vote”, which means they each go “on record” and vote one by one to propose a particular tax rate.

This didn’t mean it was decided Tuesday night. There are legal notices which must be issued to the public about the property tax rate, and the rate will be officially decided in September.

BUT, Mark-E-Marc, clearly, didn’t understand WHAT was going on during that portion of the meeting.

Look at the video, dear readers, for the July 31 meeting, and watch and see. I'm not jerkin' yer chain on this one.

Go to the 17 minute mark. Councilman Jay Manning begins to explain to a befuddled Mr. Payne what

What are we doing here? Uhhhhh?????

exactly is going on.

And then, right after the 17:30 mark, Mr. Payne shows he DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON.

Here is a brief rundown of what unfolded:

Councilman Jay Manning: Marc, what he’s saying we can take action now for some number, that when we actually do it, after the budget is passed, when we set the rate, we can go lower but we can’t go higher.

Mark-E-Marc: So, we’re not setting the rate now? So what are we doing right now?

Mayor Seffrood: We’re proposing to set the rate—

Mark-E-Marc (the light dawning in his eyes): So we’re PROPOSING to set the rate.

Interim City Manager Ryan Haverlah: The action that council is taking tonight is to PROPOSE a rate, as required by state law, so the body - the city – can provide notice to the public about what rate you are considering adopting.

Marc: And you can go lower later. I hope half the public with me didn’t understand that either.

Mayor Frank: As a gentle warning, we’ve already been zapped one time on assuming people don’t know. That’s wrong. I get a letter that was quite poignant, that someone made a comment from the dais, “well, they don’t understand.”

Mark-E-Marc: I hope I wasn’t the only stupid one. Other people might not understand that either.

YOU’RE RIGHT, MARK-E-MARC.

There’s ignorance, and then there’s stupidity.

The councilman was partly right – Jay Manning – that by and large, PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW GOVERNMENT FINANCE OPERATES.

We don’t. Many of us do just good enough to balance our own books, without all the laws and regulations that governments face.

HOWEVER…. Back to the Post Turtle Moment.

Time after time, other members of the council have had to – FROM THE DAIS – school Marc Payne in things he could have sought understanding on PRIOR TO A MEETING. Council members can interact with each other in a limited way, and they also can talk to the interim city manager for clarification.  

It’s not just Jay Manning having to explain things to Payne. Poor Dapper-Dan-Yancey (no tie!). And also Sorry-Charlie Youngs. All three have had to explain numerous things to this man. On the dais. 

I’d say they were schooling him on what to do and what was going on. And did I imagine I heard some faint chuckles in the audience?????

Because it is humorous. And sad.

There is no shame in NOT HAVING A CLUE when you accept a position, but Mr. Payne seems to sweat over the details yet neglect the big picture.

I have no confidence in him to make sound decisions if he cannot come to a basic understanding ON HIS OWN TIME of how things operate.

Yep, Copperas Cove voters elected this post turtle. He’s befuddled.

He is not an “everyman”. His presence on the dais is not “endearing”: “Awww, look at him, he’s just like one of us, trying to make a difference.”

That’s not the kind of official I want. Not clueless and befuddled.

His position will be up for reelection in 2020. Take note, y’all.

One more thing: What a week it has been! So much fodder for the blog, y’all!

I’m going to squeeze in one more post before the weekend is out, dear readers!

Sometimes, there is a glimmer of hope that SOMEONE is doing the RIGHT THING. And lately, that glimmer is a great big SHINE.

Curmudgeon out.

(Nearly 21,000 page views since January, y'all!!?? Smoochies, dear readers!)

A Curmudgeon Quickie: WTH, FATHOM? And, the tossing of hats

Curmudgeon mentioned FATHOM at the end of the last post.

Well, it's a curious thing that happened during the July 17 Copperas Cove city council workshop. Interim City Manager Haverlah said the dollar amount of the lost revenue from the senior citizen discount listed in the proposed budget for the Water & Sewer Fund was WRONG.

Now, how was it wrong and why?

If you watch the video from the July 17 meeting, Mr. Haverlah explains that the city's director of finances, Velia Key, figured out that the amount being coded or reported as the senior discount, is not the senior discount. It was the payments being received by seniors, or something to that effect. 

I know, Mr. Payne. I know. He sat there like this for a good 30 seconds. 

So she did an audit at the account level and figured out what it was. 

Hmmmm.....so why would FATHOM give the city a wrong number? 

Mr. Haverlah went on to say that the city had made improvements where its utility accounts were concerned and that this coding issue was a small thing. 

Curmudgeon is sorry-not-sorry, but confidence is low in FATHOM due to the floundering, stumbling, bumbling at the individual account levels. Curmudgeon does NOT need to remind you, dear readers, of the issues - legitimate issues- which have come up over the last two years.
Their email didn't work.
Their website was inconsistent with log-in issues.
The transmitters went down and didn't collect correctly (brand new!).
Bills coming out within a week or two of each other.
*They called solid waste rubbish.
*They called the drianage fee a storm water fee.
*They billed at the net for senior discounts without reflecting the discounts.

*These are not ERRORS, per se, but confusion. The change to FATHOM was painful enough - why confuse your customers? It further erodes confidence.

Which is the same with this coding "issue."

No, Mr. Haverlah. It is not a little thing. The CITY is a customer of FATHOM, too, and should not have to deal with glitches I mean, c'mon, this is a multimillion-dollar company which surely should have its act together.

Councilman David I'm-a-writer-not-a-talker Morris did the right thing in calling for an independent audit of the FATHOM books.

The reader should follow this link:

http://www.newsoforange.com/news/article_293babe2-df80-11e7-b01e-532a6cc2f046.html

Apparently not all is well in FATHOM-land, even as the company continues to sell its rather so-so services to cities. Why should one have to bring the CEO into town for basic customer service issues? Clearly there is an issue in mid-level management that is causing this.

Is it time for the city to consider terminating its contract? We're only 2 years into a 15-year deal.
Why 15 years??????
Why not 5-10?????

OH, it's opening day in election season, y'all!!

Let's see what this first week of filing brings.

Coming up - Curmudgeon's Election tips.

Peace, love, and bunnies,  y'all!