Editorial by Matt Marquardt –
I go to quite a few meetings, as many as I can, that pertain to our schools, city hall and county. These are our three biggest taxing entities if you happen to be a property owner. Take a look at your yearly tax statement. Mine happens to show that 42.2% of the property tax I pay goes to the Mason City School District. Roughly 37.4% goes to the City of Mason City, and roughly 17.5% goes to Cerro Gordo County.
As I attend these meetings, I look around at the “audience” that sits and watches the elected officials make decisions that can have a big impact on aspects of our lives. The gallery is shamefully thin to put it mildly.
At last week’s school board meeting, the agenda was full of important items, ranging from change orders and other details on the multimillion dollar school renovation, to next year’s student fees and meal fees, to the contract of the school superintendent. There were two sales people, myself and a Globe reporter in attendance. That’s it. I got the sense no one was thrilled that I was there. NIT intends to cover more school business.
The Cerro Gordo County Supervisor meetings have always had weak attendance. I do believe the average person has no idea they meet, let alone what they are , what they do nor what they talk about. Their meeting agendas are brief and offer few, if any, details. I asked the supervisors once, on camera, if they wouldn’t mind including a packet with their meeting agendas which would detail the agenda items at more length. I felt the public would be more informed if they had the public information (background) on the agenda items readily available to them. I was told by Supervisor Jay Urdahl (pictured) that “we are not the city council” and if I wanted more information I could stop by after the meeting and ask for it. So much for informing the public before the meeting takes place.
The Mason City Council meetings have become a joke. Mayor Bookmeyer and other council members actually mock the fact that none of the people they serve show up and speak at either public forum; there used to be a steady stream of folks who took advantage of this opportunity. Bookmeyer (pictured, right, giving information to a Globe reporter) once wanted these public forums, pillars of democracy, shut down. It seems to have worked out that way. The audiences are one-fourth the size they were only months ago. We have the honor of our third ward councilwoman Jean Marinos making decisions for Mason City for the last several weeks from the shores of Europe… drawing her paycheck as usual. I wonder if the third ward feels well-represented. Most city business is hashed out in work sessions which are even more poorly attended and not televised.
Why is attendance at these meetings so thin? Why are people not more interested, until it is too late, in how these elected people are running things?
My opinion is this:
First of all these elected (and appointed) people like it this way. They do not like to be second-guessed nor scrutinized. Many of them have thin skins and can’t take it. Some of them seem to feel like since they took their seat, they can do no wrong, and they know better and are somehow smarter than those they represent. This may be true in some ways, since the public is, on the whole, uninformed and many times disinterested in what they are doing. This could be described as apathy, or perhaps people are simply too busy dodging bullets and making sure nothing got ripped off last night to make time to get informed.
Your local officials want their meetings to go smooth, no surprises. To accomplish this, if they can get away with it, they give as little information to the public as possible. If the people don’t know, they won’t show up and there will be no hassle. The supervisors perfected this and have every intention of continuing. Bookmeyer programmed his six council members to go along for the ride, not to question anything, and simply back slap each other. (I hope the city’s medical insurance covers lawsuits stemming from repetitive stress injuries to the shoulder, forearm and hand. One of our council members is known to be lawsuit-happy.) If the
y don’t talk about the city’s problems, the issues do not exist, seems to be the Mayor’s theory. Heck, maybe he can even get his crony media newspaper to write a story that says crime in the city is down; that will quiet the rabble. I feel the school district (pictured) operates this way as well. These folks are spending the most money, making big decisions, and there is scant news coverage, no TV to watch the meetings, no witnesses. There is no scrutiny in any newspaper story about what these people do, no hard questions, just fluff. The newspaper wants these people to be their friends; it makes their story writing a lot easier, so you will see little truth in their material.
At the end of the day, you, I and our neighbors lose because of this wall that has been erected to keep you uninformed, to keep you out. The only way over it is to get involved, ask questions, and vote. Oh, and showing up at a meeting once in awhile wouldn’t hurt.
As already said Matt, heck of an article.
But just to get back on track a little, People Wake Up!!
Matt’s reporting the School Board meetings and Supervisor meetings has never been done to this level before.
All the concentration was on Mason City Council.
Ask yourselves this–why not? Why not the Supervisor meetings or the School Board meetings?
This is OUR tax dollars being spent.
We have a reporter with a backbone-getting the facts to us. It’s up to us to make the differences.
And That my friends is AT THE POLLS !!
It’s time to UN-ELECT some wasteful goverment. Not just locally, all over. But we can start here this fall.
Look at what we got and you decide–Is this what we’ll get?
Time for Change folks
Thanks Matt and NIT
For your information, I recently sent e-mails to all council people protesting the proposed garbage privatation. Mr. Kuhn was the only one I recieved an reply from.
HERE IS WHY NO ONE VOTES AND GETS INVOLVED.
HOPELESSNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. Long term abuse (for decades) by elected officials. Elected Officials LIE. If there lips move they are lying.
2. Long term lying and deception by the Local Media, the Globe Gazette.
After years and years of broken promises by elected officials, the voters have lost faith that their vote counts. Why get involved.
The long-term abuse by politicians and the media has turned the voters into slugs. Sad but true!
Nothing ever changes and never will until the voting public does the same thing that Mayor Bookmeyer (or any puppet Mayor), Chamber Of Commerce, and Globe Gazette does. Make sure they have a voting quorum to get the things they want. Saving money is nowhere on their agenda!
To make the changes necessary to have a less expensive, more responsive, and more positive Government in Mason City the voters will have to organize, put a positive agenda in place for the taxpayers and then go door to door to explain it and get a commitment from the voters to participate.
The voters will have to be taught to ignore the Globe Gazette and the Chamber of Crime as nothing more then the low life propaganda lying sleaze balls they are.
It would be a lot of hard work, but it would be worth it if we could make Mason City into the kind of city we all know it could be.
Kuhn has become a master of strongly objecting to issues then tucking his head up the beermans butt and voting along with the yes crowd. Not an original thought from the whole bunch. Also heard the beerman was seen sucking them down at highland golf course so expect trouble there too.
Matt – The answer to your question is right here. People think if they blog that they are involved…far from the truth. I would wager that 1% of your bloggers have ever gone to the podium and voiced concern on an issue, instead they pity themselves and blog about all the horrible things being done because that is the simple way to do it.
My 2nd issue: the biggest issue since the new council has been seated; Sanitation, Kuhn has risen to the top and danced circles around the rest of the council. mayor and administrator when debating the issue. You should report that accuratley and give him credit for standing up for those workers. He clearly has the makings of a smart, research-driven, leader. You lose credibility in my book when you can’t recognize someone even when they are doing what you advocate for. Proves that you will drag all their names through the mud no matter what they do, very predictable.
Thanks Matt, look forward to your response.
OK: There are a few things wrong with your assertions.
First of all, the destruction of the sanitation department is not the biggest issue this council has faced. The CES garbage plant was… and Alex Kuhn said nothing; in fact he seemed rather pissed off when it failed. Trust me, if that had passed, your sanitation department was finished, along with the jobs of landfill workers. It was just a matter of time until Bookmeyer could justify phasing out sanitation. Alex gets an “F” for leadership on that one.
There are other, bigger issues, like the city’s crime epidemic, that Alex has sat silent on. His choreographed ride along with the MCPD was a joke and not worth the paper the Glob wrote about it on. A real leader would have done that and never told the media. To go farther, a real leader would have followed up on his information gathering and proposed solutions. I have seen nothing from Alex yet. Another “F” for Alex.
Alex has not thought out of the box on any issue so far. I proposed that the city do their own line painting instead of farming it out to a Des Moines company, thus keeping tens of thousands of dollars here in the city and giving city workers more work. Alex never spoke on the issue. He voted to send the dollars away. Is that leadership? That’s three “Fs” for Alex in my gradebook.
Again, “OK,” you are referring to one issue, sanitation, that has not yet been resolved. He spoke out once at a work session, and he was given credit for that here at NIT, but at at the ensuing council meeting, he was less prepared and less aggressive in his defense of the sanitation department. If he was a real leader, and as an at-large councilman I look to him for this, he should put a stop to the whole idea by publicly demanding so. He can still do this, and if he does, I will gladly give him credit for stopping this nonsense. Until then, he gets a “B” for speaking out at the work session and the council meeting.
As for my predictability, I appreciate you reading and leaving your opinion of my writing.
Matt – There are quite a few things innacurate with your assertions.
1) CES was done and over a month before this council even started. Big mistake by your so called factual reporting…
2) How do you have any clue what Kuhn is doing with MCPD?? In his newsletter, Kuhn talks about hours and hours of meetings with MCPD and finding solutions to problem areas of the community…wrong again. Just because he did a story with the Globe doesn’t mean you should be immature and try to slander him….wrong again.
3) Sanitation…I know a lot of the sanitation workers are working behind the scenes to stop this and you will be surprised what will come of this, with Kuhn’s leadership….once again, you are way behind.
I give NIT an INCOMPLETE grade for such horrible slanderous wanna-be news.
OK:
1) You are wrong. The CES vote was taken on Feb. 2, 2012. Story: http://www.northiowatoday.com/?p=7056 The “new” council with Alex Kuhn was sworn in this past January of 2012… before the landfill vote. Mr. Kuhn had ample time to weigh in on the CES project. He attended meetings after he won his election in November of 2011. He had every opportunity to be a leader and was not up to the challenge. Instead he sat in the audience while Brent Trout spoke for the city. Please eat your words on this one if you have the guts.
2) Mr. Kuhn never once mentioned his “hours and hours” of working with the MCPD at a televised public council meeting, nor at these meetings has he ever offered a concrete plan of action to deal with the crime in the city. I’m sorry, I am not on Alex’s special email list, and I doubt that thousands of Mason City citizens are. Not an effective way to communicate his message, another poor leadership quality revealed, by you, this time.
3) I am aware the sanitation workers want to prevent the destruction of their own department and their own jobs. Are you saying it take some kind of insider knowledge to realize this? What idiot would not want to “work behind the scenes” or any scene for that matter to protect their lively hood? Wow, these are some great revelations you have contributed. I think you wrote this just to take shots at me and NIT… and you “F” ailed miserably. Try again.
Matt –
CES Vote was NEVER taken by current city council. the landfill board vote not City Council, that is speculation you are giving.
we are obviously not going to agree, and that is fine, I respect your opinion. I just wish you would give a tiny, tiny ounce of credit to anyone for anything they do that is somewhat close to what you think is right for our community.
My opinion, and it is just an opinion, you should walk up to the podium and speak your mind at the next meeting. why not, speak as a citizen, not as a reporter. that is within your rights as a taxpayer, then youy may be taken seriously, just writing on a website and expecting them all to respond to you is not within reason.
My whole point is, I know some (kuhn) have responded and spearheaded two different city issues friends and neighbors of mine had. He treated them with respect, got their problems resolved, and follow up to make sure they were treated right by city staff as well. that is a professional, city leader that we need to support, not always try and tear down.
thanks for listening, Matt. i appreciate being able to voice my opinion.
OK: You are always welcome here. Let me address a few things you mentioned.
Vote or no vote, leadership on CES was there to be had, and any council member on board had an opportunity to lead, one way or another. The mayor as well. They had Trout do the talking.
Second, I think Alex has performed the best in many ways out of all 6 council members. He is getting better at what he does. I have given him credit here and am ready to do more of that as he stands up for his own beliefs and speaks his mind instead of playing follower to Bookmeyer. I never said Alex does not treat others with respect and does not work for the people of MC. As for “expecting them to respond to me,” well, I really have little interest in interviewing the council and mayor. I get lots of quotes from them at every council meeting. I have adapted to their game and will continue to do so.
Third, I am not sure why you want me to speak at the podium. I reach 50,000 unique visitors right here every month. I put it on the line every day, I articulate my thoughts, city hall reads it, what more do you need? I am approached by people who read these stories, we discuss, all is well. When I start taking the podium is when I run for office and I have no interest in that at this time.
Again, appreciate your thoughts and the spirited discussion.
Great artice Matt. I vote in every election. Seems many people have given up as nothing seems to change when they vote. We also email our councel person on many issues. We send a respectfully written email and I do not remember one time that our councel person has bothered to respond. She is Solberg and shame on her for not taking her job seriously. Many councel members get in office and work on ther own agendas or there familys agendas. How do we get them to work for us, the Tax payers? One councel person told me a few years ago about his hopes in achieving goals for his children. Any ideas on how to wake these people up?
Well written, Matt. I have always at least watched the council meetings and tried to keep up on what is going on in town, but it is a joke anymore. Ever since the mayor got all of his ducks in a row he wanted on the council, there is no point to even watch the meetings, let alone attend them. It is always 6-0 no matter what for a vote. He doesn’t want anyone to voice an opinion and he doesn’t care what the taxpayers have to say so he got his way. Now, no one gets up during the meeting or at the end because there is no point. Is this what they call democracy? The taxpayers pay his salary and the salaries for the council, but yet they aren’t allowed to talk. And then there is Marinos. What a joke she is! She could care less about Mason City and what is going on unless it is the hotel they spent too much money on. She should move to Greece and stay there. When she was mayor she was never here and she’s never here now. Were we to be impressed that she took the time to get on a conference call for the last council meeting and act like she was interested? NOT!!!!!!! Sadly, the people of Mason City are in for a long spell. Kinda makes me think of Hitler!
Matt, The title of your article should read “Public is woefully uniformed on school, city hall, county business, and Alliant Energy. I’m tired of the constant rate increases. Last year it was electrical, and now it’s a gas increase. Their spin on the reason to raise rates is bogus!
Can you do a story on Alliant’s current gas rate increase???
Matt, Can you start posting upcoming meetings, agenda, and location so we can start making a difference for the better.
Thank you for all you do.
REALLY: Yes. Please check the CALENDAR… there is a link at the top of NIT… it should include all the upcoming meetings AND the agenda that goes with it. I will try to keep that up to date and even more stocked with information. Thanks for asking and if you see something missing, please bring it to my attention.
Good article Matt and so true. I think over the years people have just given up and feel it doesn’t matter what they want if the have’s want it they are going to get it and we will pay taxes to support it. Tha Mall, Park Inn, City Park, Northbridge, Musuem, City Park and others are examples of this. Shame on us for being that way but they have all the tools and they are not giving them up. I for one vote everytime but after awhile it doesn’ seem to matter as they railroad stuff through anyway. The school board is a farce and they will be after more money soon as they have spent a ton on new construction recentlty. Did we even get a vote on it?? I certainly don’t remember it. Our kids get less and less education and it cost more. How can you justify more money when you lose students every year. In the business world if you lose customers you cut back and I don’t mean by cutting the lowest paid people. I don’t believe Max even get involved anymore. I think he was burned out on the whole mess.
I miss Max…
Those riches of Marino comes not from her hard work, unless you can call what your EX leaves you as work! That’s where the money for the realty company came from, not her sweat and tears…well, maybe some tears.
Look at the wages of EVERYONE envolved with the school system. That is what public education is all about.
School cost and spending have DOUBLED in the last 15 years with ZERO increase in results.
After reading this I feel like we have no hope and only ourselves to blame. We have been hood-winked… bamboozled as some say. I had no idea that council lady was over in Europe. That is outlandish. Also I have to admit I know very little about the county and schools but I do watch the council on tv.
Brett, it is none of your da*m business if Mrs. Marinos has a villa in Greece. So what if she goes there a few times a year for vacation? You are so uninformed and JAELOUS of her SUCCESS why dont you go back to serving your FRIES like everyone else in this town? You are lucky to have her represent!
Talk about uninformed, you pompous AS*, learn how to spell JEALOUS when you pry your nostrils from Marino’s buttox.
When a blogger can’t spell or use basic punctuation correctly, I don’t give their post much serious consideration.
Boy,,,So true !