Emergency--Yes And No

Notes from the September 22 Council Meeting...

Emergency--Yes

The council meeting had just begun when a pager went off. That's pretty unusual. People typically remember to turn off their cell devices or switch them to vibrate alerts so they don't interrupt the meeting.

Fire Chief Turner stood up and quickly left the council chamber.

Turns out, a house fire was reported in the city. Chief Turner left the meeting to return to his primary job---keeping residents safe.

Emergency--No

Every year council declares the date on which Halloween will be officially celebrated.

This year is no different.

Council held the first reading of an ordinance, No. 42-2009, declaring Oct. 31st as the Halloween observance day.

The ordinance, however, was listed as an emergency measure. It reads: "Proposed resolution providing for the observance of Halloween on October 31, 2009 and declaring an emergency."

Halloween, an emergency?

Council lists almost every ordinance on its agenda as an emergency measure---in clear violation of both the city charter and city ordinances, which limit the use of emergency measures and require a statement describing the emergency and explaining the necessity for emergency action.

By listing ordinances as emergency measures, council forecloses the opportunity of residents to challenge them before they take effect.

As our laws make clear, emergency measures should only be used for true emergencies. Halloween doesn't count.

Requests for more personnel

Both the police department and the fire department have requested permission to hire additional part-time employees in 2010. The discussion is still in the very early stages.

The good news is that it was not left until the last minute in the budgeting process to bring these requests to council's attention.

Early communication is good thing, particularly when it comes to requests for more money and/or more personnel.

"(This) Incivility Has to Be Addressed"

Bravo to Olivia Fatica of Kenbridge Road, who had the courage to speak to council about a difficult situation in her neighborhood, involving a rental tenant, dogs, and how neighbors interact with one another.

Apparently a tenant on the street has 2 Rottweilers and an American Bulldog--all very intimidating animals. According to Fatica, the dogs kept her trapped in her car on at least one occasion, and her attempts to talk to the tenant about the animals have been met with verbal abuse and incivility.

Olivia Fatica articulately expressed her frustration and concern---about preserving the congeniality of her neighborhood, about the appropriateness of the police response to the situation, and about barriers to communicating with city officials.

It takes alot of concern and courage to stand up before council and talk about such difficult issues. Thank you, Olivia Fatica.

Attempted child enticement? Yes or No?

One controversy that erupted in the city last week concerned a report of an attempted child enticement. The story was reported by several local television stations, and parents distributed information by email about the incident.

The question was raised as to why the city did not activate its reverse-911 emergency calling system, to inform residents about the incident.

Police Chief Cook explained to council that they investigated the incident immediately and for several days after it was reported, that they stopped several vehicles and questioned the drivers about the reported incident, and that he concluded that there was insufficient evidence that an attempted enticement had taken place. According to Cook, the child was unsure of what was actually said to him by the driver of a vehicle, and the vehicle driver never exited the vehicle or otherwise physically approached the child.

Cook stated, "In my judgment, it would have been inappropropriate to place a (reverse-911) call when we were not sure what was said to the child. "

Cook said that his department thoroughly investigated the matter, they did not find sufficient evidence to treat the incident as an attempt to entice a child into a car, and the matter is now closed.

The end.