Cherry Picking the CMR

C.Rita Mercier leaves no doubt that the oath the Councilors took during their Inaugural festivities apexes at the blurting of "...so help me God!" But, there is another purpose to Inauguration, besides Rita's efforts to proselytize. Silly me for bringing this up, but Inaugural is also referred to as a "swearing in ceremony." There is that whole pesky part about legal stuff. I'm not positive, but I'm fairly sure the City Solicitor didn't sneak this in to the Councilors' debutante ball.
(If anyone has the Councilor's Oath of Office, please email it to me at: Lowell_Live_Feed [at] comcast [dot] net )

That brings me to the Council motions for next week:

Motions on the agenda for Jan. 14, 2014

On #24 On it's face, this is a good motion. In an Olympic relay race, there is no time to rigorously inspect the baton that is being passed from one runner to the next. In the case of municipal finances, we have the time and it is a sound practice. Though, what does it say about Rita's faith in our current Auditor? It is Cheryl Wright's job to watch the books. Maybe, the motion is partly motivated by the absence of a sitting CFO? To me, it would make more sense to call for an audit as one CFO passes our fiscal ship to another. But, I won't squabble. Rita wobbles, but she has a good enough batting average.

The only thing that irks me, I've heard the boo birds chirping, "Oh! Just wait until Lynch leaves. Then we will get to REALLY see what kind of shape we are in." Really? Like we don't have an independent auditor come in to snoop around? Likely, that vendor will do this proposed audit.

I say lift the hood, Rita. This waste of time and money will be good to squelch the Bernie Bashers venom before they open their mouths. Thanks for having Cheryl's back!

On #25 It's good that Jim Milinazzo is trying to protect Lowell from itself, with this motion. But, the reality is, no less than 4 councilors were elected to rid City Hall of Bernie Lynch. Councilor Kennedy proclaimed his interest in the 'front seat.' Let him have it.

Besides, look at the motion by greenhorn Councilor Rourke. If the Council has no faith in the CM, have him pack his bags, Tuesday night.

On #26 In the past, I've seen newbie Councilors mind their P's & Q's, early in their term. But, maybe C.Rourke is opting to follow the legacy of Patrick O. Murphy? *mind blown*

Well, @dannyballgame swung for the fences and, .... he has foul tipped the curve ball up into his own face. #fatlip

Section 103. The city council shall appoint a city manager who shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duties and who shall be the chief administrative officer of the city and shall be responsible for the administration of all departments, commissions, boards and officers of the city, whether established before its adoption of this plan or thereafter, ...

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Section 104. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, it shall be the duty of the city manager to act as chief conservator of the peace within the city; to supervise the administration of the affairs of the city; to see that within the city the laws of the commonwealth and the ordinances, resolutions and regulations of the city council are faithfully executed; and to make such recommendations to the city council concerning the affairs of the city as may to him seem desirable; to make reports to the city council from time to time upon the affairs of the city; and to keep the city council fully advised of the city’s financial condition and its future needs. He shall prepare and submit to the city council budgets as required of the mayor by section thirty-two of chapter forty-four and, in connection therewith, may, to the extent provided by said section thirty-two in the case of a mayor, require the submission to him, by all departments, commissions, boards and offices of the city, of estimates of the amounts necessary for their expenses. He shall make all appointments and removals in the departments, commissions, boards and offices of the city for whose administration he is responsible, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this chapter or be required of him by ordinance or resolution of the city council. The city manager shall have and possess, and shall exercise, all the powers, rights and duties, other than legislative, had, possessed or exercised, immediately prior to the adoption of this plan, by the mayor, board of aldermen, common council and all other boards, commissions and committees of the city and their members, severally or collectively, except such as are by this chapter conferred upon the school committee or are otherwise provided for thereby.

I know. I know. The word 'micromanaging' gets thrown around a lot, and from time to time it is used interchangeably with "leadership." For sure, this is an eye of the beholder thing. But, do we really want to have to call in some Beacon Hill babysitter to figure out, if C. Rourke is making puppies.

The law seems clear.

Section 107. Neither the city council nor any of its committees or members shall direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his removal from, office by the city manager or any of his subordinates, or in any manner take part in the appointment or removal of officers and employees in that portion of the service of said city for whose administration the city manager is responsible. ...

Other than mayor Elliott, there seems to be a call for lame duck City Manager Bernie Lynch to stick around to shepherd the next budget process. Is a city budget a big deal? And IF it is, AND it is important to keep Lynch in place, then why the mixed message?

If the Council has faith in Lynch to deliver a budget, why the handcuffs in other areas of the executive's domain? The Council can't have half way faith in the person running things, any more than they can cherry pick which parts of the CMR & MGL they think are convenient for their petty political agenda.

PS. If you hear chuckling in the halls of City Hall's 3rd Floor, don't spin around looking for Andy Sheehan. He got over the joke, re: Section 107.