I suppose that with so much nonsense coming out of the Executive Branch of our city government, it’s easy to forget that City Council is pulling its own weight when it comes to foolish, petty and self-important behavior.
Case in point is this power play being undertaken by the current President of City Council, Member-at-Large Kathy McBride. According to the Trentonian article by LA Parker, Business Administrator Eric Berry has instructed Department Directors and other senior city managers not to honor requests from individual Council members for information and constituent services, as they have traditionally done in the past for many, many, many years. Now, according to BA Berry, “(A)ll employees are directed to politely ask that Council member or members to make their request through the procedure established by Council President (Kathy) McBride.” [My emphasis.]
Gosh, you didn’t know that a Council President could “establish” “procedures” that City Employees would have to follow? Me, Neither!!
Perhaps, that’s because a Council President doesn’t have any such power. Unless Mr. Berry, or better yet, whoever is running the City Law Department these days, can cite any ordinance to the contrary, I believe these are the relevant sections of our city code:
Chapter A316-2 says in the first sentence, “The following rules shall govern the Council and its meetings.” This link will display the entire section, and helpfully also highlights everything associated with the Council President. The continuing theme of this chapter is that the President of Council is the member who Presides over City Council; basically, the member who runs the meetings. There is not a lot of Executive authority here, certainly nothing in the sense of “establishing procedures” for the other Council members or for City employees.
About the only unilateral authority granted to the President can be found in Rule IV, Section B: “The President of the Council is authorized to approve or disapprove bingo and raffle applications for and on behalf of the Council pursuant to state statute.” That, and a few other functions such as a power to convene Special Council meetings, and appoint members to council committees.
As far as doing anything that affects anyone other than fellow members, the Council President’s word is law pretty much only when it comes to Bingo or Fifty/Fifties.
Chapter 2, Article XVI, Section 2-91 says in its entirety, “Pursuant to the Charter (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-37), the Council, in its discretion, may require any municipal officer to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his/her official duties and the performance thereof, and the Council may otherwise investigate the conduct of any department, office or agency of the municipal government.”
That sounds to me it is likely referencing Council as a whole, or perhaps (interpreting it loosely) individual members. But I don’t see anything granting a Council President any special role in this, or any other substantive process.
Only when it comes to Bingo.
Now, I hear tell that State statutes may be a little clearer when it comes to these types of questions. Perhaps now and in the future, the BA and our City Attorney should consult with higher authority, rather than try to make up some on their own!
After reading this account of the latest internecine squabbling on Council, I am reminded of a passage describing a similar situation:
The players all played at once, without waiting for turns, quarrelling all the while, and fighting for the hedgehogs; and in a very short time the Queen was in a furious passion, and went stamping about, and shouting, “Off with his head!” or “Off with her head!” about once in a minute.
Alice began to feel very uneasy; to be sure, she had as yet not had any dispute with the Queen, but she knew that it might happen any minute, “and then,” thought she, “what would become of me? They’re dreadfully fond of beheading people here: the great wonder is, that there’s any one left alive!” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Come to think of it, I think we are all down the Rabbit Hole. Mr. Carroll may have a lot to say about our situation in Trenton. I suspect we will be hearing more from him in the near future!
So true Kevin. This administration is really like a fairy tale.
Statutes… Regulations…. Law… Those are terms that current administration and city council seem not to comprehend.
More than a fairy tale, it’s like a nightmare.
This sounds like the recent issue when the President tried to void a legal bidding process (won by karson food- a state certified vendor) to benefit the owner of another business which did not even submitted a bid and who was not state certified. The little ego-driven stupid move almost cost the city a grant from the department of agriculture for summer feeding program in the parks (about $600,000).
At the end, after the state said that if the city did not honor karson as the bona fide vendor they would take their money back, the president said that her only objection to karson was that they included donuts in their menu. For real….
Well, perhaps Grace Slick’s interpretation of Carroll also applies…
When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen’s “off with her head!”
Remember what the dormouse said;
Feed your head.