I'm not wise, but I'm not stupid.
I learned last night that I wasn’t wise. I’m obviously not very bright. What kind of person with an ounce of sense would spend a perfectly good Friday night in a City Council meeting talking about City budgets? Obviously somebody who isn’t too bright or who doesn’t otherwise have a life. I wasn’t told that I lacked wisdom. Neither were two of my colleagues on the Council. However, the three of us—the majority on the Council—were carefully excluded from the elite Circle of the Wise, as defined by a person who spoke about “wisdom” at the meeting. The absence of wisdom that was implied left two of my colleague a little ticked off, and left me speechless (for once). All I could think was: “how dumb is this? Here is an individual who makes part of his living pretending to be somebody he is not, and who makes the other part of his living milking a City contract awarded by majority vote of the Council. Now this individual is going public impugning the intellectual skills of the majority that butters his bread. I might not belong in the Circle of the Wise. But, I am damn sure not that stupid.” The person who spoke about wisdom, identified those who belonged in the Circle of the Wise. But, before I reveal the Mensa-like qualifications required for inclusion in this elite group, let me give you some background on the meeting. I have a core belief that government acts to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community and then stays out of everybody’s personal business. I believe that one of the main “health, safety and welfare” responsibilities comes in the form of public infrastructure, and I have little tolerance for inadequate or unsafe infrastructure. I believe that the City has short-changed critical infrastructure over the past eight years and is creating conditions of unacceptable risk to people in the community. I believe that the City has expended vast sums of public funds on matters that lack the health, safety and welfare priority. I believe that the budget submitted by the City Manager continued an eight-year pattern of delaying priority infrastructure improvements. I believe that so strongly that I introduced a motion to amend the proposed budget to incur debt and to direct the City Manager to complete critical infrastructure projects on time, and within budget. Whether that is wise or not, that is what I believe. That is how I vote. Here is what is took to be admitted to the Circle of the Wise last night: One of the “Wisemen”, Wiseman #1 praised the courage of the City’s electric line crews for working through a lightning storm on Wednesday night to restore power to his home in Magnolia Point; chastised the unwise majority for criticizing the City Manager; and proposed a moratorium on improvements to the City’s infrastructure. I may not be wise, but I concur that our electric crews showed courage. I know, because I was on-site for the whole evening, Wednesday night. The thought ran through my unwise head that, had the City Manager completed the work recommended by the City’s electrical engineers in 1999, the damaged electrical circuit could have been bypassed quickly, service could have been restored, and the damaged electrical components could have been replaced the next morning under safer conditions. Criticizing the City Manager for not getting the job done on time and within budget is not the same as criticizing the guys who are doing a job under dangerous conditions, working with the limited infrastructure they have been provided, and doing a helluva good job. But, what do I know? I am not “wise”. Wiseman #2 disputed the reports submitted by licensed engineers to the City. In his wisdom, the consulting engineers, selected by the City Manager and hired unanimously by the Council, were “biased” in their reports. Wisdom would have it that the engineers were seeking to make a quick buck instead of fulfilling their professional obligation to their clients and to public safety. Wiseman #2, who is not an engineer, sought to pass an engineering judgement on the professional opinions of multiple engineers, from multiple firms, at multiple periods of time. From a liability standpoint, that would be like me pushing aside a cardiologist and performing open-heart surgery procedures myself. That’s not too bright. But, according to the wisdom guru, this constitutes wisdom. Wiseman #2 got caught by the Mayor telling a lie to the Council about contacting the Ocala City Manager. In our youth, we learn that we are supposed to tell the truth. We learn there is no wisdom to lying. Wiseman #3, who has a degree in economics, stated that it was “irresponsible” to borrow money for capital improvements, arguing a “pay-as-you go” strategy. Here is the economic model: Let’s say you have a car that you use to commute through heavy traffic to get to work. Let’s say the car has really bad brakes, and you are one block away from a brake repair shop that accepts cash or credit cards. Let’s also say that you have money in a savings account that bears an interest rate of 5.2%. The bank is twenty miles away through heavy traffic. Let’s say you also have a credit card that charges an interest rate of 2.62%. THE QUESTION: Do you charge the brake job to your credit card at 2.62% interest, or do you drive across town on bad brakes to take money out of your savings account so you can claim to be debt free. Is that a tough call, or what? IN MY OPINION, of course you borrow the money at 2.62% and leave your money in the bank to earn 5.2%. And you damn sure don’t keep driving across town on bad brakes. But what do I know? I don’t have an economics degree and I am not admitted to the Circle of the Wise. The Wisewoman in the Circle of the Wise, didn’t offer much except bauble-head nods to the affirmative when the wisemen spoke, and sour facial expressions when those with no-wisdom spoke. I am not sure how that constitutes wisdom or whether “wisdom by association” counts. I had a friend who always got straight A’s in high school. We agreed on everything, but my report card never looked as good as his. I learned that having smart friends didn’t make me smart. But, that’s knowledge. What we’re talking about here is “wisdom”. I am not the smartest person in the world, and I apparently don’t meet the stardards for wisdom set by the City’s Wisdom Guru. I am only smart enough to ask questions of professionals who know what they’re doing with respect to the City infrastructure, which supports the health, safety and welfare of the Citizens I am charged to protect. These professionals say the City needs to address infrastructure needs quickly. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to decide what needs to be done. It only takes a little wisdom. Related: mkelter's blog | login or register to post comments | printer friendly version | Tags: Community News for Green Cove Springs
Submitted by jimmaxie on Sat, 09/15/2007 - 4:07pm.
Alex I will have Clay County for $100 Answer: 20 years Question: How far behind does one need to get before deciding it's time to catch up? Today makes Tommorow
Submitted by mkelter on Sat, 09/15/2007 - 4:50pm.
OneMann, A question. Is it more important for an elected official to write a blog or to read blogs? We are told as children that we have one mouth and two ears, therefore we should listen twice as often as we speak (tell that to a politician). Does it necessarily follow that, since we have 10 digits on our two hands and have only two eyes, we should write five times more blogs than we read? I think it is important for all your elected officials to read what is blogged on sites such as MyClaySun. Blogs submitted by yourself, Smunsey, winn1955, Marsha, Key2life, et.al. provide a well-spring of ideas that ought to be part of the public dialogue. I actually plagiarize the hell out your ideas and use them as my own. If you copyrighted this stuff, you might get rich. To keep your ideas coming, it is important for the think-tank to know that you are being heard. Your ideas are being read by many of my friends who are elected officials in the municpalities and in the County. But, reading a blog is only a one-way dialogue. Kind of like the cellular phone advertisement that features a dropped call conversation between a mother and her daughter who is calling home from LasVegas. Mom jumps to all kinds of conclusions because she can’t hear her daughter’s side of the conversation. Writing a blog is a courteous way to let the blogging community know they aren’t wasting their time. If a politician is writing a blog, the politician is also probably reading the blogs. Blogging is also a good way inform the blogging community about what happens in meetings that no normal person would care to attend. Obviously, bloggers care. Gators are up 7 to 3.
Submitted by OneMann on Sat, 09/15/2007 - 5:35pm.
Mike, you pose an interesting question, albeit one without a definitive answer. Why should one be more important than the other? Either reading or writing can be a tool, which politicians may choose to use or ignore. It is nice to know you think enough of us here at MCS to not only read, but also steal our ideas. That's a generous compliment to those of us who enjoy discussing the issues of Clay County in this forum. Other politicians claim to not pay attention at all. One even told me, "I don't read that crap." Those folks may be missing out on some grand ideas they'd like to steal and call their own - if they'd only read them. Keep up the reading and writing, Mike.
Submitted by Baxley on Sat, 09/15/2007 - 8:19pm.
I don't live in GCS either, though I often say if I were deciding where to live in Clay County all over again, it would have to be GCS. A beautiful city. The GCS residents who read MCS.com have to appreciate your blogging. I'm with Mann that it would be nice to read what other elected officials have to say via the blogs, but I don't imagine too many really want to deal with that. As far as whether or not they read this site, if they are "wise", they better be reading it. Where else can they go to get such an insight into how people feel about various issues? For free. Though our numbers may be small (but growing), bloggers represent a cross section of the community, and as mentioned above, bloggers obviously care, or they wouldn't bother with the site at all. mkelter, I think you got your point across very effectively. Thanks for sharing.
Submitted by Key2life on Sat, 09/15/2007 - 9:54pm.
MKelter, Some time ago, OneMann arbitrarily selected several regular bloggers and deemed them the MCS BC commission. He then asked a hypothetical question to which we all could respond. It was fun. These blogs are public enough to carry some influence yet relatively unknown within the mainstream Clay population. So its rewarding, in a way, to hear that an elected official would read our blogs and collect ideas from our input. What is the saying? Plagiarism is the greatest form of flattery. As an elected official, I'm mildly surprised you are not attacked here on MCS by those who would disagree with your positions. Don't get me wrong...I'm glad people are being respectful, it's just that many people would use the opportunity to take a pot shot if they thought they could do it and get away with it. I think its safe to say, regular bloggers are learning (myself included) we have to be responsible for the things we write just like we're responsible for the things we say and do in our day-to-day activities. This is no different even if no one has any idea who you are. And many people know who I am. That alone shouldn't stop us from contributing wild, outside-the-box ideas to be debated and discussed. I just need to realize that my blogging priority may not be your priority and I may not get any responses to the ideas I submit. I guess if we each followed Mr. Thames' suggestion, Why can't we all just get along? or the Hippocratic Oath, Do No Harm, then GCS and MCS would be a great place to live. I, for one, will be working on it. MKelter, we don't use the word "stupid" in our home. It just isn't right for us. There are no stupid people. There are people who have more information than others and do more with it but everyone starts with the same potential. I don't know anything about GCS politics but to me, it sounds like there is a very active citizen component and while they may be overly confident of their information, do take the time to be there. Am I interpreting this correctly or are these fellow council members? In either case, I appreciate that you took the time to write here on MCS and I am learning more about GCS because of your participation. I guess I could do for city of Keystone what OneMann is doing for the BCC and you are doing for GCS - the unofficial story of city council meetings...That might be fun.
Submitted by mkelter on Sat, 09/15/2007 - 11:48pm.
OneMann asked four questions. I only answered one (Gator Tailgating distracted me) How far behind does one need to get before deciding it's time to catch up? That's a trick question. Can anybody tell me of any County or City that has ever caught up with infrastructure improvements once they get behind? I don't believe you can ever catch up once you get behind. Look at Clay County. Acquisition and construction of north-south corridors were delayed for years. Land costs have sky-rocketed. It costs more to increase the number of travel lanes on existing roads because of the existing use of roads. It would have been a lot easier and cheaper to do the work before all the people showed up. The current problem in GCS is water, sewer, and electric. We're at the mercy of Clay County and FDOT when it comes to transportation. I don't think its any easier to construct new water, sewer and electric after the population booms than it is to construct roads. Maybe I am a little too touchy about the issue of delaying projects. It didn't work in north Clay County. I don't want to screw up the south part of the County by making the same bad decisions on infrastructure investment.
Submitted by OneMann on Sun, 09/16/2007 - 6:55am.
Go Gators! Mike, I don't think you're too touchy about trying to catch up. I think it shows wisdom. (Of course, it might just seem wise because I agree with it.) The north part of Clay County offers lots of lessons to the folks in the south. It's nice to know at least one politician is paying attention. Keep up the good work.
Submitted by outofsort on Sun, 09/16/2007 - 7:06am.
ONEMAN YOU ARE SO RITE. IF THE PEOPLE HAD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ISSUES,THEY WOULD BE MORE WILLING TO ACCEPT WHAT IS REAL AND REJECT WHAT IS NOT. People are talking about ...Here are the recent blog postings with the most comments. |
Who's online
There are currently 0 users and 120 guests online.
Recent comments |
Mike, after reading your blog I have a few thoughts.
First, if Green Cove Springs is already eight years behind what professionals say is necessary for the city's infrastructure, how will it be able to cope as the county's population continues to grow southward? How far behind does one need to get before deciding it's time to catch up?
Second, you mentioned infrastructure frequently. What specific part or parts of the GCS infrastructure were discussed at Friday night's meeting?
Finally, why not go ahead and mention the names of the people you wrote about?
I wonder if the people of Green Cove Springs appreciate the fact that one of their elected representatives is willing to discuss issues in a forum as open as My Clay Sun. I'm not a resident of your city, but I sure wish some of my elected officials would open up as you have.