Readers, apologies for typing the wrong month when Montage called attention to the September Council Meeting. I quickly put a notice on NextDoor and the Facebook of Loving MountainCity when I caught the error.
Our volunteer alderpersons went through a tough couple weeks before the September council meeting, with lost sleep, after creating a proposed budget that cut funding for Dumpster Days, Limb Days, and Loving Mountain City. No citizens attended the budget preparation meeting.
If citizens had been in attendance, their comments on proposed changes would only have been received after the meeting, one on one. Citizens cannot comment during a meeting. Comments can only be made beforehand, before the council goes through the agenda and (usually) votes on agenda items.
In public comments, I’ve heard citizens mention how hard it is to comment without being privy to any details on almost cryptic agenda item topics.
Last month, a citizen explained that it’s particularly difficult to comment on the Board of Adjustments agenda (within the council agenda), when only an address with proposed building plans or one sort of another is listed, with no indication of what’s proposed at the address.
After about a 30 minute retreat into executive session during the September meeting, the council emerged to cover the September agenda items related to proposed budgets.
The proposed budget for fiscal year October 2018 – September 2019 was adjusted to give Loving Mountain City $500 and to implement a compromise for Limb Days and Dumpster Days. The compromise calls for Dumpster Days one year, and Limb Days the next. In 2019, it’ll be Dumpster Days.
During executive session, the council ditched plans to move the Public Message Board to the City Hall’s back porch. A new message board may be installed soon as a Scout project. It will be on the front side of city property.
During the meeting, Mayor Phillip Taylor emphasized that our emergency services, for which the City budgeted $22,000, is in no way connected to the new fire station in Mountain City. Not a penny goes for fire protection.
Some wondered why they saw no public notice of the deadline for filing for city office. The notice was posted, according to law, on June 21st inside the locked City Hall. The notice was taped to a ledge in a passageway. At the end of July, a notice was posted on the public message board when the city secretary returned from an out of town trip.
From my perspective, the delayed posting on the public board was simply oversight.
The three incumbents filed on the last day, before the deadline. The council cancelled the election, and will not need to expend tax dollars to conduct an election.
It’s never too late to volunteer to help Loving Mountain City. If you’re willing to serve some hours at Fire & Ice on October 13, contact Amy Hilton, [email protected] .
And, it’s never too late to send tidbits. If they miss one column, I’ll save for the next. [email protected] (subject: tidbit) or 512-268-5678.
Thanks. Love, Pauline
