Bending the rules

Some of you have already commented on the last minute exclusion of the CHS air conditioning installation and heating retrofit from the capital budget. You've commented on the hypocrisy disparity between the rules enforcement on the votes of this years' capital and operating budgets.

More specifically, this past Tuesday the Council had agreed to two budgets - Ecke's budget and Ruocco's budget. Then on Thursday, without any notice whatsoever, while the Budget Chair was making his capital budget motion, I learned that there would be no vote on Tuesday's agreed budgets and the CHS air conditioning installation and heating retrofit had been excluded.

And this last minute budget change was perfectly acceptable to the majority.

But in April, Jimmy Sima was kept in the dark about the last-minute, under-the-radar removal of a police officer from the operating budget. And when he learned of these changes he offered an amendment. Unfortunately, he was told that his last minute amendment was "ridiculous" and entirely unacceptable.

I guess I can see how some people are concerned with this apparent disparity in rules enforcement.

But to me, it's nothing new. This isn't the first time I've seen the rules get bent to favor a particular political parties goals.

Tim White