BELATED REPORT

Should have stayed home and watched live a great ball game. GO ACC!!

The Council meeting was a disaster for me. Not only was the first hour devoted pro and con to Public Comments for the umpteenth time to the Ordinance about mandated paid sick time for employees in a business that has at least 10 employees.

I have always been under the impression that at public comment time that the Council’s own rules state that nonresidents must wait until all residents speak. However the first batch of speakers were nonresidents from town as far away as Trenton pushing their agenda. Almost every speaker was allowed an extra 5 minutes. If such a rule exists the Council President should always enforce it?

The ordinance up for second reading was moved to be placed on next Monday’s agenda with unspecified “amendments. Storch had offered three but I was unable to determine if the Councilors had accepted them. At least one was a substantial change lowering the threshold to 5 employees. I am not sure if it was he or Williams who suggested reducing the noncompliance penalty to $750.00, also a significant change.

Changes in an Ordinance up for second reading unless editorial constitute a change to a new Ordinance and should be reintroduced as such, but the again this Council does not believe in Parliamentarian procedures.

At the end of the business session the 2015 budget was introduced for the Council. As presented it represents a 12 cent (per thousand?) increase over 2014, or $174 for an average taxpayer.

Earlier a resolution hiring a consultant and also one appointing community members to a CBAC were approved for the agenda. I am not sure who will be on it since the Councilors were too often talking to themselves, however I did hear the name of Sharon Robinson-Briggs mentioned by Councilor Tolliver. Because of her demonstrated fiscal and budgetary experienced a good choice

Then began another long public Comment period by the owner of the Restaurant destroyed by the demolition. Somehow she and her backers had the impression that the City had stated that they would make up the cost of her loss and help reestablish her.

She has renters or continuation of business insurance and does not know how to proceed. Under the circumstances, she should receive help in this matter from the City. Everyone is pussyfooting around the possibility that the city could have major liability.

My bad evening continued with my losing my balance by my car in the parking lot and ending up in the ER to have two lacerations over my left eyebrow and a large hematoma closing my left eye. Blogging will be limited this week since besides being one eyed I had been to the orthopedist that morning due to pain in my left shoulder and inability to lift my arm above that level. Since I have restricted motion in y right arm from an older rotator cuff injury I am also having trouble in daily activities. We will work on it.

ABOUT MONDAY

Decisions, decisions! Tomorrow the Yankees open their season at 1 pm, the Mets at 4:05 pm, the Council meets at 7:30pm and the Duke/Wisconsin championship game starts at 9pm.

What entertainment (?) to watch? The baseball games are not material at this time of the year so they are not important except to a dye in the wool fan.

All things being even my choice would be the NCAA basketball championship between a Big 10 team and an ACC team. since that almost was the end of my “bracket selections”. Despite the fact that my favorite team lost early, Duke is quite an acceptable rooting substitute. The Council meetings are too often a circus with as little impact on the events of man as an athletic event.

However the choice is simple; the basketball game can be “taped” and viewed later if desired. Thus the Council meeting is the solution. I am interest in seeing who if anybody is on CBOC since the Council will receive the Mayors 2015 Budget. Who will we be paying as Council Budget consultant? Who will this Council select to investigate the North Ave fiasco? If there is a question of improper awarding the contract should not that be a question for the County Prosecutor? But, then the CP in office at the time of the use of a check for a dedicated purpose found nothing wrong when it was used without Council authorization for something entirely different.
 
I have an extremely bad left wing to go with my old right rotator cuff injury which makes typing difficult so some blogs for the next few days may be very short.

HAPPY EASTER

To All

May this be a day without strife through the World

Not all Christians celebrate Easter on this day. The Eastern Orthodox Easter this year falls on April 12.

The “Eastern” Orthodox Churches still use the Julian calendar which was in general use in Europe and Northern Africa until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII promulgated the Gregorian calendar.

In 2017 both the branches of Christianity will celebrate Easter on April 16.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica. “The Orthodox tradition prohibits Easter from being celebrated before or at the same time as Passover.”


There will be another posting  later today.