Town Manager Steps Down Early

Picked off of Town Dock this morning:

"Saturday May 18, 2013

"Oriental’s Town Manager Bob Maxbauer is stepping down June 30, six months earlier than previously scheduled. Mayor Bill Sage made the announcement yesterday afternoon after a closed door session at the Board’s budget meeting. Sage said Maxbauer planned to run for a seat on the Town Board this November.
At the budget meeting, there were strong indications Maxbauer was also seeking future employment with the Town once his $56,000-a-year stint at Manager ends. Maxbauer spoke at length about a “dire need” for repairs at the Town’s water plant and presented himself as the licensed employee who could renovate the plant with the Town’s Public Works staff, as well as operate it. As such, he asked the Board to allocate $160,000 for Public Works salaries next fiscal year — instead of the $120,000 the Board has pencilled in."

"Maxbauer claimed it would cost the Town less for him to rebuild the water plant using public works employees than for the Town to hire an outside contractor. (Maxbauer made a similar pitch to the Board a year ago about the Town Hall project, which he oversaw and which ended up costing more than was allocated.) At the budget meeting, there was no mention of putting the water plant renovation job out for bid."

"More on the story coming…"

Very interesting.

Oriental NC Town Board Meeting May 17 2013

Strange goings on today at the Oriental Town Board budget meeting, or at least according to a usually reliable source. I'm up in Apex for the weekend, so I can't verify. But keep your eyes and ears open. Will explain when I get confirmation.

Oriental Town Hall Records Problems

I have mentioned earlier that Oriental Town Hall has still not posted on their web site any minutes of Town Board meetings since last November. There are also problems with some of the minutes I have inspected relating to closed meetings.

And that's not all. The page on the Town's web site posting the Town's Charter and Amendments isn't complete. The site displays the 1991 Act Setting a Referendum on changes to the charter, but displays no information as to the result of the referendum. That leaves citizens in the dark as to the basis for our present Town government. Furthermore, there was an amendment to the Charter by Ordinance that changed the form of government to a Council-Manager system. That ordinance should also be displayed. It isn't.

This is not rocket science.

Cox v. Town Of Oriental

Sometime in the next two days, I will file a notice of appeal of the judge's dismissal of my complaint against the Town of Oriental. The complaint concerned Avenue A and the Town's contract to exchange two dedicated and accepted rights of way for a parcel of real estate. In other words, I opposed the Town Board's desire to sell or barter an asset they only hold in trust for the public.

So far the Town says it has spent $30,000 for the motion to dismiss.

What was really at issue? The Town wants to be free to sell or otherwise dispose of the newly-acquired waterfront property whenever they see fit, for whatever reason.

In other words, they want the right to flip the real estate, including any of the Town's rights of way. No irrevocable dedication. "Don't tie our hands."

The Court of Appeals will not uphold the Town's position.

For those who think I am making this up after the fact, I refer to my blog post of last June 14, before the July 3 public hearing. "What Do I Really Think?" the post asked.

I think the Town's position jeopardizes all of our rights of way, especially those leading to the water.

This is not just my fight. It is the fight of everyone who values public access to the water.

The effort to continue the appeal will take more money and effort. If possible, we need to hire an attorney. In the meantime, there are filing deadlines for the appeal process.

I have established a bank account in the name of: ONC Protect Streets. I am accepting donations. Mail contributions to ONC Protect Streets, P.O. Box 236, Oriental, NC 28571. All unused contributions will be returned.

This is about Oriental's future.

Oriental North Carolina Public Records

Last week Mayor Sage advised citizens that the "best, most efficient and quickest way for anyone to obtain public information or documents" is to visit the Town's web site.

Maybe.

I have visited the web site frequently in recent months. I looked again today. There are no minutes of Town Board meetings since last November. Minutes are adopted by the Town Board at every monthly meeting, most recently at the meeting of April 2 for minutes of March meetings.

December, January, February and March minutes are not posted on the Town's web site.

And that's not all.

Minutes for 2010 are in a bad way.

Some minutes refer to closed session minutes for which there appear to be no corresponding open session minutes.

What else? I have just begun to look.

I'm sure it's just an oversight.

Sit Down And Shut Up! - Just Who's In Charge Here, Anyhow?

NC Senator Tommy Tucker earlier in the week admonished a North Carolina Publisher "I am the senator. You are the citizen. You need to be quiet."

Democracy is messy. It doesn't always achieve the best result. But one thing is clear: elected officials work for the citizen, not the other way 'round.

Shame  on Tommy Tucker. And shame on citizens who don't stand up and make themselves heard. It isn't enough to just vote at election time.

The principle is, you can't have Democracy without elections, but you can have elections without Democracy. We have seen that in our time, around the world.

As Chris Fitsimon of NC Policy Watch explains, "Tucker's berating of a citizen he is supposed to be representing wasn't all that surprising. That's the way the General Assembly, especially the Senate, is run these days.... The folks in charge not only want to make sure you know they are in charge, they want your obedience, not your questions or doubts and certainly not your disagreements."

Closer to home, last Wednesday, Oriental mayor Bill Sage wrote an article appearing in the Pamlico News: "Oriental Town Board and Public Participation." The key message: "The town board's meetings are for the purpose of its conduct of official town business with which the board is charged with responsibility by its charter and by state law. It is an opportunity for the public to observe the work of the mayor and commissioners."

In other words, to the public: "sit down and shut up."

Incredibly, at a number of recent meetings, that has been the message to commissioners as well. Issues of public finance have been deemed unsuitable for discussion in public. "Schedule a private meeting to discuss your questions with the Town Manager," the mayor directed the board. Questions raised by a citizen concerning number of employees were not answered. The questions were not even answered when asked by a commissioner.

Sage's article does not come right out and say so, but the rest of the message seems to be: "input from the public is neither required nor desired."

Who knows - the Town's Governing Body might actually learn something from the citizens and be diverted from its preordained course.

Courtesy And Respect Are Never Out Of Order

Just observing. Respect should be a two way street. But elected officials especially need to respect the input from citizens. They might learn something.

As for "negativity," when citizens ask elected officials for answers, it seems pretty negative to ignore their queries and refuse to respond in public. It is elected officials who answer to the citizens, not the other way around. Witness last night's Town Board meeting as reported (so far) by Town Dock:

"7:26a The Town Board voted 4-0 last night to give up South Avenue at the harbor in the land swap with Chris Fulcher. It had already given up Avenue A in the swap last summer. More on that coming. (In the meantime, see posting from last night – scroll below)

"Also at the meeting, The Board okayed Town Manager Bob Maxbauer’s request to shift $65,000 from the Town’s General Fund (rainy day fund) to fill a budget gap while the Town waits for Hurricane Irene money to come through.
Commissioner Warren Johnson tried to prevent Maxbauer from hiring a third police officer until at least the new fiscal year in July. That failed on a 3-2 vote in which the Mayor broke a tie. Meanwhile, Maxbauer revealed that the part time cop hired in February may be working more than half of his full-time hours in Public Works where his “skills” are needed. No mention of the total numbers of people working in Public Works, a question that Commissioner Johnson posed at the agenda meeting 5 days earlier. Also, it was revealed that about $9,000 was spent on “tools” in February.
More than a half dozen residents used the Public Comment session at the beginning of the meeting to, among other things: question the land swap; claim Maxbauer was recklessly spending money; and suggest a Q&A session between the public and the Board. A short time later, one of the attorneys working for the Town, Clark Wright, criticized what he said was “negativity” and said that people should instead focus on “positive attributes” and “talk about what they love” about the Town. A fuller report of the meeting is coming…"

What I love about Oriental is that it has citizens who will stand up and speak up. That is our most positive attribute. Down with passivity!

Right Of Way Decision

Residents keep asking me what I plan to do about Judge Alford's dismissal of my complaint against the Town.

All I can say is, I don't know. I haven't seen the draft of the Judge's order. So, although I know what I heard during the hearing, I don't know what the written order will say.

So I'm holding off on a decision until I read the order.

I'll let everyone know as soon as the order is entered.

Oriental Town Board Meeting For March

Town Dock has posted a very complete report of this month's Town Board meeting here. For those who were unable to attend, reading this report is a good way to keep up with what the Town is doing.

I don't know what the explanation is, but I have noticed the last two meetings were conducted in a businesslike fashion and were over pretty quickly. Not much more than an hour. This is good.

I did note that, once again, the board acted on a "non-agenda" item brought up after the published agenda was completed. I think that is a bad procedure. To be sure, there may be occasions when some urgent matter arises in the five days between the agenda meeting and the business meeting. These occasions should be rare. I think the Board should never act on a matter brought up by a commissioner at the end of the meeting that is not on the agenda. I would suggest that at the beginning of the meeting commissioners be asked if they have additional agenda items and that such items be formally added to the agenda by unanimous vote or to be tabled until the next meeting.

Pamlico County Superior Court March 4

Just a quick report. Both sides in my complaint against the Town of Oriental presented their arguments. The Town argued for dismissal. I argued against dismissal. The judge remained pretty impassive and promised a decision later this week.

I thought the Town made some valid points, but also made some very specious arguments.

What really counts is what the judge thought.

We'll know later.

Going To Court

Last minute preps for tomorrow's hearing at Pamlico Court House. Town has filed three motions to dismiss.

I'm trying to protect the public's interest but the issues seem complicated to them. Why am I doing it? I'm not sure.

Maybe it's like climbing the mountain because it's there.

Right now it feels more like Sisyphus rolling the stone up the hill.

I'll know more tomorrow.

Oriental Land Swap - Or Is It?

Anyone curious about what I have been up to lately can get a good idea by reading today's article in Town Dock. I think it's a fair summary of the whole issue, starting several years ago.

My role in the Town's lawsuit against a local landowner was actually modest. The Town decided in 2002, nearly four years before I moved here, to file the suit. Much of the information in the Town's complaint was researched by Grace Evans, a local citizen and former member of the Town Board and many other boards, who uncovered records in the Town minutes and actually caused those minutes to be preserved.

The case goes before Judge Alford at the Pamlico County courthouse Monday morning, March 4th, to hear motions by the Town to dismiss my complaint and an amendment thereto. The court will open at 10:00 to hear motions.

Refurbished Town Hall In Oriental

Oriental, NC had the official opening ceremony for the newly refurbished Town Hall. The event was well attended by public officials as well as local citizens. All who attended enjoyed the opportunity to see inside. Everyone seemed quite impressed with the facility.

Any resident who didn't make it to the grand opening should still make it a point to drop by as soon as possible.

This was a job well done, and the building will serve the Town well for many years.

Public Alcohol: Don't Scare The Horses!

It is revealing to read letters to Town Dock concerning recent proposals to allow consumption of alcoholic beverages on Town property under some circumstances. I'm not sure what it reveals, but I'm sure Commissioner Summers was surprised at the vehement opposition to what he thought was a modest proposal.

I am reminded of a remark by a highly fashionable lady concerning another sort of activity:

"My Dear!" she said, "I don't care what they do so long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses!"

Do We Want Outsiders Running The Town?

The question comes up because last Tuesday, with no advance notice and without including the change on the published agenda, Oriental's Town Board amended the Parks and Rec ordinance to allow non-residents to serve on the advisory committee. The amended ordinance also provided that the Town Board's liaison to the Parks and Rec Committee could vote in case of a tie. Previously, only the Tourism Board allowed non residents to serve.

You can read about the entire meeting here. Town Dock reported the Parks and Rec issue: "Parks & Rec Board and Residency
The Town Board approved appointing Pat Stockwell to the Town’s Parks and Recreation Board after changing that Board’s rules so that those who live out of Town can serve on the panel. The rules before this were that board members had to be residents or business owners in Oriental. Three of the five members will still have to be Oriental residents. Commissioner Barbara Venturi, the Board’s liaison to the Parks and Rec Board also asked that the rules change so that the liaison can cast a tie-breaking vote at Parks and Rec meetings. The Town Board approved that change as well."

I bring this up, because I have problems with the Town relying on advice of people who don't actually live here. I have heard rumblings in some quarters that we should not allow non-residents to serve on the Tourism Board. This change appears to go in the opposite direction and caught local citizens unprepared to consider and address the implications.

I know it is hard to recruit citizens to serve on advisory boards. We might want to make an effort to find out why this is so hard and what we can do about it before going outside the Town to find recruits.

I have reviewed North Carolina General Statutes and learned that we have the right to appoint non residents. Still, I think it is not good public policy.

I would prefer requiring appointees to all of our boards be qualified voters in municipal elections. 

Mile 181: Fourth Anniversary

I just noticed that today, January 11, 2013, is the fourth anniversary of my first post on Mile 181.

In January, 2009, I was beginning my second year as a Town commissioner.

I had by then been accused of conspiring in secret with other commissioners to modify town ordinances, most notably the noise ordinance. In fact, I had been scrupulous in discussing any public issue with other commissioners one at a time, rather than with two or more. The open meetings act plainly precluded negotiating with enough other commissioners to constitute a majority. So I didn't do that.

It occurred to me that nothing in the Open Meetings Act prevented me from making my positions on issues known to the public at large. I decided that a blog might be a good way to do that.

I started my blog in January, 2009. Here is my first post, explaining my take on the noise problem and my approach to solving it.

In the end, the Board of Commissioners passed a noise ordinance containing a measurable, objective standard. I would have liked it to be a bit more stringent, but when doing the people's business, you have to persuade a majority of the governing body to vote your way. Sometimes that requires more trimming of sails than one might prefer, but compromise is the price of success and the greatest challenge.

I make no apologies for the ordinance.

The ordinance is probably the main reason I wasn't reelected.

I note that subsequent Boards of Commissioners haven't repealed the ordinance.

I also note that I now have occasional readers on every continent. 

Renovated Town Hall

The renovated Town Hall is looking good. I think Bob Maxbauer has done a good job. We will enjoy the improved facilities for many years.

I'm really anxious to attend the first Town Board meeting in the new facilities.

Scratching My Head Over GMO Amendment

I just took a look at the agenda for the Oriental Town Board meeting on December 4. A public hearing has been announced to discuss Growth Management Ordinance amendments addressing Adult Bookstores, Adult Entertainment, Internet Sweepstakes/Electronic Gaming, and Tattoo Parlors.

You can find the proposed texts here. Be sure to check it out soon - postings on the town web site are frequently removed rather quickly.

I'm sure there's a rational explanation for why the town is expending so much effort and concern on this subject, but danged if I can figure it out.

Tony Tharp, one of our erstwhile journalists, has tried to figure it out as well. Here's his take on it.

I could be wrong, but as far as I can tell, there is no place inside the town limits of Oriental that meets all the criteria set forth in the draft ordinances.

On the off chance that I'm wrong, one proposed ordinance measure for internet sweepstakes requires a $5,000 fee for a permit and a $2,500 fee per terminal or connection point, including wireless. The maximum number of terminals allowed is six. That adds up to $20,000 in fees just to get started. Plus a proposed annual tax of $2,500 per business and $500 per gaming machine in operation or stored on the premises. That adds up to $5,500.

By the way, we do not currently tax any business. For the past several years one of our board members repeatedly claimed that our fee for a sign permit ($25) was driving businesses out of Oriental.

Surely someone can explain all of this to me.

Siren Song

I won't be at Tuesday night's Town Board meeting. There's an election going on, and I have to be there.

In case anyone is interested, I think Alan Arnfast makes a good case that the siren should stay at Town Hall.

In any event, I wonder if the Town has tracked down which agency is the successor to the original 1953 federal funding source and what they have to say about location.

Next Tuesday's Election In Oriental

In case you hadn't heard, next Tuesday is a presidential election. Many voters in Pamlico County have already cast their votes, perhaps as many as half of all likely voters. We won't know until all the ballots are in.

Holding an election involves a lot of people. Not only the voters but also the most politically active and dedicated members of the community. About 50 poll workers. Anywhere from 40 to 80 poll observers inside the polling places to observe the proceedings. Perhaps ten more "runners," to pick up lists of voters at each polling place at 10:00, 2:00 and 4:00. Citizens giving other citizens rides to the polls. Each party will staff its headquarters to analyze turnout and encourage those who have not yet voted to do so. There may be another 100 party representatives greeting voters outside the buffer zone, offering information about their party's candidates. There will be representatives of candidates and candidates themselves among the greeters.

In short, perhaps 200 to 300 of the county's most dedicated citizens may be involved in election activities. Many will not leave the polling places until after the votes are counted, perhaps 8:00 pm, perhaps later. And it is likely to be after 9:00 before the county's final vote total is available at the court house.

A high percentage of these dedicated citizens, including two members of the County Board of Elections, reside in Oriental and continue to follow town affairs.

The Oriental Town Board of Commissioners apparently seem oblivious to the schedule. Once again, they decided to have the November town board meeting Tuesday evening while the election is still going on.

I didn't succeed in getting the November meeting moved when I was on the Town Board, but I still see no reason not to reschedule meetings instead of holding them election night.

It's a shame we can't seem to get that done.