Amateur Hour

  

Let’s start off with Happy New Year Neighbors!
And speaking of neighbors, one asked me during the Holidays why I’ve cut back on my writing over the past two years. My answer was in two parts, first, my general level of disgust towards Tracy’s commission and two, the fact that there was little to write about… as precious little has been accomplished. [Aside- the reason why I refer to this as Tracy’s commission is that this is what this thing has become. It’s not “our commission,” as it has little to do with the community, it’s ALL ABOUT Tracy feeding her ego and insecurities, at the expense of all else.] Be that as it may, I was alerted to this week’s monthly meeting, and thought to share with you the embarrassment that is Tracy Trumpman.

Video link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZBBSjQv7O4&t=2413s

I’m not sure why people attend commission meetings. For me personally, one who abhors politics, I attended meetings as a show of support for a commission. I’m sure that others have different reasons. But, one thing is abundantly clear, Tracy’s commission has failed to engage the public, with meeting attendance at an all-time low. People don’t show up, people don’t watch the videos…people have just tuned out.  I wonder if she/they even care? David, you are missed. As I’ve stated before, any semblance of professionalism and ethics left town with David.

So, get your popcorn, strap in, and away we go…

Good and Welfare (or Warfare depending on how you view it)  The purpose of G&W is to give the community an opportunity to speak (3 minutes (or less, as you’ll soon find out) on topics of concern. Typically it’s on current agenda items, but not exclusively. And let me be honest here, this month’s agenda was pretty flimsy, as has been the case over the past two years. So the complaint from new commissioner Wise that, to paraphrase, “that public comments is wasting valuable time needed to conduct Village business” is just a smokescreen.  As mentioned above, few even show up for meetings now and even fewer choose to speak. Sorry to have to explain this, but any form of public censorship is just another example of bad government. If you can’t stand the heat- get out of the kitchen Betsy.

[5:50] Rox Ross starts off public comments by correcting last month’s meeting minutes where she was misquoted. She explains that there was language in the minutes that she never spoke of and that “the minutes are supposed to reflect what exactly occurred without editorial comments from the transcriber.” She mentions that the commission will be voting on the minutes and asks if they want them to be correct? She then scolds the commission on their ignorance of not being able to answer a simple question asked by a visiting Senator. And the question was “what is the Village’s taxable value?” Doh. No one knew, new or old, to include the manager.  (see post title above) Rox said that she felt disappointed and moreover, embarrassed by this. Tracy then cuts her off at the 2:57 mark. Rox tries to continue, as she felt this information was important, especially for the new commissioners, but Tracy just wouldn’t have it! Rox states that “after 9 years of service on this commission I would beg that you allow me another 60 seconds to complete this thought.”  Tracy countered with “30 seconds and Go!" (I am sure that this was THE highlight of her night) The rest you can all see for yourselves. Tracy’s bile and spite is on full display here.

[10:34] New commissioner Betsy Wise chirps in that “she thinks” that the decorum rules have been violated.  Yes, the same decorum statement (more to follow on this later) that has NEVER BEEN RATIFIED has been violated. I mean, you just can’t make this up as you go Betsy. It is also apparent that our new village attorney, along with Betsy didn’t know that this decorum statement has never been ratified. (see post title above) Mind you, Betsy  is a person that had never attended a commission meeting before, is as big of a Village nobody as one who moved in last month, (based on contributions to this community) but yet, she has come out swinging.

[10:55] Chuck Ross is up next. Chuck only gets 43 seconds of his prepared statement out before Tracy shuts him down. (remember, we are to get 3 minutes- not fractional minutes) So, she then continues to talk over him and then calls for the attorney to intervene. What Tracy doesn’t realize is that she’s not lording over her 4^th graders here, but adults who aren’t going to be bullied by some decorum rule that she has weaponized for her own benefit.  She also threatens to remove residents via the use of the decorum club, which she doesn’t even have the authority to do- but when has that stopped Tracy? As Chuck was not afforded the opportunity to finish his statement, here it is in its entirety.

“A number of residents spoke at the December meeting concerned that the charter had been violated, the new Commission was not sworn in within the time frame prescribed by the charter. 

In my mind, the charter violation in this case isn't the concern so much as the dismissive behavior of the Mayor towards the residents.  Yes the time delay to certify the election caused a time lapse that was only a few days.  However, I believe that the excuse used to dismiss the resident’s concerns was created after the fact.  Again the dismissive attitude towards the residents is a problem. 

Further to the point who if anyone made the decision to defer the swearing in or who is steering the ship?  Is it Krishan, is it Tracy as most of us believe, and if so that would be a charter violation or are we just aimlessly drifting out to sea with no one at the wheel?  We need a stable leader to guide this Village, we don’t have one right now.

Next, the Charter violations in connection with the Leg Requests were presented at the Dec reg. meeting by Rox Ross before she stepped down after 9 years.  Again, flippant irrelevant excuses were heard by Tracy and Krishan to attempt to defend & deflect.  However, the Mayor in fact admitted she violated the Charter or collaborated with Krishan to do so by sending the Leg Requests to our Lobbyist without running it by the Commission as is required, not once but twice. (I added the underline for emphasis)

Based on this admission, I believe it is now your duty to take this up as an agenda item according to your sworn oath as BP Commissioners to have these matters further investigated.  While this is being investigated the Mayor should step down and pass the gavel to the Vice Mayor, as I believe the procedure to install her was improper in the first place.  Tracy was not the Mayor when the organizational meeting began last month; she was a Commissioner like the rest of you and should not have run the meeting.  By doing so she gained an unfair advantage to have herself nominated and in my mind it was a conflict.  In the past the organizational meetings to select the Mayor have been run by the Attorney.

The criticisms of the Mayor above have been described by the Mayor as a personal attack on her in the past and deliberate misrepresentations.  These statements and concerns have nothing to do with the individual but with the manner that Village business is being conducted and there have been no deliberate misrepresentations, I urge you to watch to watch the meeting videos.

Lastly, road reimbursements that Tracy pushed through in late 2017 have turned out to be not well thought out; it would have been a waste of funds.  The base of our roads needs to be restored before we resurface the roads among other issues.  Tracy claimed there was no harm in asking, not true; harm was caused by missing an opportunity in an election year to ask for funds for a different project, maybe a lighting project around the rec center as an example.  So, losing an opportunity is harmful, losing our credibility with our State Senators and Representatives by bringing half-baked projects is also harmful.  Tracy brags it landed on the governor’s desk but he vetoed it, if you read his reasons he vetoed it because the process we followed was flawed.

 We need change.”

Chuck brings up very important points in his statement that I will be elaborating on in a future post.

[14.56] Tracy has had enough!

She moves to shut down the meeting as now she’s triggered. However, the meeting continues… with Chuck moving away from the podium as to not bog the meeting down further. Watch for yourselves... if you dare.

[27.30] Janey Anderson is now up. She basically discusses a last minute agenda item sponsored by Betsy Wise stating her concern that “it’s just not fair to the public not to see what’s out there and to be able to comment.” She then refers to Betsy’s inflammatory language as subjective. That it’s the commissions responsibly to defuse issues. Etcetera.

[30:01] Dan Keys agrees with Janey regarding the tone of Betsy’s agenda item backup. That the only statements she has made so far have been “to denigrate residents that have spoken at the pulpit.”  That “you’re supposed to be able to take it.” He points out the shortfall of the manager in not properly dealing with the Charter violation regarding the timing of swearing in the new commission. Then he "again" addressed the fact that the commission does not respond to the public, and that it’s a problem. (see post title above) Dan gets slightly over his 3 minutes before Tracy attempts to cut him off. But, Dan continues to explain that having department heads conduct a planned workshop (and not the manager) would have got him fired when he was the PW department head @ Coral Gables. Alrighty then...

[34:17] Barbara Kuhl now has the floor and pretty much unloads on the commission.  She seems concerned in the commissions attempt to restrict the dialog during public comments. (we can’t see from the video, but Barbara is addressing Betsy’s eye rolling and other dismissive body language) She continues to explain that there was no transparency regarding the recount of the election until the public had to bring it forward.  (see post title above) The rest you can see for yourselves.

[37:42] Gary Kuhl follows with “democracy is a messy process. Freedom of speech is a right. We’re not an audience, we’re participants, but we’re treated like an audience.” Sage words Gary. Truly. We can only hope that they were heard, but I’m not holding my breath. He then addresses the upcoming workshop and the fact that it has not been properly noticed or communicated to the public. (see post title above)

Before I move on to the decorum club this commission is attempting to wield, I have some advice for new comer Betsy Wise. Betsy, if you ever plan to earn the respect of this community (and yes, it has to be earned- not given freely) you need to first understand your limitations of general knowledge, and to approach your new position with some humility with both ears open and your mouth shut. You're not "so awesome" so far. You’re off to a poor start; and I suggest you learn from your mistakes. And as you like to sling some Latin around, I have a Latin word for you, hypocrita eice. This means hypocrite.  Do better.

[1:15:20] The (non-ratified) Decorum Statement Discussion.

New commissioner Dan Samaria objected to Tracy’s idea to move the decorum statement from the back of the agenda to the front. And to have it read aloud at every meeting. And to have it posted all over the podium. Dan says he seeks to build a better relationship with the public and that he finds this offensive.  Good for you Dan and good luck with that. Tracy continues to decry her need to push this due to all the “personal attacks” per usual as she’s always the victim in life. Never responsible for her actions, or missteps, only that “others” are always out to get her.  She then tries to spin this attempt to limit and/or restrict our right of free speech into some form of fiscal responsibility. LOL! As I already mentioned above, so very few people attend meetings and ever fewer choose to speak, so that was disingenuous. Please remember that Tracy approached me years ago urging me to have Fred's blog taken down (which I wouldn't do even if I had the ability to do so) because of him writing about her. In my opinion, her goal is total censorship of any narrative she can't control.

[1:42:52] Tracy interrupts the attorney during his discussion, informing him on how to do his job, natch.

Lastly, that State Representative Dottie Joseph wants satellite office space here. Costs are approx. $5,000.00 and she wants a decision now. So, it looks like we would lose office space in Village Hall and possibly also in the Log Cabin.   

So, that’s about all I have for this version of Amateur Hour.  

Standing Watch,

Milton Hunter

The Biscayne Parker