3/25/08 Council Meeting

[OakParkSpartan]

Up this week are:

E-1 A new Owners Representative for the parking garage - The communication states there was a conflict of interest with the OR previous chosen (but no contract signed).  Sounds like Tony G (the new BDC Exec Dir) is on top of things.

E-2 Continuation of the Berwyn marketing campaign.  Good to see this continuing.

E-3 BDC comments on the sign ordinance.  From the looks of it, no reason the sign ordinance couldn't have been passed last meeting.  Hopefully it goes through this time.  We need it.  Thanks to Ald. Skryd and Dan Lebeau (building director) for working through this.  Apologies if others helped.

I-2 I believe Ald. Skryd is changing her vote regarding Phelan's lawsuit.  She will be voting Nay.  Taxpayers should thank her.

I-3 www.artspaceusa.org is being proposed for Berwyn.  A $2500 grant from the NEA is available, leaving the net cost to the city at $7500.  The Arts Council and 16th St. Theater should be happy (as well as the rest of us).  The study is to determine the viability of affordable live/work space for artists in Berwyn.  This is a national program which has been successful elsewhere.

I-8 Phelan is attempting to override the Mayor's veto of council's approval to hire a law firm.  I hope council sustains the veto.  No attorney I've spoken to has taken the position that approval to hire doesn't mean you won't pay the bills.  Why aldermen want the city to be obligated to covered a potential $5 million lawsuit + legal fees is beyond me. 

I-9 Phelan will be posing questions regarding the legality of the veto process.  So much for checks and balances if he gets his way.

Joel has two items with no details...didn't the Clerk just make a point of discussing this very topic at the last council meeting?


Should be interesting...I really think everyone should pay attention to the Phelan items.  They have the potential to cost the taxpayers a LOT of money.

[Ted]

I-9 Phelan will be posing questions regarding the legality of the veto process.  So much for checks and balances if he gets his way.

  My understanding is this - If the municipal government has a legislative branch where at least some of the members of the legisltative branch are elected in geographical districts (usually called wards), then the chief executive officer of the municipality has the power to veto legislation.  Usually this is the structure in a municipality with a city form of government.

  If the municipal government has a legislative branch where all members of the legislative branch are elected in municipality-wide at-large elections, then the chief executive officer of the municipality does NOT have veto power.  Usually, this is the structure in a municipality with a village form of government.

  Berwyn has a city form of government with geographical wards where each alderman is elected from a geographical area that is smaller than the entire city of Berwyn (i.e., not elected in an at-large election).

  Therefore, the mayor does have veto power. Previous mayors (i.e. Tom Shaughnessy) has used their veto power in the past, so I would think this is settled law.

Under a village form of government where the village trustees are elected in at-large elections, the village president does not have veto power.

  At least, that's my understanding.
   Ted

[Berwyn Patsy]

Can anyone who might have attended last nights CC meeting, give the rest
of us any highlights? Thanks if you can.

[Bonster]

Orland Park or Berwyn?   

[Berwyn Patsy]

Your just full of jokes, today and everyday, aren't you? lol.

[OakParkSpartan]

Weiner was excused.

Confusion reigned.  Phelan wanted to change his vote regarding the Marzullo settlement.  Lot's of confusion about what the motion should be, and what they were voting on (minor point...the check has already been cut, delivered and likely cashed).  Glad Phelan suddenly got on the ball with wanting to protect taxpayers money...when it doesn't benefit him.

E-1  Apparently the previous director of the BDC recommended an owners rep who was an attorney, not a construction project manager.  The BDC has recommended someone who does not have a conflict of interest.  Council hired them.

E-2 Approved option A or 1...same as last year.

E-3 - Sign ordinance approved!  Woo Hoo!

I-2 Accepted as informational, as vote changes must be changed the following meeting and she forgot.

I-3 I believe was referred to COW.  Letters of support were provided.

I-8  This is where it got silly.  Phelan didn't have the votes, with Skryd, Ramos and Weiner (absent) doing the right thing.

I-9  Phelan and council are spending up to $3000 of our tax dollars to get an opinion that OC can't veto their motion to approve the hiring of a law firm for Phelan.  However, Attorney Bruen read directly from the state statue which stated that the mayor could veto a motion.  Phelan stated the city attorney has a conflict of interest.   In any case, this entire sad, sorry episode has the potential to waste tax payers dollars.  I need to watch the tape to see who voted how. 

Maybe the aldermen who want to pay for Phelan's defense and/or judgement should sit in a dunking booth and attempt to raise funds to help him, if they are so passionate about this issue.  I'd prefer that to the wasting of taxpayers dollars.  Some folks are pissed I have that opinion, but I've not heard a compelling reason why we taxpayers should pay.

[Suzy Q]

I'm having a hard time understanding why the council is even discussing Phelan's plight when what he did or said was on his own personal time and NOT representative of the city council or the City of Berwyn.  If the aldermen/women were good stewards of our money they wouldn't give this matter the time of day.  Let Phelan deal with it.

[tgoddess]

I'm having a hard time understanding why the council is even discussing Phelan's plight when what he did or said was on his own personal time and NOT representative of the city council or the City of Berwyn.  If the aldermen/women were good stewards of our money they wouldn't give this matter the time of day.  Let Phelan deal with it.

+1

[OakParkSpartan]

He claims this was part of his "Official Duties".

[apatriot]

well, was it?  I read that Press Release I cannot find anything in there that anybody could dispute.  It was all common knowledge.  What happened regarding the investigation of Scott and DS working on his campaign on City time?  Did it go Deep 6?

[delbowz]

Apat -

The release said that Scott was TERMINATED.  That never happened.  I was at the budget meeting.  Mayor OC agreed to remove Scott's wages from the budget because He was currently on leave, and most likely was going on to become a Chicago alderman.  That is not termination of employement.  Based on the tone and the words taht OC used that night, I knew that if Scott LOST the election, OC would make other budget moves to bring Scott back to Berwyn.


So, I do not understand how making a FALSE press release is in #6's official duties.

I do not understand how commenting on it at all was in his official duties.  And as a taxpayer, I should not be held responsible for his stupidity.

Denise

[apatriot]

If Scott wasn't "terminated" in a word, what in a word was he?

[OakParkSpartan]

The funding for the position was eliminated from the budget.  Hypothetically he could have been assigned a different position in the city. 

No one walked up to him and handed him a pink slip.

Big difference. And a big difference in perception when you are talking about it. 

[Bonster]

I don't care even if Phelan was telling the truth.
One could write a memo stating the da mare is overweight, and get sued for stating fact.
I see no logical reason we should pay upwards of $5 million for his garbage passed off as a "Press Release," written solely out of spite for the mayor.
Let us revisit...it reads more like an Enquirer article than a "Press Release."

[rbain]

It's nice when the supporting evidence in your press release is a quote of yourself.

-Rob

[Ted]

...  The release said that Scott was TERMINATED...

The press release actually used the word "fired"  -  "... the council's action in effect fires Waguespak..."

  I think the word "fired" carries a conotation with it that even the words "terminated" or "layed off" do not - the conotation being that Waguespak was released from employment because of some malfeasnce or wrong doing, when in fact, his salary was simply eliminated from the budget because he was on leave and he might win election as alderman.

  Ted

[apatriot]

I can assure you I have no desire to pay for Phelan's defense.  That said, and for the sake of discussion, we wouldn't have this problem if Scott wouldn't have put Phelan as a Defendant.  Scott had no way to know at the time of the filing of his complaint that the city would or would not pay for the defense.  Therefore, he didn't care if the citizens would get stuck with it.  To me it's a matter of two wrongs = screw Berwyn.  Also, this could be a matter that will hang politically over certain heads if and when discovery begins.  Of course, these things can take years, but I wouldn't want someone using subpoena power during my campaign.  You get some aggressive defense attorneys and there's no telling what they could come up with.

[Bonster]

To me it's a matter of two wrongs = screw Berwyn. 

I completely agree with that sentiment as well, the inference that Waguespack doesn't give a *#$% about Berwyn and is partly to blame if we do get stuck with this.

I know, everyone told me last year he did good things, whatever, but it's obvious he doesn't give a $h!t about anything other than #1, and the only ones who could possibly talk the guy down (come on guy, you won your seat) would be those who helped his ass get in there.

apatriot's got a good beat on this, laid it out pretty well in the Sneed thread last April...
http://www.berwyntalk.com/smf/index.php?topic=3323.0

(the Panther - CG banter there was quite amusing, btw)

[apatriot]

Bon "is partly to blame if we do get stuck with this".  Right.

"the only ones who could possibly talk the guy down (come on guy, you won your seat) would be those who helped his ass get in there."

The above would have been the do right move.

He came from Berwyn.  He could have said of Phelan's press release "a press release from someone who had a grudge against him".  People who read and understand politics can understand that.  Phelan's press release certainly did nothing to dissuade the voters in his Ward from electing him.  This won't be the last time Scott will run into political maneuvers such as this.  In the words of Clubber Lang ... there gonna be lotta mo.  The more powerful Scott becomes the bigger target he will become.  All I can see is that he is sending a message.  Mess with me and I will sue you.  Imagine if all these politicians did the same thing.  Holly catastrophe !!

re: Sneed thread.  Panther and I sure were going at it.  I was wrong.  He was right on Scott's win.  But ...

This thing goes all the way back to when OC complained that Sonny was Assistant Mayor.  All I heard was we don't need no stinkin Assistant Mayor.  After OC's win, the word was Scott would be moving on.  Perhaps going back to the Peace Corp. or whatever the heck he was doing to help "world peace".  What happens next?  OC puts Scott into essentially the same position as Sonny.  The daily readings in the Independent moaning and groaning about Sonny's position.  It's not necessary.  Why do we need it?  We are paying for someone we do not need so on and so forth.  But OC did the same thing with Scott.  Then, Scott disappears from City Hall !!! and no one can give a clear answer why, for how long, what's going on.  Then it's "leave of absence".  Yeah, to work on his campaign.  Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

I just thought we needed a refresh on the topic.  Thought I'd see if anybody out there had mixed feellings like I do.

[OakParkSpartan]

First, Scott didn't write the words. Phelan did.  He needs to be responsible for his actions, not the city, not Scott, not council. Phelan.  The person who voluntarily stuck his foot in his mouth.  At the end of the day, if he had kept his mouth (or pen) shut, this would not be an issue.

Second, regarding the role which Scott filled.  It was close to being an administrator, which council approved of a month or two ago. 

Reality is we need someone with experience handling 450 employees and an 80 million dollar budget.  Someone who wins a popularity contest doesn't necessarily come equipped to handle that job.  Let the mayor run council meetings and suggest policy.  Let a professional administrator deal with the ins and outs of keeping the city running.  In the long run, that is the course of action which is most beneficial to the taxpayers...having someone manage our assets and finances in a responsible manner.