Eye On Englewood

Link: http://www.englewoodcitizen.com

It used to be that a "profession" such as doctoring, lawyering, running a football, priestly duties and public servants were paid very little. This was true, even though the skilled individuals acting in these fields were considered "experts". They received honor as part of their pay because they were viewed as public servants. To compensate for this feeble pay, they were supported by the good will of the people, commercial interests, patrons, tips, and insurance.

I attended the Colorado Symphony recently and was reminded that Beethovan and Tchaikovsky had patrons to support them. Tchaikovsky had his 13-year association with the wealthy widow Nadezhda von Meck. And,he was honored by the Tsar, awarded a lifetime pension and lauded in the concert halls of the world. Beethovan's first patron was his own piano teacher, Count Waldstein.

In the western world, the pursuit of "entitlement" is sometimes a full time career. Being a lifetime professional has re-defined the meaning of entitlement. It now means someone is intellectually trained beyond the common amateur, and one who is generally comfortable financially. Albeit, because of the personal and confidential nature of many professional services, and often the necessity to place a great deal of trust in them, most professionals are held to ethical and moral standards called rules, regulations or oaths.

City Managers belong to an ethics association. Attorneys are held to an Attorney Code of Ethics, Judges to a Judicial Code, Plumbers to a Plumbers Code, and an Olympian, to an Olympic Code of Ethics. Nevertheless, when "experts" holding your life in their hands fail to do their jobs, and are sued, they are the first to demure that they were merely "practicing" law, or "practicing" medicine or "practicing" management of your civil welfare.

But, home rule managers are not in the same class as regular business managers. Can you guess why? City managers do not create the money they earn. They spend people's taxes. The Citizens very literally are their patrons. Members of City staff also do not make money for their employers, ie: "We, the people" but instead spend it, lots of it. They enjoy your money much like royalty.

Quite unlike a business owner who creates substantial income as a product of their ingenuity and work ethic, the news article in Your Hub shows how a City Manager gets to name his budget without showing a work product, gets a budget approved, and then plays all year long on it. Several residents showed up to the Englewood Budget Hearing to protest this very real situation. Ida Mae Nicholls particularly protested having to pay for an Assistant City Manager as well as a regular City Manager, putting Englewoods' budget a hundred thousand dollars above neighboring cities.

Mama always told me to watch out for those shysters who want an up-front deposit before doing the job. She reasoned, "What holds them to any standard if they have already been paid? What is the incentive?"

Meanwhile business owners who are already sweating away to maintain a viable service or product for their customers, are forced to keep receipts, collect taxes, figure percentages and pay the special government districts for the right to provide jobs and make money. Taxes, fees, fines and regulations assessed against business owners grow in larger and larger sums. This money is not being carried into the public river. Instead, city managers are getting paid more and more, while still enjoying greater benefits. Cushy job, that!

What is this topsy-turvy honor system? Business owners are the ones who creatively provide for the public desires. They are the ones who should be honored, not taxed for their services or treated like slaves to the so called professionals.

Business owners in Englewood should start attending the City Council's meetings and speaking their minds on the value of their work, compared to the value of the City managers. Business owners should demand their vote on anything that concerns their ability to function in the City or to earn money.

And all the citizens should consider the real comparisons of real managers and those who only call themselves managers by professional advantage.

Link: http://www.EyeOnEnglewood.com

If Steve Schalk and Jon Cook have their differences, these developers agree on one thing. With the present economy, and business lagging on Broadway, Englewood’s signs, banners and mural codes need an overhaul. Mr. Schalk (pronounced shock) is the owner of the Gothic Theater and also Moe’s Barbecue and Bowling Alley near Dartmouth. Cook's newly developed business at Yale and Broadway hosts Colore! Italian cuisine.

On Monday evening, Council was treated to an entourage of complaints from unreasonable sign codes to moms, dads and little kids about dogs rushing them and jumping them in parks. Apparently, the city has decided not to intervene in the parks between unleashed dogs and children by putting up fences. They cited expenses for this consensus. But, a father, also appearing as a professional educator, addressed the liabilities the City would incur if even one child was bitten, and they had not chosen to protect humanity above the beasts.

One mother reprimanded Councilwoman Wilson for physically turning her back while an honor student presented a video on unleashed dogs at last Council’s meeting. Wilson apologized and said she was only searching for something in her purse.

Between these complaints, was an attorney representing the medical marijuana industry warning them about their vote on a moratorium and offering his legal aid free of charge to develop appropriate ordinances.

Laurette Barrantine addressed council on their ethical abuse of Citizen seats on boards and commissions stating the conflict is not just one of finance, but of power and the appearances of undue influence. She tried to clear her own name as the Council had previously claimed she had held a seat on Code Enforcement herself during her term on Council. She stated that yes, at first, this was the case, until she recognized there were ethical issues, and resigned from the board. She challenged both the Mayor and also Jill Wilson to take the high road and accused them of defaulting to what City Attorney Brotzman informed them they could get away with.

Another interesting spokesperson was Laura Bartnick representing her household as a Small Group Home, and requesting the Mayor use his trump card to set the City’s reputation aright or else send her an official letter to specify as to what “full compliance” with the City's remaining two regulations would look like. Her boarding house won two and lost two which didn't get dismissed yet the implications of it are still unclear. Her comments included that the City has not been forthcoming with codes or communications over the two years she has been seeking their help. She related to me that the City’s intention has never been to grandfather in their home, and it has been an unending expensive game of chess or cat and mouse.

There is an old adage, “Just when I found the answers, they changed all the rules.”

During Mayor’s choice at the conclusion of a long evening, he responded that it was unfortunate, but because the City was a Manager Council run government form, that his hands were tied as to the municipal court findings, and he could not see how he could help the Bartnick household.

Attorney Brotzman leaned over and whispered loud enough for the audience to hear, “Yes, yes you can.” (Listen to Mayor at bottom of the page).

A spectator commented, “Does anyone know who the Mayor is here? Because it doesn’t seem like he knows who he is or what power he has.”

If Mayor Woodward gets re-elected this year, he will have served more than two terms on council and by the time he is finished he will have tucked 10 years under his belt.

Well, it was almost midnight and Cinderella and I were both about to turn into pumpkins, so I hit the road.