By Jim Sack

K-2, another tax abatement, comedic backfilling over the new mayor’s office, a request to vacate a street where high on council’s agenda, all interesting, but mere backdrop for the looming battle between council and the mayor over their balance of power.

Just six council members showed up last night. Councilman Shoaff did not answer the roll call, Councilman Hines was absent, Councilwoman Brown’s chair was vacant. So, President Bender gaveled down promptly at 5:30pm to the cues of the access channel camera crew.

Lincoln Printing wants an abatement to purchase new equipment and create two new jobs. Passed. A construction company wants an abatement to increase their capacity. Passed. Dr. Arthur Snyder, the very successful president of rapidly growing Indiana Tech, was on hand to speak on behalf of a street vacation within his campus. Staff tossed a temporary spanner in the works, however, by recommending the request be tabled until the school and fire department can work out a few details. It was so tabled.

Then, the folderol swirling about the new mayoral offices resumed, and finally a group of students came to plead with council to rid the city of K-2.

After the theater and the mundane had concluded, Mitch Harper, councilman from the west side, quietly introduced a series of ordinances, on behalf of the absent Liz Brown, to be debated and acted upon a subsequent meetings. The ordinances dealt with governmental ethics, transparency and citizen involvement on the micro level. He quietly read them in one by one to no noticeable reaction from his colleagues, but there was already plenty of dust in the air. A battle of executive versus the legislative had been joined weeks before and rejoined that very morning. Contracts, specifically discretionary contracts between the mayor and consultants and for less than $100,000, was the battlefield.

Earlier yesterday the mayor had declared that a task force would be established to determine how contracts would be handled in the future. He named his deputy mayor, Beth Malloy, Council President Marty Bender, City Clerk Sandy Kennedy to sit on the task force, and invited the council president to name two council members to fill out the task force. Mayor Henry recommended to President Bender that two critics of his conduct in matters contractual be appointed from council, Ms. Brown and Glynn Hines.

It was an effort to get out ahead of growing community frustration and mistrust of the mayor’s way of hiring consultants who work on various matters, such as bringing a casino to town or more recently, the effort to retain Navistar jobs in Fort Wayne. Contracts amounting to less than $100,000 need not be submitted to council for approval. It is perceived that contracts for more questionable projects are brought in under the radar, the $100k radar, to keep them from the eyes of council. It is also perceived that, as in the case with the casino, that what the administration says and what the administration does are two different things.

So, increasingly suspicious council members have been getting quite an earful from enough constituents to feel empowered to cut that $100k threshold to a much lower level, as has been proposed by Ms. Brown. The mayor, now on the defensive, made a move yesterday to break out of council’s encirclement, to wrest control from council and to maintain his powers.

It is a classic governmental confrontation: The mayor wants to keep some of his transactions private for a variety of reasons, including fear that complete transparency will undermine negotiations, may complicate deals and may end up costing us, we taxpayers, much more to pay for major steps forward. Council, conversely, sniffs misuse of power and is determined to curtail some of the executive’s prerogatives.

So, yesterday morning, with impending council action on the evening’s agenda, the mayor struck first by naming the panel to steal council’s thunder and regain control of the process. The blue ribbon panel, stacked in the mayor’s favor, would essentially deep six the process and protect the mayor’s power. Word is the committee may never meet. Council action will proceed. Odds are the arbitrary threshold will be reduced. The mayor will argue for a free hand and try to write guidelines to that end.

In other matters last night, the upset over the elegant offices into which the mayor will soon move, was humorously resolved. Those sumptuous offices were left behind by Lincoln National when they abandoned Fort Wayne for Philadelphia. Last week councilman Tom Smith voiced some concern over the ostentatious new mayor’s office and wondered if the decor might be toned down a bit to avoid citizen outrage. Tim Pape, councilman from the south side, spoke about the beauty of the offices and that we, here in Fort Wayne, should eschew our miserly attitudes and embrace the opulance to wow visitors. Karen Goldner, council woman from the north central, asked then if Mr. Smith, a fiscal hawk, was willing to spend tax dollars to tear out the grand offices. He demurred. So, in act two last night, Mr. Smith drew laughter when he compared the opulent offices to the recently acclaimed toilet facilities at the Embassy voted by some magazine among the loveliest potties in the country and embraced Mr. Pape’s view of things. Mr. Pape waxed on about the glories of Fort Wayne ad tedium to end the comedy.

K-2 was the point of an appearance by a half dozen young people and their adult leaders in public time last night. K-2 is a dangerous and legal drug. The kids made clear how dangerous it is. They also called on council to act. Council passed on acting, noting instead that it is a legislative matter. A simple resolution would have done to voice concern.

In conclusion, there were numerous comments on the life of Ben GiaQuinta, state representative, real estate agent, township trustee board member, who recently died. I only knew him in passing, but each passing was marked by his kindness and willingness to give me his full attention. His wife died last year and she was a remarkably kind and reserved woman. His kids have done quite well. We could use a few more Ben GiaQuintas in this world.

One more thing. Joe Fox is the mayor’s new PR director and he worked council members hard last night on behalf of his boss. Mr. Fox is a political journeyman who’s past work includes managing Mayor Henry’s last campaign on his lengthy resume. Now, instead of living out of a suitcase, he is a resident of West Central. There are those who believe Mr. Fox, and his immediate boss, Beth Malloy, the deputy mayor, are just what Mayor Henry has needed to provide better leadership for the community. Mr. Fox is tough and savvy and doesn’t shirk to give full throat to the policies of the administration. Heretofore, only Tim Pape has been such an eloquent advocate for the mayor. I would guess Mr. Pape appreciates the reinforcements. As for Ms. Malloy, she has won a lot of respect for her candor and professionalism in the short period she has been here.

If you find this article informative? Consider donating any amount you choose.

No related posts.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 at 3:16 pm and is filed under City & County Government, Fort Wayne. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.