Is This Really How I Spent More Than Four and a Half Hours Tonight?

Tonight's Commission meeting got off to a 20 minute late start.  Most Commissioners were there, and it was never clear what the delay was about.

I don't know what the "technical" problem was, but it was often difficult to hear what various speakers were saying, because it sounded like someone had a radio blaring throughout.  Mac Kennedy eventually said he thought it was coming from his phone, but he didn't know what to do about it.  Later, he said it wasn't coming from him, and Roxy Ross said she thought it was interference from the Administration building.  It stopped after a couple hours or so.

Ginny O'Halpin seems to know progressively less about how to run a meeting.  Discussions about most things are aimless and unfocused.

The "final" auditor's report left more questions than answers.

A discussion about whistleblower protection was endless and without substance.  And Sally Heyman, who I presume got as sick of the conversation as I did, wound up recommending that the matter be deferred, "if you doubt your ability to do it."  Evidently, they did.  They voted it down.

Public comment occurred out of order.  Various Village residents are increasingly frustrated that the Commission refuses to replace the INTERIM manager with a PERMANENT manager.  It might be worth mentioning that not only is the INTERIM manager not doing a number of parts of his job (a few of them were rehashed during tonight's meeting), but he did not attend tonight's meeting.  This is the second meeting he's missed, without reported explanation, out of the past three.

Lots of people are increasingly dissatisfied with WastePro.  We would have asked our INTERIM manager more about this problem, and what he's doing to solicit possible replacements, but he wasn't there.  So we just complained, and circumlocuted.

The supposed discussion of meeting rules and procedures was a complete mystery.  It was never clear what was the purpose of the resolution, or the discussion, and most of the references were fanciful.  This was really not about anything.  And it never went anywhere.

As the meeting deteriorated into squabbles among Commissioners, this discord, or, as Mac Kennedy called it, a game of "gotcha," infected an otherwise uncomplicated discussion of moving forward with attorney recruitment.  Dan Samaria's gambit was to reopen the advertisement for another month.  Dan was concerned that we had "only" four applicants, one of whom is our current interim attorney, and whom we already hired once before, until he disagreed with Tracy Truppman about something, so she fired him.  But Dan wanted more time.  Ginny O'Halpin, who appears to be becoming increasingly hostile, agreed that we should delay.  Will Tudor, who likes to present himself as even-tempered and level-headed, but is angry and biting, also agreed to the delay.  So, whew, we get a reprieve from having to make a decision.

Then, there was more discussion regarding the rogue INTERIM manager, who is thumbing his nose at everyone.  As Roxy Ross pointed out, he doesn't take direction from some Commissioners, most Commissioners, or even all Commissioners.  He relies on the support of three Commissioners who are terrified to have to replace him, as they have to do anyway.  He just does, or doesn't do, whatever he wants.

Frankly, I lost track of the rest of the meeting.  The meeting time was extended twice, my phone was running out of power, and all that seemed to be going on was chit-chat.  So I allowed myself to get distracted.  Why do I think I didn't miss much?