When "Would He Be Here At A Meeting?" Is An Appropriate Question But "What Did You Do To Your Head?" Is Not

Yet another concerning interaction occurred during last month's regular Common Council meeting, once again displaying a council reaching new lows.  Concerning?  For sure!  Surprising?  Not at all!  This is the third issue that Hudseen has highlighted based on questions and comments during that meeting.  The video of the meeting is a gold mine of painful reminders of how bad things are for the present council.

During consideration of a proposal regarding DPW infrastructure funding, a council member in the room brought up a question that touched indirectly on the proposal.  The member was convinced by the council president that the question would be better suited for DPW Superintendent Robert Perry to answer. (Perry does not attend the regular meetings, just the informal meetings.)  Moments later, another council member in the room asked these two questions of the council: "How would you ask Rob? Would he be here at a meeting?"

Somehow, less than 3 months into the present iteration of our common council, a new council member was unaware of how to ask a question of a department head, unsure if that person would ever be at any meetings to answer a question.  The questions came during the third regular meeting the new member had attended, days after the third informal meeting they had attended.  6 meetings into a new council and at least one member is still at the How can I ask a question of a department head? stage.

But during March's informal meeting --just 8 days prior to inquiring about Mr. Perry's whereabouts -- this new council member was present in-person at the meeting, presumably listening to and watching all the department head's monthly reports, including Mr. Perry's remote DPW report and the 2 follow-up questions posed to him.  

At February's informal meeting, once again, this person was in the same room at the same table with other council members listening to and watching all the department reports being given by department heads, including Robert Perry's monthly DPW report as it was piped into the room on a speaker and shown on a screen.  Perry then spent five minutes answering four questions from three council members and one member of the public who were all seated in the same room with the new council member.  (This included the critical question from Rich Volo about the Santa shacks!)  Yet, still, one month later that member had no idea how to ask Mr. Perry a question or if he would ever be at a meeting!   It was as if the new member had never seen Mr. Perry or heard him speak and respond to questions at a meeting.  "Rob who?"

Prior to becoming our DPW Superintendent, Robert Perry
was the Common Council President

Since Robert Perry hasn't shown his face on a screen or shown up in-person to an informal meeting for a few years, I think it is entirely possible that at least one new council member has never actually seen our $117,000 DPW Superintendent Robert Perry in the flesh or even on a screen.  Introduced to him?  Forget about it!  Maybe that member has heard his voice, but even that is questionable. Welcome to the dysfunctional council -- this is apparently how Tom Depietro prefers things to be done. The fewer people in the room, the better. The fewer questions, the better.  New council members briefed on how the council and meetings operate?  No thanks!  We don't want more and easier access, communication and human contact with elected officials, we want less of it!  Keep things as remote and as difficult as possible!  Accountability? Not necessary!  Remote or in-person, what does it matter?

Computers are a great tool until they substitute for real human contact and effective communication, a problem that the entire world seems to be experiencing.  And that is the black hole that this common council continues to unnecessarily and unwisely descend into.  The black hole of ineffectuality. 

Years ago, in the City Hall chambers prior to a meeting of a fresh common council, I heard one new member council complain that they hadn't been given any instructions or helpful information on how the meetings proceed or how the council generally functions.  "They just throw us in here," the new member lamented. And this was prior to Covid, when there was no option for anyone to "attend" meetings remotely -- hell, even Robert Perry had to place himself in a seat in the same room as everyone else!  Things have worsened severely since then, and I think the present Common Council has hit a new low in council worthiness.

Soon after the startling but unsurprising questions from the new council member, council "president" Tom Depietro addressed 2nd ward member Mohammed Rony about his new hairless look.  In Tom's typical tactful fashion, he posed his question as a child might:  "What did you do to your head?"

Mr. Rony, who was "attending" the meeting remotely, explained that he had to shave his head as it was "part of a religious thing."  I wish Mr. Rony had told Tom to shut up and stick to the meeting and that it was none of his business what a member did with their head or hair.