A City Cannot Function Properly If Its Own Code Is An Antiquated Mess Full Of Falsehoods and Backwards Nonsense! Here Are Just Two Examples of How Screwed Up Things Are.

 

1)  I don't know if the city has ever had a traffic engineer, but I can tell you that in the past ten years it has not had one.  Lord knows we could use one, though!  Instead, we rely on our so-called Police Commissioner, Shane Bower, to supposedly be our traffic safety expert and decision maker.  But he never shows up to Common Council meetings; he doesn't have an office in City Hall or at 701 Union, nor a city-issued phone (or anything city-issued, as far as I can tell); the Chief of Police and the Police Captain have both explained in no uncertain terms to the council on several occasions that "the police commissioner does not work for HPD; he works for city administration;" and I've never heard Shane Bower or his two predecessors referred to as the city's traffic engineer.  Probably because he isn't, and they weren't, our traffic engineer.  Because we don't have one, even though our code says we do. 

If the city code states that we have a "traffic engineer" performing certain duties, then there should be someone at City Hall with the title of "traffic engineer."  Period, end of story.  If the city can't hire a traffic engineer or bestow that title on someone, amend the code to remove any references to "traffic engineer" so that everyone is on the same page and we're all clear on at least one point:  there is no city official with the title of "traffic engineer" in Hudson City Hall! 

click above to enlarge and read section B

2)  On at least three occasions during council meetings, I have heard our present Chief of Police, Mishanda Franklin, and Captain David Miller, say essentially the following:  "HPD cannot make the decision to get traffic signs put up.  It would be a conflict of interest for us to have signs installed and then to enforce them."  According to the city's own code (section B above), this is complete bullshit nonsense.

Is Mishanda mistaken or is our code mistaken?  Can it be both?

Our code is essentially a book of rules and laws, isn't it?  It might as well be subtitled:  THIS IS HOW HUDSON SHALL FUNCTION SO THAT WE MAY ALL GET ALONG AND LIVE PEACEFUL, PRODUCTIVE LIVES. If the city can't abide by much of what is written in its own code, what good is the code and how can the city serve its citizens properly and effectively?  The next thing you know, we will be without a police commissioner and no one will bat an eye.  Oh wait -- we were without a police commissioner for close to two years about 6 years ago, and no one wondered what the heck was going on.  Well, at least we've had one for the past few years.  Of course, you wouldn't know it.

Notice HPD's white SUV in the background, parked on the 
same side of the street as the backwards parked car.
No $10 Improper Parking ticket was issued. (Last Friday)

If you visit the Code Enforcement page of the city's website, you will not find a link to the city code which they (and the police department) are tasked with enforcing.