Friday, March 27, 2015

Modius Operandi

This is a condensed version of the events that occurred in council this morning.


  After the behavior that was displayed this morning at the "special council meeting" a question cannot even be asked other than What the Heck? Millie Dixon applied for the newly formed Historic Committee and the Parks Committee. In fact she was the first applicant. She was then told that interviews would be scheduled and she notified council that she would need to be out of town to tend to her ill mother. When were the interviews conducted? The week that Ms. Dixon was away. Normally this would not be considered iniquitous, but this council is known for this type of thing. All other applicants were then voted on and approved except for Ms. Dixon. Ms. Dixon then became aggravated and while her attitude was not exactly friendly one would be hard pressed to not understand why. Ms. Dixon then called for a vote on her application. Last Wednesday the 18th of March a vote was cast that ended in a 3-3 tie for which the Mayor is called to break. Mayor Maxwell declined to vote and the meeting was adjourned. When Ms. Dixon did not let this go the mayor then had a private meeting with Ms. Dixon where he told her that she could volunteer and then in 6 months possibly be a voting member, otherwise her application was going to be vetoed. A special meeting had to be called due to the incomplete vote, however, the meeting was called for Friday March 27th at 9am. The meeting did not start at the proper time because the mayor was in NYC and the borough manager was trying to conference call him in. He was not needed at this meeting since the meeting was called when at least one council member that voted FOR Ms. Dixon was not going to be present and council president knew this. Then Council president along with others complained during the meeting that they needed to be at work. President Gazzerro if you had started the meeting promptly at 9am this may not have happened. Council needed to be reminded that this needed to be conducted like other meetings so citizens to be heard needed to happen. Ms. Dixon spoke along with Councilor Feldman. Gazzerro was rude to both ladies and most especially to Ms. Feldman. Councilor Feldman walked out in protest and had Councilor Winkler done the same a quorum would not have existed. Unfortunately Mr. Winkler brought the motion to the floor to have his say. He did make the point that there are many people that he does not like on committees yet he will work with them. The Council dissolved the previous H&P and complained it was due in partly to not having enough volunteers and yet here is someone who was begging to be part of the newly formed committees and they were turning her away was Mr. Winkler's point. The vote was taken and as was expected Ms. Dixon was voted down. Regardless of who the person was that was to be voted on Ms. Dixon was NOT treated fairly in the slightest and that is the M.O for this sitting council in its majority. Shame on you all.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Travesty Of Injustice

It's been a long time since anything has made me mad enough to post things here.  I have become complacent that council and the mayor will do what they want when they want and even if it seems illegal there will be a way for them to sneak it past the residents.  I was taking my morning jaunt around Facebook and what do I see?  This post.  Now, please be aware when you are reading this post that the meeting that is scheduled for tomorrow Friday March 27th was so scheduled so that the 3 voting members of council that voted for Ms. Dixon will not be able to attend......Councilors Winkler, Rakoff and Feldman as these people have jobs that prohibit their attendance.   This is some of the worst backroom political maneuvering I have seen, but not the worst from this council.  From this council it is normal operating procedure.


Do you know that borough council is doing another end run around the rules so that they can get their way? Shortly after council abolished the Historic and Parks Commission they divided the authority and then asked for volunteers. Millie Dixon put in her resume and awaited the vote. If you will refer to the post on Feb 15th it can explain what occurred then. 
 
Last borough council meeting a vote was taken to either accept or decline Ms. Dixon's application. The vote was tied 3-3 for which the Mayor should have cast the deciding vote. Borough Council adjourned the meeting without the Mayor taking a vote. Ms. Dixon filed a complaint with the solicitor. The Mayor then contacted Ms. Dixon to discuss the situation and I was told that the mayor suggested that Ms. Dixon volunteer without being a voting member and then try again next time. Ms. Dixon then filed another complaint. Without contacting Ms. Dixon Borough Council advertised a meeting for tomorrow morning at 9am to finish the vote.
Downingtown Borough Council walks a fine line on a consistent basis just this side of legal. Had it been worth it they could have been brought up on charges for a statement made by Borough Council President that "they talked about it" when dissolving the original commission a year ago which was outside of any council meetings executive or public? Now they are looking to keep a woman who has given back to this community because she dared to call Mayor Maxwell out on his political stances and behavior. Millie Dixon was a staunch supporter of Mayor Maxwell, however when she discovered that Maxwell is not what he purports himself to be and is not above lying to get his way she became a dissenter. 
 
This is how borough council and Mayor Maxwell treat those who do not agree with them. Be it on small issues or big. I imagine that Councilors Winkler and Feldman at times feel like they are trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon when they attempt to listen to their constituents and do what is right and in the best interest of the people instead of their own personal agendas, and I feel for Councilor Rakoff that they are negating his point of view on this vote.




While it is great to have people on commissions and committees that agree with you it is not right to stack the deck with robots who will do your bidding.  I wonder when someone is going to take these people to task for their behavior or when the justice system will catch up with their manipulation of the rules.