Brentwood mayor Pat Kelly has drafted a “code of conduct” for the city’s aldermen, which some say would limit an alderman’s access to information.
The code was on Tuesday’s agenda but Kelly wasn’t ready so he didn’t talk about it, but others did, and Kelly responded.
Rule 3 in the code would require the entire board to vote before an individual alderman could ask a city staff member for help getting information. In the public comments resident Tom Martin said the rule “stifles and limits unfairly, and perhaps illegally, the right of each member of the board to get the proper information they need to do their job.”
He told Kelly, “I think you would love to limit what some of the alderpeople that are not part of your crony group have the right to find out here.” He said the rule “flies in the face of transparency and good government.”
Kelly said the rule isn’t to stifle anyone’s ability to get information.
“If it’s information that’s pertinent, it should be pertinent to all of the aldermen,” Kelly said. He said if all of the aldermen asked staff to do things they’d never be able to get anything done.
“It’s really to be efficient and to be transparent,” Kelly said. “So the public knows and the other aldermen know what information is being requested.”
Alderwoman Maureen Saunders has asked city staff for help, and said she sends her requests by email, which city administrator Bola Akande shares the the entire board in her responses.
Another time Saunders said she sat down with Akande, as instructed by the Ways and Means Committee, when she thought a payment to an attorney was too high.
“(The city) hired an attorney. I know what we engaged them for. I felt that the amount was excessive. I wanted to see the invoice,” she said. “I was asking for a copy of an invoice — no report, no generation of work.”
She said hopefully she gets an answer and that’s the end of it. Sometimes it turns out to be human error, which is corrected. “You’re not looking for fraud or misrepresentation; that’s one percent that happens.”
She said she just asks questions, “and if I have to wait to go to the board — a vote of the board — to receive documents, I don’t know if I’ll ever get them.”
Referring to the article text–I completely agree with Tom Martin. And “YES”–Kelly needs to be out and cronyism needs to be out with him.
This latest stunt by the mayor is an attempt to end the “investigation” or fact finding activities of those individuals who have finally figured out how to penetrate the code of silence in Brentwood government. They Ask questions, demand answers, they don’t give up and they won’t be intimidated.
Kellys time is up. How lucky for him that he managed to sneak that 4 year term measure in before the Seemayer, and F.F. overtime scandals unraveled before our eyes. What’s going to be interesting is how the next mayoral election is handled. First-of-all will Kelly actually have the balls to run again and if not who will the old boys club select as his replacement. Then who will run against him? Probably come half a clone like Kramer or some wing nut like Leahy. How refreshing it would be if someone in the community with no actual “experience” decided to enter the contest. How hard could it be to head-up a small city with a City Manager form of government? Kelly thinks he’s running Chicago, IL. Its more like Berkeley, MO.
Mr. Completely, I have been following you posts for some time now. If I was as unhappy as you I would move. I don’t think it would ever matter who was in charge you would find fault. How sad you life must be.
Shouldn’t you either change your name to “Indifferent Resident” or move away?
OK that’s it Concerned & Warren, no more Mr. Nice Guy! From now on I’m gonna tell you exactly how I feel.
Mr. Completely–I am a long time fan (meaning responsible citizen) of your posts. I think War and Peace was referring to the sad soul who suggested you move, rather than make things better. Your posts are bulls-eye on target each time. Keep going.
i can’t say that I get that involved with the local political scene so excuse my lack of knowledge if I come across as not being in the know. Looking at these comments and the others involving the past doings of our leaders, it does surprise me that residents want to go back to just he Mayor being the sole decision maker for the city. If I am reading the articles correctly, his lack of oversight has led to our city to having one of the worst audits our state auditor has completed on a municipality, If you really think this Mayor should be given carte blanche over the city of Brentwood would you tell us all why you feel that way. There are so many of us that are fatigue by this current administration.
to the concerned resident who feels the code of conduct is a good thing – have you been hiding in the basement these past couple of years? The problems we have encountered recently are because the mayor and past city administrator did not have a single Alderperson challenging them on what they were doing with your tax dollars. Am I reading your words correctly that you want to go back to just the mayor and city administrator being the only ones who have any knowledge of what we are paying for and why? I am not sure who you are other than someone who has most likely profited from the past lack of oversight. Your view that the mayor sure be the all powerful and knowing “Brentwood Wizard of Oz” is quite frightening to may of us other residents. Please stop voting so we can put in place an honest government.
Brett – I am sorry, but I don’t see where this power you speak of is in the code of conduct. Any alderman, as part of any committee can request information, I read it in the code of conduct. I can’t imagine being able to do my job with 8 bosses continually asking for information. There has to be some structure, or the employees of the city will not be able to do their jobs. I don’t have any legal back ground, but I would think that if an employee was ordered to obtain information, and didn’t, and felt that they would be held accountable. It might be perceived by them that they were in a hostile work place.
AMEN, Brett A.—the CoC is just another layer of interference so that even our elected ald. can’t get information. Kelly needs to go as a profiteer and tax-dollar daddy deep pockets–he doesn’t care unless it affects HIM. He has over and over profited from his influence peddling while in office. He is calloused to the concerns of the residents–and shields himself with cronyism. no. no. and no. WE HAVE ALDERMAN SAUNDERS AND MANESTAR WHO ACTUALLY KNOW THE LAW AND FINE PRINT. Now that they are sharing it, Kelly wants a new ‘CoC’ to forestall what information is sought and distributed. How ridiculous and stupid does he really think residents are?? It is HE who is ridiculous, stupid and a influence peddler, money grubber for himself. He needs to go…
Concerned – I am concerned that the stifling of information to any Alderperson will impede their ability to make the needed judgements to vote. Anytime someone is asked to make a decision they typically collect the facts and the information to make the best decision as they see fit. To make a decision without any basis for your decision will make us holding our elected Alderman impossible. When we ask our Alderman, why did you vote that way, all they have to do is look at us and say “I don’t know why I voted that way, I did not have any information to guide my vote one way or the other, so I flipped a coin”.
Dear concerned resident – I am against it simply because it will keep information from any Alderperson who wants to know what is going on at City Hall. To ask an Alderman to simply vote yes or no without proper understanding of an ordinance or outstanding bill does not make for good governance. The County Prosecutor already called out Charlack on attempting to do this would be the other reason, saying that the city cannot withhold information from an elected official. We elect our individual Alderman to provide governance to our Wards, we do not elect them collectively. If you do not care that your Alderman knows what is happening to your tax dollars that is your right. I on the other hand expect my Alderpersons to watch every dollar spent in Brentwood as past practices have shown people being asleep at the helm.
The Alderman already have a code to follow, and we have a city handbook on behavior. What is being presented by the Mayor is simply what he needs to make sure information is only available to him. Concerned resident, what you are proposing is that only the Mayor and our city administrator will have access to information. If you look into our recent past this is what got us into trouble. There is that famous saying about we learn nothing from history. Then there is the other one, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. A lot of us are not interested in being fooled again.
thanks for the dialogue
Mayor Kelly creating a code of conduct is the equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde setting the laws for bank robbers. Watching him explain it is absolutely laughable. If I remember correctly he broke state laws, let fireman get away with overtime not worked, payed out charity funds from golf tournaments that lost money, let his city administrator gamble with our dollars, let city employees shop with city credit cards to avoid taxes, payed city employees attendance bonuses against state law, allowed Alderman and himself to take health benefits illegally, has allowed the city to not have an asset audit in five years, paid out no bid contracts to a certain PR person and he invited same said PR person into Brentwood to help with elections.
I thought the comment from the gentleman asking the Mayor if he ran it buy our lawyer was very telling. The Mayor did not, which gives some of us the impression, he has a lot to hide. His tenure cannot end soon enough.
I have read this Code of Conduct, and don’t understand why anyone would be against it. CJ, I ask you, why would you not support this?
The Mayor’s logic is so “far out there” that it is hard to even have a debate with him. If he really believes this to be the case, he has shown that he is so far removed from reality that no truths will get through to him. It reminds me of the Nancy Polosi, we need to pass this bill to see what’s in it. What the mayor wants is people to pay bills and pass laws without getting any information on what they are voting to pass or pay.
the simple answer is if there is a request all the Alderman get to see it and can decide to read the answer to the request or not. Any objective reader knows the Mayor does his very best to keep information from the public. He calls what he is doing will make the city more transparent, how far off from reality can you be when you make that statement while setting up a system that will make getting information harder.
If the does pass you can bet the County Prosecutor will be all over it as it is illegal. There was just a case in the county before where this happened. I guess that would be the second question for he mayor, do you do any research before presenting these ideas.