Martino: Bush League City
Posted by Michael Martino on November 1, 2017 · 2 Comments
Attention, Palm Beach Gardens’ residents, did you know that you live in a “Bush League” city? That’s right; according to our City Attorney’s comment at the October 5, 2017 City Council meeting we have a “Bush League” city charter. The charter is the bible for our City.
By extrapolation then, is the City Attorney with his “Bush League” utterance inferring that Palm Beach Gardens is a second tier, minor league, City? Probably not is my hope, but his other comments also smacked of insolence for the City Charter. Our City Charter has evolved and guided our City over time since 1959, long before our current City Attorney was around to completely understand its history to present day.
Does the City Attorney’s hostility for the City Charter stem from his advice to change it in 2012 which was defeated at the ballot box by Gardens’ voters? Does his antagonism mushroom from his ill-advised advice that a City Councilperson term limited by the Charter still be allowed to stand for election? Does his aggression toward the Charter result from his advice for the City to file lawsuits against its own City Charter to overturn election, vote casting, and term limit charter language, and then, losing the lawsuits in both the Circuit Court and the District Court of Appeals? How about legal advice to not advise the public of a $100,000,000 baseball stadium in the middle of prime residential homes? Does any of this legalese qualify as “Bush League”?
What is further troubling is the City Council did not take umbrage with the City Attorney’s “Bush League” comment. Perhaps that is because their attentions and intentions were fixated on the Council appointed Charter Committee recommendations to change the City Charter by increasing term limits from two three-year terms to three three-year terms, by adding a sit-out/comeback provision of three-years to term limits, by curtailing majority rules in elections, and by eliminating charter provisions to count every vote that is cast. Why the changes, who do they benefit, and what’s the hurry? The Council seemed enamored with their fast-forwarding inspirations to place these charter changes for voter balloting in March of 2018 yet no legal Ordinance has been written specific to ballot language.
There is nothing “Bush League” about the City of Palm Beach Gardens. Not its residents, not its employees, not its services, not its programs, not its elections, not its present term-limit provisions, and certainly not its City Charter.
If anything is “Bush League” it’s the City Attorneys ill conceived metaphor and the City Council’s self-serving push to change the present Term Limit Law.
A few questions would likely be answered by reading a copy of what the City Clerk referred to in the closing moments of the 1st Charter Team meeting as The Current Charter with Proposed Changes for 2017
Who authored the document and at whose request and why has this Public Document not been post at the Cities website?
Would be interesting to see how the committees final recommendations matched the those proposed changes!
I’m thinking we go from Bush league to serious violation of the public trust.
First off, “if the Charter ain’t broke, why change it? The City attorney is right. This city is run bush league. David Park statements are only one example. My answer to David is the city council, manager, and attorney don’rt want my hard working everyday neighbors to know what is going on. They just want them to go on with their lives and not get involved with politics until voting time when the person with the most money and best strategist wins a seat for the special interests they represent.
PBG is being run the way it was 50 years ago when John MacArther owned PBG, Today it’s being run by special interests and figure heads the same way. I suggest City Mayor Management with districts to represent all of PBG residents with limited power to the manager and city attorney.