The reporters at the Babel Backward seem to act as though they are bit players from Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s classic play The Front Page. They seem to sit around the news room and keep hoping for a story but settle for being told, there is no story. Their problem is that they believe what they are told.
Real reporters would keep digging. Real reporters would wonder what rules allow the Police Board chair to take a financial action that is not backed up by the board minutes. If the chair is allowed to pay over $7000 without any record, what is to stop him from paying us some of that free stuff? Is city council that trusting? The Police Board is there to represent the citizens and to manage the affairs of the local police. Should the board not manage them in a responsible manner?
This is not to suggest that the payment in question was wrong. It is perfectly acceptable for the board to decide not to embarrass the former mayor any further. He has been made to look silly for his poor grammar and other errors in the Globe and Mail advertisement that he ran on his own authority. It is appropriate for the board to end the matter.
The voters of Babel made it very clear what they thought of the former mayor’s actions. He is no longer mayor. The matter is settled.
But contrary to the opinion of the chair of the board—as reported in the Babel Backward–motions or directions of the board have to be recorded. Motions or directions that are not recorded are worth the paper they are written on. And the chair is usually responsible for the minutes of meetings that he chairs. To take a financial action that is not supported by the board minutes could be considered a breach of trust.
And that is where this whole silly business started.
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Copyright 2012 © Peter Lowry
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