Time to work with Syracuse mayor
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No comments [ Add Comment ]By Lewis Ethrington
Guest commentary
C
ouncilman Lurlen King's Sept. 25 commentary asks, "What kind of government does Syracuse need?" I will tell you what kind of government Syracuse needs -- the kind of government where the council works with the mayor!
I have been one of the Syracuse city residents who used to regularly attend council meetings and tried to stay informed as a citizen. I have been impressed with Mayor Panucci's leadership ability and have been excited about the direction that Syracuse city has been headed in the past four years.
I live on Bluff Road, so I drive by Jensen Park each day. Before Jensen Park was completed, I would drive by and see Mayor Panucci there at least three days a week.
The mayor did the lion's share of the work, and now Councilman Knight is doing the lion's share of complaining.
Councilman Knight's commentary was so negative and inaccurate that it was difficult to read. It is also the reason I have lost my desire to attend council meetings. There are four members of the council who are mean-spirted and only tell one side of the story. I was at the council meeting when the mayor stated that he had made procedural mistakes during the Jensen Park development and wanted to put provisions in place so the same mistakes didn't happen again. He apologized to everyone.
What Councilman Knight has forgotten is that when someone points his finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at him. Councilman Knight failed to mention mistakes that the council has made -- several significant mistakes. Councilman Knight failed to mention that the project manager retired a month before Jensen Park was completed and there was a deadline for the park completion. What happened is the mayor stepped up to the plate to make sure the park was completed on time.
Knight failed to mention that the mayor asked a contractor who was already doing work for Jensen Park to do some additional landscaping. He was not the mayor's friend, as implied in commentary; he was a contractor on the job that Knight and the council had already approved because he did quality work and submitted a good bid. Knight failed to mention that he and the council approved the budget and did not know what was in it.
Knight also failed to mention that approving the contracts and such should have been the staff's responsibility. The city manager that was given the CEO title -- why didn't he do that?
Also not mentioned was that the council changed the form of government and put a city manager in charge. No one knew about the expenditures that he made with our tax dollars until it was too late -- not even Knight.
The citizens of this community asked Knight and the council not to change the form of government without input from the public -- it was changed anyway, and Syracuse citizens had to pay the attorney fees when the citizens took the council to court. That was at least $16,000 that Syracuse city taxpayers had to pay to defend council's position.
What the council did was not right. That's why the council lost in court. What members did was nullify the will of the people after they voted.
The bottom line is that the mayor apologized and admitted he made a mistake when what he did was for the betterment of the community.
I cannot say the same thing about what Knight and the council have done.
Before we can have open and honest government like Knight says we need, he needs to apologize and admit his mistakes -- but that will be a cold day in Jensen Park.
Ethrington is a resident of Syracuse.
