Everyone in Ramsey is, (or certainly should by now be), aware of staff purge posturing from the center of the council table and from the mayor's near right wing there. View it as early electioneering because of the hostility and skepticism the Landform situation should engender against both the mayor and his near right wing accomplices. They attempt now to deflect attention from that gross waste, and to posture themselves as "fiscal conservatives" by chopping heads on staff after wasting a ton of cash on Landform's unproductive meanderings.
They want to shift attention from Landform waste and from the fact that Jim Deal is the only one who's gotten any results in Town Center expansion, and redefine themselves as tough on needless spending - by the most questionable of means - headhunting on an already decimated staff.
It is grandstanding of the very worse kind, and there will be more of it as the election approaches.
The Elvig matter has been reported, this Google.
Of those sitting to the mayor's right Elvig is furthest distanced, and not up for reelection this year.
Three are up, mayor, Wise, and (wishing I had a Ward 2 vote) McGlone.
Levy's report is detailed, wide-ranging, and interesting; saying in part:
Ramsey, a Mississippi River community boasting rustic simplicity and grand urban aspirations, can't seem to sidestep controversy.
A month ago Mayor Bob Ramsey revealed that he is working and living in oil-rich North Dakota and making 500-mile commutes to attend City Council meetings. He dropped another bombshell before Tuesday night's meeting: To cut the city budget and help pay off an anticipated $1.5 million municipal-center debt, he proposed firing administrator Kurt Ulrich, the city's top-paid official, eliminating the deputy administrator's position, and replacing Ulrich with the current deputy administrator, Heidi Nelson, who makes less in salary.
The proposal was defeated by a 4-3 council vote, meaning Ulrich and Nelson will keep their respective jobs and the council will search for other remedies for its 2013 budget. But the mayor's proposal provoked an emotional council meeting, attended by stunned Ramsey citizens.
"At the end of the day, we got to the point where we could sit down and have a rational discussion," Ulrich said Wednesday.
"I'm a professional manager," said Ulrich, who has held the city administrator's job since 2007. "We work in a political environment. We need to continue to move Ramsey forward."
Stunned is a good way to phrase things. As is "rustic simplicity and grand urban aspirations." Perhaps there is too much present rustic simplicity at the council table. Too much Landform to go with it.
Regarding Elvig's personal matters, vs. activity as a council member, Levy writes:
Elvig was charged in September with two counts of theft in connection with his former custom-furniture and cabinet business. The business was shut down by state order after its sales-tax permit was revoked 11 months ago. He is accused of embezzling $19,596.83 from his employees' 401(k) and group health and dental plans, from April 23, 2009, to Jan. 14, 2010.
'He earns too much'
Elvig, 52, who has asserted his innocence, continues to be listed by the Minnesota Department of Revenue as owing a state-high $649,000 in unpaid sales taxes. But in its motion to be discharged from Elvig's case, the public defender's office says "Elvig does not qualify for appointment of legal counsel -- he simply earns too much and owns too much."
According to court documents, Elvig earns $36,000 as a private consultant plus $6,600 as a council member. The public defender's office says in its notice of motion that Elvig lives in a $200,000 home, sails a boat and drives to the courthouse in a 2004 Ford. "Even more telling," the public defender's office said, Elvig earns enough to afford DirecTV.
[bolding in original] The personal situation Elvig faces is relevant to politics in Ramsey mainly in that the charges (relating to a failed business in hard times - a specialty high-end contracting business having met a housing and commercial real estate slump of unparalleled proportion) are allegations of felony conduct, which, if leading to a felony plea or conviction would disqualify Elvig from holding office.
Hence, it is possible his Ward 1 seat could, depending on circumstances, be up for reelection this cycle so that a majority of seats, four, might be contested.
It was most appropriate to see past council members showing up in shock and alarm at the mayor's headhunting proposal.
They were shocked and said so in speaking out. David Jeffrey has already been reported as having completed chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, being pronounced cancer free. He spoke out for reason, as did Mary Jo Olson, our former Ward 2 representative before stepping down (with McGlone now holding that seat).
Former council member Susan Anderson, also spoke in opposition to further staff purging. Anderson served on council at large (during the time when the council size was more efficiently held to five positions, all having to face the entire city electorate, there being no specialized ward seats).
It is pretentious to have ever installed a ward system into Ramsey. Our size is not at a municipal population level justifying such things. There are no largely diverse and separate neighborhoods. The "MUSA line" has long ago been changed into MUSA zones, or MUSA areas, and there is no discernible line reflecting Ward boundaries in any logical or sensible way.
Again, Levy hit the nail on the head in writing of Ramsey as, "a Mississippi River community boasting rustic simplicity and grand urban aspirations." The entire ward system was installed when possibly the most pretentious and aspiring person in Ramsey sat on council before running for mayor and decisively losing in a three-person primary election.
It is time for pretensions to be dropped. For reason to prevail. For every citizen in the city to have a vote on every person wanting a city council seat.
Moreover, scrapping the seven-member ward dominated arrangement and scaling back to five would clearly cut expense. If that is a true purpose, actual cutting vs. posturing and redefinition electioneering effort, then do it and do it now.
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Again, readers are urged to vote in the current four-question sidebar poll.
It is not open long. There is a reason for that. The response time the council imposed for Ulrich's having to propose budget cut priorities has been set short. Our polling results might become final and suggest opinions citizens favor which Ulrich might, in turn, consider in budget reduction proposals. That is the hope.