Please contact Ms. Kaleps asking her to propose a change in the Administration Committee Chairmanship

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Bottom line up front --when reading this post it is important to know:
1.  Currently according to Roberts Rules of Order the Mayor is a voting member of every committee and eligible to be named or elected as chair of any of the committees (Clarifying information: former Mayors have chosen not to exercise these privileges).
2.  The proposed changes to the Rules of Council not only eliminates the Mayor’s committee vote but also eliminates all other authority previously given the Mayor.
3.  I’m hoping you ask your council members to amend the proposed changes.  At this point there is no indication the current Administration Committee Chairman is willing to discuss in public;
  • the process of hiring a new City Manager,      more information
  • the reasons we pick MEMI to run the Music Center
  • the assumptions behind the cost projections of the Music Center and how these costs will affect the budget
  • why we haven't returned the money we collect from Alcore back to the Huber Heights City School district where it belongs.  more 
Without these kind of issues discussed in open forum, this city is bound for fiscal chaos.  So I’m hoping you tell your council representatives and Ms Kaleps you want a change in the Chairmanship of the Administration Committee from Mark Campbell to Mayor Tom McMasters.  They are the key to making this happen and the health of the city depends on it.  
Sincerely
Mayor Tom McMasters

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The City Attorney provided reasoning for the "modernization" of the Rules of Council that was presented at the last Administration Committee meeting.
Read his logic here -  For heavens sake, logic tells us, it seems absurd the Mayor would attend committee meetings. 
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Look at the new Rules of Council proposed at the Tuesday Administration Committee meeting.  The highlighted sections show the changes.  Compare the proposed rules with the ones council put in place in December.  You will see the proposed rules would remove as much of the Mayor's authority as possible.  All this was prompted  because someone realized as an ex-officio member of the committees the Mayor is suppose to have a vote.
 
During the discussion about these changes not only did I propose that the Mayor remain a voting member of the Committees, I also proposed to amend the rules so that the Mayor is the de-facto Chairman of the Administration Committee.  Even though the Mayor only votes on legislation when there is a tie, I believe most people expect the Mayor to influence the direction of the city.   The Administration Committee is the most important committee in the City, as Chairman of that committee the Mayor can provide the direction residents desire.
 
That is the argument I would use for every situation.  Today there is even a more pressing reason why the current chairman should be replaced by the Mayor.  Today the Chairman of the Administration Committee is leading the city into financial chaos and new direction is desperately needed. 
 
Keep in mind although the current Chairman claims he supports Fire and Police services it was just a short time ago he led the effort to divert $24,000 of Alcore property tax into TIF funds so he could pay for his Music Center.  This year and every year since being built, $12,700 of Wal-mart's property tax originally destined for police and fire was diverted to TIF.  When calculating the total divert from Fire to TIF don't forget to add in Meijer's property tax and every other TIF business from 201 to Gander Mountain!   This is real money lost today, all for the promise of a BILLION dollars later.  But instead of a BILLION dollars that promise is about to lead to a Income Tax Levy on November's ballot. 
 
If raiding the police and fire funds aren't bad enough check out page 35 of the Music Center Validation Study.  There you will see MEMI paid $6.8 million dollars to build essentially the same building your current Administration Committee chairman authorized Huber Heights to pay $12 million dollars to copy. 
 
These are just a sample of the decisions resulting from having the wrong person in the wrong position. 
 
Look over the proposed changes to the Rules of Council.  Do you want your Mayor written out?  Let your council members know how you feel.  Better yet tell them you want the rules amended so that the Mayor becomes the Chairman of the Administration Committee.  The City website does have a useful tool called the Ward Locator, that lets you look up which Ward you reside in.  Also remember that the are two at Large members of Council; Mark Campbell and Jan Vargo. 

Council plans to vote on the new rules Monday at the City Council meeting that starts at 7 pm.  Hope to see you there.

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