[img]1739|left|John Nachbar||no_popup[/img]Mayor Andy Weissman called the gaffe “a blip” whose significance should not be amplified.
However, since 24 eager applicants for the fledgling Financial Advisory Committee were on deck at last Monday evening’s City Council meeting, hoping to be chosen, the blip was impossible to overlook and shrug off.
Turned out that of the two dozen residents and/or business leaders who had volunteered their expertise, none had been vetted to verify how many met the city’s not-too-stringent qualifications.
Mainly, the klieg lights were aimed at the ladies and gentlemen seeking the specific business seats on the advisory committee that has been eight months in the planning:
There were three tests:
- Was the person a business owner?
- A business operator?
- Did he have a current city business license?
As City Manager John Nachbar had promised the City Council at the meeting, city staff went to the task promptly.
“On Tuesday morning,” Mr. Nachbar said this afternoon, “we began contacting each applicant. We asked whether they were applying in the business or resident categories, or both.
“Then we wanted to know whether they already were serving on other commissions or boards. If so, would they intend to resign their current appointment if they were picked for the Financial Advisory Committee since the by-laws prohibit people from serving on more than one committee.”
The final call, however, is the Council’s, not that of city staff or Mr. Nachbar.
“We are gathering this information for the Council so they can factor this into their decision-making,” the City Manager said.
“I don’t know how the Council will react.”
Are all 24 still in the running?
Mr. Nachbar said their final status is unclear because a myriad of details remain to be finalized.
Tentatively, the matter is to return to the Council a week from Monday, on March 11.
