Scott Dyer Denies MVF BOD Applicant Residents’ Time

Now at an all time low, democracy in Montgomery Village took a blow to the midsection at the January 8, 2014 MVF Nominating Committee meeting.

Every Village resident is entitled to speak at Residents’ Time in Montgomery Village board and committee meetings. Once limited to 5-minutes, the MVF Board has now restricted residents to 3-minutes. Not so when Scott Dyer chairs the Nominating Committee meeting. Audaciously, he denied me an opportunity to speak because an MVF BOD “applicant was not a resident“. This assertion is somewhat in conflict with MVF policy which states that an applicant for MVF BOD must be a resident. 

A 45-year Village resident seeking to be a candidate for MVF BOD and responding to the arbitrary choices offered by Chairman Scott Dyer, I chose to be an applicant, thereby, forfeiting my right to speak at Residents’ Time in accordance with these newly invented rules. 

Controversy is no stranger to this Nominating Committee. At the 2013 meeting of the Nominating Committee it looked the other way in approving MVF BOD applicant Elena Peterson’s candidacy despite the fact that it was known her house was up for sale. She won a spot on the board, shortly after her house was sold, and she resigned from the MVF BOD. However, the minutes for the August 28, 2013 Nominating Committee meeting dismissed the incident by referring to it as  “... something that occurred after the last election”. This should have stated, “... something that occurred during the last election”. Full disclosure is required of MVF BOD applicants. However, full disclosure also extends to MVF board and committee members who participate in the nominating and election process. These people failed in their duty of full disclosure by letting the situation slide, thereby, depriving me of a seat on the 2013 MVF BOD.

MVF BOD applicants are invited to attend the Nominating Committee meeting billed as informal, informational meeting at 7:30PM at the MVF Office. The Committee meeting itself begins at 7:00PM and is open to the public. The published agenda for the meeting is:

1. Residents’ Time
2. Chair’s Remarks
3. Approve Minutes of August 28, 2013 meeting
4. Review applications
5. Conduct informational meeting with applicants (ask each candidate to introduce himself/herself, make a brief statement and be prepared to answer questions of the committee members).
6. Establish slate of candidates 
7. Discuss role in ballot counting on Saturday, March 8, 2014

I attended the January 8, 2014 MVF Nominating Committee meeting to speak as a resident at 7:00PM and to present myself as an MVF BOD applicant at 7:30PM. Having been barred from Residents’ Time, I introduced my credentials as a candidate and pointed out that I had run for the MVF BOD the last three years and recapped the 2013 controversy recommending that the meeting minutes be corrected to state “... something that occurred during the last election”. Chairman Scott Dyer’s brushed this aside and stated that the Nominating Committee had already approved the minutes at Agenda Item #3.  All this because I was denied the opportunity to make the point during Residents’ Time at Agenda Item #1. Appearing to condone all this, MVF BOD President Bob Hydorn sat idly by. This is the MVF BOD at work!

Actions have consequences. The actions of Scott Dyer during the Nominating Committee meeting are egregious and should not stand. I have lost confidence in Scott Dyer as a member of the MVF BOD.  My questions for the Montgomery Village Foundation and its Board are:

1. Are MVF BOD applicants forbidden to speak at Residents Time at the Nominating Committee meeting?
2. If so, is there a Montgomery Village Foundation policy stating this?
3. If not, was Scott Dyer, Nominating Committee Chairman, improvising when he offered the false choice of resident or applicant? 
4. If so, should Scott Dyer be disciplined for not being familiar with MVF policies, failing to keep in mind that the board sets policy on Residents’ Time, and failing to discharge his duties with the care of an ordinarily prudent person?