Councilman Groeteke Weighs in on Misnumbered Bill Dispute

Jefferson Councilman Charles Groeteke, of Imperial, has weighed in on the dispute between his colleague, Council Member Renee Reuter, R-2nd District, and County Executive Ken Waller over the misnumbering of council ordinances and Reuter's efforts to correct the sitution at a previous meeting of the county council.

After her efforts failed to re-number the bills, or to have them removed from the couyncil agenda failed, she left the meeting. In a blog on Patch, Reuter was critical of Waller and of some of her colleagues who voted to approve legislation she said was flawed. Waller responded to Reuter's blog with criticisms of his own about Reuter's lack of professionalism for walking out of the council meeting after her motions on the misnumbered bills in question were defeated by a majority of the council.

Groeteke issued a news release Sunday, supporting Reuter and taking the Jefferson County administration to task for persistent problems in document preparation and the lack of advance notice on some items that come before the council.

Here is the complete text of Groeteke's news release:

The taxpayers deserve to have their documents in proper form.

Since taking office in January 2011 the council has been presented by the County Executive (Charter 3.5.10) hundreds of documents for the council to approve. These include authorizing the expenditure of tax dollars, acceptance of unanticipated revenue, buying equipment, and so on. Once the council approves a document it is recorded into law. In my opinion these documents need to be as clear as possible as to their function, and legally correct. Councilman Reuter is an attorney and I believe very good at revieweing documents. That is how she earned her living.

At the first meeting of the new council we were presented with a bill requesting the release of escrow money for a development. When I visited the development site I found that the work was not completed. I pulled that bill from the agenda in an effort to make things run smoothly. The escrow release was for $12,000. No one said a word and the issue did not come back. We have also been asked to approve the expenditure of up to $320,000 for safety shoes that was removed and reduced to a more appropriate amount. There is a long list of items that this council amended or removed from the Executive's agenda because of problems that the former leadership of the council had with the preparation of the documents.

A not reported issue at our last meeting was the passage of bills on the consent agenda with a total of up to $530,244 more than last year's expenditures for items contained in it. A majority of council members approved of this. I did not. The numbering issue was just the straw that broke the camel's back after a year of attempting to correct inaccuracies in documents.

Almost without exception, prior to each and every meeting, questions were asked of agenda items. Once the agenda is posted, items on it can only be removed, amended or voted on while the council is in session. Not before the meeting as the county executive suggests.

The council has taken the time and effort to put into our Rules of Procedure a description of how bills and resolutions are to be prepared, to give the Executive branch of our government written guidelines for preparation of these documents. Our new government has two separate and equal branches: the legislative branch to represent the citizens and the executive branch to implement the wishes of the council. I do not believe I was elected by the citizens to rubber stamp whatever the administration sends to me. The citizens voted in 2008 for change in the way business is conducted in our county. They also elected me to institute the charter and the change that it brings to our county government. That is not an easy or politically correct job.

I will continue to do the job the citizens of the 4th District elected me to do. I will follow the charter and help to institute positive change in our county. I will also continue to breview documents presented by the administration. If removal, correction or amendments are needed I will, to the best of my ability, make the proper motions or votes to make our county documents correct and conform to the rules set down by our charter and the council.

Charles Groeteke

4th District Councilman