Last night, I was one of 14 people that showed up at City Hall to give citizen input into what managerial and experience qualifications we wanted to see listed in the profile search for a permanent City Administrator.

First, I think it is quite sad that out of the 14 people that were in attendance, only 4 people were there were not on city payroll, elected officials, or members of the media.  This is why we can only assign partial blame on our elected officials for the actions they take.  The majority of the blame should lie with the citizens of Effingham.  14 people showed up out of a town of 13,000.  I'm still shaking my head in disbelief.  As Mayor Lange and Don Eden said, the chairs in the council chamber gallery are there every other Tuesday - and they are mostly empty each time. 

Second, after talking with Greg Sapp, I was mistaken to believe the city council broke the Open Meetings Act regarding the city administrator.  He informed me that he received notification of the meeting prior to the 48 hours window, which satisfies the law's requirement.  Like it or not, special meetings do not have to be trumpeted, they just have to be announced 48 hours prior.  Which got me thinking...it's kind of funny how Commissioner Flach feigned no knowledge of the special meeting at the special meeting, or plans for a city administrator.  Makes me wonder if she is wanting re-elected and trying to play to the opposition for support.  She also has called out the Tea Party twice in different speeches during council meetings - an attempt to cover up her vote on the Rosebud and support of the Sports Complex perhaps?  In addition, she changed her pledge to conservative principles and spending message on the city website sometime after the Rosebud buyout. 

Finally, I thought all the questions asked, and the proceedings last night were well ran and it was nice to have public input into the process.  I though Mr. Nollenberger, who is heading the City Administrator search, did a great job fielding questions and staying impartial to the process by deferring sensitive questions to Mayor Lange.  The questions posed by the attendees were also very informed and I think helped the process. 

As I said before, I still do not support Effingham having a City Administrator, but I think the steps the council is taking will allow whoever is hired to be able to work with the next council on a very constructive basis.  I know it seems we do a great deal of criticizing of the council here, but we are not above giving credit where credit is due as well.  Mayor Lange, Commissioners, and Rick Goeckner should be commended at this point for their efforts to find the best person for the City Administrator job.