Two of the new standing committees of the Common Council are holding their first meeting this week, and the makeup of each committee has been determined. We share that information here.
- Safety Committee (Police and Fire)
Henry Haddad (First Ward)
Dewan Sarowar (Second Ward)
Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward)
Claire Cousin (Fifth Ward)
- Services Committee (Youth and Seniors)
Gary Purnhagen (First Ward)
Lola Roberts (Third Ward)
Claire Cousin (Fifth Ward)
Jennifer Belton (Fourth Ward)
Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward)
- Code and Infrastructure (Code Enforcement and Public Works)
Jason Foster (Third Ward)
Henry Haddad (First Ward)
Mohammed Rony (Second Ward)
Dewan Sarowar (Second Ward)
- Legal Committee
Jennifer Belton (Fourth Ward)
Jason Foster (Third Ward)
Margaret Morris (Council President)
- Finance Committee
Mohammed Rony (Second Ward)
Rich Volo (Fourth Ward)
Lola Roberts (Third Ward)
Margaret Morris (Council President)
There's already a hitch or two. According to the Boards & Committees page and the calendar on the city's website, there is no such thing as a "Code and Infrastructure Committee." There is a "DPW/Code Committee," though. New council president, new mayor, same old incoherence and unprofessionalism.
ReplyDeleteAnd on that committee -- whatever its title -- sit both council members representing the 2nd ward. This is just dumb! This is the committee that is all about infrastructure and code issues in every ward of Hudson -- obviously there should be 5 members on that committee, not just 4, with one from each ward, not two from one ward and two wards unrepresented. Does the 2nd ward have a ton more code and infrastructure issues than the other four wards? Why aren't any 4th and 5th ward reps part of this committee? Because Jen Belton, Rich Volo, Dominic Merante and Claire Cousin don't care about code and infrastructure issues in their wards or what DPW and CEO have been up to and how they are spending their budget? Because the people living in those wards that theses reps supposedly represent aren't affected by code problems, infrastructure issues and quality of life issues? This is not how things are done in the real world where things get done properly.
Also, given how important parking has become and will continue to be, as well as how much money is being poured into the new parking payment system that HPD is in charge of, who in what committee will be giving regular parking updates and reports to let everyone know how the new system is faring and how revenue is doing? Will it be the Police Chief during Safety Committee meetings? It has to be someone, doesn't it?
I think the distinction between wards for the purpose of these committees is largely irrelevant. You don't need a representative from each one.
DeleteHudson is small enough that a council member from the second ward can know what's going on in the others with very little effort required.
Some wards have much, much, much more representation than others. There are Council members that never respond to the emails of their constituants. Some Council members don't even bother to come around asking for votes at election times anymore as they are assured of reelection.
ReplyDeleteYour discontent with unresponsive Council Members, without regard to the merit of your complaints, is mainly addressed at the ballot box. If you have specific ideas or requests, visit a committee. As for distribution of members on committees, the numbers are reasonably evenly distributed (W1 3, W2 4, W3 4, W4 3, W5 4).
ReplyDeleteAlso take into consideration that CM’s were given the opportunity to select committees where they had the most interest and for which they are best suited to contribute.