Four weeks? Who takes a four-week break from anything anymore? (Other than the Dodgers' drug-doing Manny Ramirez, for whom four weeks probably sounds suddenly like a short respite?)
The Duluth City Council is planning to take a four-week hiatus in June and July. And yesterday, Mayor Don Ness rightly ripped off a letter urging the elected leaders to reconsider. The city lost a major softball tournament last year while the councilors were off the clock. That was because a temporary beer license couldn't be granted.
"This year, the stakes could potentially be much higher," Ness wrote.
Indeed. Every other day, it seems, millions of stimulus dollars fall from the sky like manna. "We must stand ready to accept grant funds and hire contractors to do the work on a very tight timeline," Ness warned.
The break also comes during the busy startup to summer construction. A plethora of projects are planned, any one of them with the potential for snags in need of sudden city action.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It is likely that a full month without any council action may not be in the public's best interest," the mayor opined. "I hope councilors also understand the extra work burden that this creates for staff as they front-load a month's worth of work."
Everyone needs a vacation, a break, some time away. City councilors are no different. To stay informed and on top of issues, their work week extends far beyond a few hours every Monday evening and a shift on Thursday afternoon.
But the City Council should consider taking just two weeks mid-summer. How about two weeks then and two weeks around the December holidays? Few of the rest of us are ever able to take more days off at a time than that.
Or councilors could consider Mayor Ness's proposal: Take off but be available June 29 should an emergency meeting become necessary.
"Staff will breathe easier knowing that in the worst case they will have the option to bring the council in to vote on a critical manner," Ness offered.
City staff wouldn't be alone.
