[Peace-discuss] Fw: Discrepancies

Thu Mar 19 17:27:53 CDT 2009

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>
To: <steve at beckettwebber.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 4:26 PM
Subject: Re: Discrepancies


: Mr. Beckett,
:
: Thank you for your response, however, you are not addressing my
: question(s). I asked you a serious and legitimate question and your
: response was to say that we disagree (without even identifying what we
: disagree on). Are you declining to address the substance of my
: question(s)?
:
: For reference, my primary question is:
:
: How do you reconcile the discrepancy between your published proposal
: (which eliminates Highway in favor of Facilities) and your contradictory
: verbal portrayal of it (where you describe it as eliminating Facilities
in
: favor of Highway)?
:
: Perhaps you could at least identify what you think we disagree on?
:
: Thanks
: R
:
: ----- Original Message ----- 
: From: "J. Steven Beckett" <jstevenbeckett at gmail.com>
: To: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>
: Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 3:01 PM
: Subject: Re: Discrepancies
:
:
: Mr. Cotton:
:
: I understand your position and respectfully disagree with you.  When you
: send e-mails to multiple persons I do not believe you attempting to
learn
: anything from me.  You want to disagree, show everyone else that we
: disagree and it's clear that we disagree.
:
: Thank you.
:
: Steve Beckett
:
:
:
: On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 12:26 PM, Randall Cotton
: <recotton at earthlink.net>wrote:
:
: >  Dear Mr. Beckett,
: >
: > It has now been more than two weeks since I posed the following
: questions
: > to you:
: >
: > 1. How do you reconcile the discrepancy between your published
proposal
: > (which eliminates Highway in favor of Facilities) and your
contradictory
: > verbal portrayal of it (where you describe it as eliminating
Facilities
: in
: > favor of Highway)?
: >
: > 2. How do you reconcile your statement "Every duty that Justice has is
: > folded into another committee" with the actual content of your
published
: > proposal, in light of the many duties & roles of Justice, itemized
: above,
: > that would be stripped away?
: >
: > 3. Why continue promoting this proposal in the face of so much
: opposition,
: > especially given that a much simpler, more effective solution is
plainly
: > evident (cutting per-diem rates) which accomplishes precisely the goal
: > you've cited as your motivation?
: >
: > For reference, I've included the entire note in which these questions
: > appeared at the end of this message.
: >
: > As before, I'm addressing a wide audience as an open letter.
: >
: > This is to let you know that I haven't received any response from you.
: If
: > you have sent a response, but I have not received it for some reason,
: > please clarify.
: >
: > However, if you have simply chosen not to respond, then I must add
: another
: > question to those I've already posed:
: >
: > 4. Why will you not respond to these legitimate questions regarding
your
: > proposal?
: >
: > At last month's County Board meeting on February 19, 2009, you said
: > (regarding your proposal): "I'm happy to talk to people about it. I
have
: had
: > people contact me."
: >
: > video:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-19_Champaign_County_Board_meeting_Beckett_happy_to_talk.wmv<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > Since then, I have contacted you through my open letter of March 3,
and
: I'm
: > disappointed that you have not responded to me, while you are happy to
: > respond to others.
: >
: > My questions address a serious matter that calls for your serious
: reply -
: > the substantial misrepresentation of your proposal to County Board
: members
: > and the public. Since that is the most consequential issue, let us set
: aside
: > all questions now except for the first, which addresses the starkest
: example
: > of misrepresentation:
: >
: >  1. How do you reconcile the discrepancy between your published
proposal
: > (which eliminates Highway in favor of Facilities) and your
contradictory
: > verbal portrayal of it (where you describe it as eliminating
Facilities
: in
: > favor of Highway)?
: > Would you please begin by answering this question? Let us leave the
: other
: > questions for another day. Just answer this one question for now,
: please.
: >
: > To review the discrepancy, your proposal eliminates Highway (chaired
by
: > Lorraine Cowart) and transfers those roles and duties to the
Facilities
: > Committee (of which you are Chair). The image immediately below shows
: the
: > sections of your proposal where these changes are laid out:
: >
: >
: >  If you have trouble viewing the image above, you can also see it
online
: > at:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > The News-Gazette reported accurately on your proposal in its February
: 18,
: > 2009 article that "Beckett's memo suggests eliminating the
: > highway/transportation" committee and went on to describe how you said
: > "construction issues belong in the facilities committee". See:
: >
: >
: >
:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics/2009/02/18/champaign_county_board_member_suggests_cutting_2_committees
: >
: > The News-Gazette also correctly reported on March 5, 2009 that the
: > proposal calls for "ending the highway/transportation" committee, and
: > repeated that you said "construction issues belong in the facilities
: > committee." See:
: >
: >
: >
:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics/2009/03/05/proposal_to_cut_champaign_county_committees_sent_back_to_committee
: >
: >  However, in the face of opposition to your proposal at the Democratic
: > Caucus meeting on February 17, 2009, you said "I’m actually killing my
: own
: > committee ... I’m eliminating my chairmanship. My committee
[Facilities]
: is
: > getting folded into Lorraine’s [Highway]."
: >
: >  mp3 format:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-killing-my-own-committee.mp3
: >  wav format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-killing-my-own-committee.wav>
: >
:
/*Beckett-killing-my-own-committee.wav*<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randal
: l/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg>
: >
: > In addition, during the February County Board meeting on February 19,
: 2009,
: > you said, regarding the proposal, "If adopted, Facilities committee
: would
: > be folded into Highway and Transportation. ... If the proposal was
: adopted
: > as currently written, I would be eliminating my chairmanship."
: >
: > video:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-19_Champaign_County_Board_meeting_Beckett_chairmanship.wmv<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > These were both clearly misrepresentations of your written proposal
and
: > served to mislead County Board members into thinking that your
proposal
: > eliminates the committee you chair (Facilities) when, in fact, it
: empowers
: > your committee by giving it the duties and roles of the Highway
: Committee.
: >
: > The News-Gazette subsequently repeated this misrepresentation in a
: February
: > 27 editorial, which stated "Beckett has proposed eliminating the
: committee
: > he heads – facilities – and folding it into the highway and
: transportation
: > committee." See:
: >
: >
: >
:
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/opinions/editorials/2009/02/27/committee_cuts_worthy_of_study
: >
: > In summary, the misrepresentation provides the appearance that you
: > intentionally misled County Board members and the public so that your
: > proposal, which increases the power of your own committee, might
receive
: > less opposition and be more likely to pass.
: >
: > Your apparent choice of declining to respond to my question only
: > intensifies that self-serving appearance. The longer you decline to
: address
: > this issue, the more glaring the appearance becomes.
: >
: > So, once again, I earnestly appeal to you to answer this original
: question
: > I posed:
: >
: > How do you reconcile the discrepancy between your published proposal
: (which
: > eliminates Highway in favor of Facilities) and your contradictory
verbal
: > portrayal of it (where you describe it as eliminating Facilities in
: favor of
: > Highway)?
: >
: > The intentional self-serving misrepresentation suggested by this
: appearance
: > is the kind of thing that could call into question one's fitness to
: serve in
: > office, so I am hopeful that you will indeed reconcile this
discrepancy
: and
: > remove this appearance of impropriety.
: >
: > Sincerely,
: > Randall Cotton
: >
: > PS: I would also like to propose that an apology is due to Prof.
Belden
: > Fields, who spoke during Public Participation at the February 19, 2009
: > County Board meeting. He spoke in opposition to your proposal, making
: > reference to its elimination of the Highway and Transportation
: Committee.
: >
: > video:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-19_Champaign_County_Board_meeting_Belden_Fields.wmv<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > Immediately after Public Participation, you contradicted Prof. Fields
by
: > saying:
: >
: > "If adopted, Facilities committee would be folded into Highway and
: > Transportation. ... If the proposal was adopted as currently written,
I
: > would be eliminating my chairmanship."
: > video:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-19_Champaign_County_Board_meeting_Beckett_chairmanship.wmv<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > And you went on to chide Prof. Fields, complaining that your proposed
: > changes were "misrepresented", saying "I'm happy to talk to people
about
: it.
: > I have had people contact me. The public speakers tonight did not. I'm
: sure
: > that their inadvertent references to the proposals that were
inaccurate
: > would have been corrected."
: >
: > video:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-19_Champaign_County_Board_meeting_Beckett_chiding.wmv<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > The apology is due because you complained that Prof. Fields
: misrepresented
: > your proposal and you chided him for not contacting you beforehand,
yet
: the
: > misrepresentation of the proposal was actually yours.
: >
: > ----- Original Message ----- *From:* Randall
: Cotton<recotton at earthlink.net>
: > *To:* Steve Beckett <steve at beckettwebber.com>
: > *Cc:* Lorraine Cowart <lxcowart at sbcglobal.net> ; Alan
: Nudo<alannudo at comcast.net>; Brendan
: > McGinty <brendan.mcginty at gmail.com> ; Barbara
: Wysocki<b-wysocki at hotmail.com>; Sam
: > Smucker <samuel.smucker at gmail.com> ; Ralph
: Langenheim<rlangenh at hotmail.com>; Tom
: > Betz <tbetz_legalguy at yahoo.com> ; C. Pius Weibel
: <cpiusweibel at hotmail.com>; Alan
: > Kurtz <akurtz8 at comcast.net> ; Janet Anderson <2jaba at comcast.net> ;
: Giraldo
: > Rosales <grosales at uiuc.edu> ; Carol Ammons <livingsoul at sbcglobal.net>
;
: Steve
: > O'Connor <soconnor7 at gmail.com> ; Greg Knott <gknott63 at gmail.com> ;
Brad
: > Jones <brad-jones1 at hotmail.com> ; Johnathan Schroeder
<JMS at illicom.net>
: ; Kevin
: > Hunt <kevin.hunt64 at hotmail.com> ; Ron Bensyl <ronb at hughes.net> ; Stan
: > James <jamesgang14 at gmx.com> ; Chris Doenitz <mahtwp1 at netscape.net> ;
: Lawrence
: > Sapp <arr2ff526 at aol.com> ; John Jay <jjay at mchsi.com> ; Mike
: Richards<mcrchrds at hotmail.com>
: > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 03, 2009 8:05 PM
: > *Subject:* Discrepancies
: >
: > Dear Mr. Beckett,
: >
: > I write to you today to ask you three questions regarding your
proposal
: to
: > "Eliminate Justice and Combine Facilities & Highway" ("Justice", of
: course,
: > referring to the County Board's Justice and Social Services Committee,
: > "Facilities" referring to the County Facilities Committee, and
"Highway"
: > referring to the Highway & Transportation Committee. In particular, my
: > questions pertain to
: >
: > 1. The discrepancy between your proposal and how you have verbally
: > portrayed it (to County Board members and the public)
: >
: > 2. The discrepancy between your proposal and your stated motive for
: putting
: > it forward
: >
: > I am addressing a wide audience in this open letter, including all
: County
: > Board members, because I am concerned that some of these discrepancies
: are
: > creating misperceptions regarding your actual published proposal. As
you
: > know, the proposal may receive a vote for referral to the full County
: > Board as early as tomorrow evening at the Policy, Personnel and
: Appointments
: > meeting (7PM, Lyle Shields Meeting Room, Brookens Administrative
Center,
: > 1776 East Washington St, Urbana).
: >
: > Let me first say I have studied your proposal closely. For those
: addressed
: > by this message who wish to study it directly as well, I have posted
it
: > online at:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf
: >
: > The proposal is for changes to the document titled "Organization and
: Duties
: > of the County Board", more commonly known as the "County Board Rules".
: Among
: > many other things, the County Board Rules define the Board's 6
standing
: > committees (where the bulk of the Board's work is accomplished) and
: spells
: > out the duties and roles of those committees. The County Board Rules
: > document is online at:
: http://www.co.champaign.il.us/COUNTYBD/cbrules.pdf
: >  .
: >
: > Among other things, the proposal you've brought forth eliminates the
: > Highway & Transportation Committee (currently chaired by Lorraine
: Cowart)
: > and appends its duties to the County Facilities Committee (which you
: > currently chair). It also expands the name of the County Facilities
: > Committee to be County *Transportation* & Facilities Committee. These
: > changes are indicated in the "Mark-up" text of your proposal by:
: >
: >  A. the crossing out of "Highway & Transportation" and all its duties
: > B. the inclusion of those duties verbatim under the County Facilities
: > committee
: > C. adding the (italicized) word "Transportation" to the name of the
: County
: > Facilities committee
: >
: > I attach here the sections of your proposal where these changes are
made
: >
: >
: >  If you have trouble viewing the image above, you can also see it
online
: > at:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > Now to the discrepancy. I have noted that your verbal description of
: this
: > part of your proposal differs radically from what you have written. In
: > particular, at the Democratic Caucus meeting on February 17, 2009, you
: said
: > "I’m actually killing my own committee ... I’m eliminating my
: > chairmanship. My committee is getting folded into Lorraine’s." As you
: > know, I recorded this meeting. Here is the audio clip where you say
what
: > I've just quoted:
: >
: >  mp3 format:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-killing-my-own-committee.mp3
: >  wav format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-killing-my-own-committee.wav>
: >
:
/*Beckett-killing-my-own-committee.wav*<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randal
: l/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg>
: >
: > your full comments at that meeting, for reference, are at:
: >
: > mp3 format:
: >
:
<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg>
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/01-Beckett.mp3<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.ch
:
ambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justi
:
ce_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randa
:
ll/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highw
: ay_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >   wav format:
: > http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/01-Beckett.wav
: >
: > Two days later, during the February County Board meeting on February
19,
: > 2009, you said, regarding the proposal, "If adopted, Facilities
: committee
: > would be folded into Highway and Transportation. ... If the proposal
was
: > adopted as currently written, I would be eliminating my chairmanship."
: >
: > A video clip where you say what I've just quoted is online at:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-19_Champaign_County_Board_meeting_Beckett_chairmanship.wmv<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > Your full comments at that meeting, for reference are at:
: >
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-19_Champaign_County_Board_meeting_Beckett_full_comments.wmv<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > But what you have verbally described in these two instances is
actually
: the
: > *opposite* of what is proposed in your document. If the document were
: > proposing what you have verbally described, it would have included
: something
: > like:
: >
: >  A. the crossing out of "County Facilities" and all its duties
: > B. the inclusion of those duties verbatim under the Highway &
: > Transportation committee
: > C. adding the italicized word "Facilities" to the name of the Highway
&
: > Transportation committee
: >
: > However, as I illustrated above, your published proposal includes the
: > reverse of this. I should add that nowhere else in your document,
either
: in
: > the introductory cover letter, or in the actual language changes you
: > propose, do you provide any indication to contradict what is clearly a
: > proposal to eliminate Highway and transfer its duties to your
committee,
: > Facilities.
: >
: > This discrepancy is of crucial importance because your verbal
: description
: > could mislead County Board members into believing your written
proposal
: > folds Facilities into Highway, when in fact it actually proposes the
: > reverse. Regardless of what you might say verbally, it is the
: > written proposal, not your verbal description of it, that County Board
: > members would be voting on.
: >
: > Also, this discrepancy could provide the appearance that you are
: > intentionally misleading County Board members so that your proposal
: might be
: > more likely to pass, and I'm sure you would want to avoid this.
: >
: > Perhaps you provided the wrong version of your written proposal to
: County
: > Board members. Or perhaps you just decided to alter your proposal
after
: > initially publishing it in order to gain more support. However, in
: either
: > case, you may need to re-send a hardcopy of the corrected proposal to
: all
: > County Board members pursuant to County Board Rules Article 8 which
: states
: > "Written notice of any proposed change(s) to these Rules to be
presented
: to
: > the Policy, Procedures & Appointments Committee shall be presented to
: all
: > Board members at least fourteen (14) days prior to any consideration
of
: such
: > changes." I understand you're aware of this rule as you make reference
: to it
: > in the cover letter of your published proposal.
: >
: > So my first question to you is - "How do you reconcile the discrepancy
: > between your published proposal (which eliminates Highway in favor of
: > Facilities) and your contradictory verbal portrayal of it (where you
: > describe it as eliminating Facilities in favor of Highway)?"
: >
: > ******
: >
: > I would also like to address an additional discrepancy between your
: written
: > and verbally portrayed descriptions of this proposal. Regarding your
: > published proposal's elimination of the two committees Justice and
: Highway,
: > your verbal comments portray the duties and roles of both eliminated
: > committees as simply being transferred or "folded into", as you say,
to
: > other committees.
: >
: > While it is clear that your proposal precisely duplicates Highway's
: duties
: > and roles under Facilities (since the duties and roles are just copied
: > verbatim), none of Justice's duties and roles are precisely preserved.
: In
: > fact, many aspects of Justice's duties and roles are stripped away in
: the
: > transfer.
: >
: > Here's an examination of Justice's four duties/roles and your proposed
: > replacements:
: >
: > "a) Considers issues and receives reports from the Champaign County
: Mental
: > Health Board, Cooperative Extension Services Board, RPC Head Start,
RPC
: > Senior Services, Regional Office of Education, Children’s Advocacy
: Center
: > and Community Services Board."
: >
: > Your proposal replaces this with a new agenda item for County Board
: > meetings called "Monthly, Quarterly, Annual Reports". While this
: transfer
: > might preserve the "receives reports" duty, it strips away the
: "considers
: > issues" role. Whereas it is currently the role of Justice to "consider
: > issues" regarding the various cited Boards and services, this role is
: not
: > transferred anywhere and would disappear with the committee's demise.
: >
: > "b) Works with the County Sheriff on all matters pertaining to adult
: > correctional programs and policies."
: >
: > Your proposal replaces this with:
: > 1. under Finance Committee:
: > "Receives and reviews all program requests from elected and appointed
: > officials and recommends approval of said requests to County Board."
: > 2. under Policy, Personnel and Appointments Committee:
: > "Works with all elected and appointed officials in the review and
: > development of policy initiatives"
: >
: > While item 1 would preserve the duty of receiving requests from
: officials
: > and item 2 would preserve the role of considering policy initiatives,
: this
: > hardly adds up to the current role of Justice to address "all matters
: > pertaining to adult correctional programs and policies". By comparison
: your
: > proposed replacements are quite restrictive, stripping out, for
: instance,
: > the role of oversight regarding existing adult correctional programs.
: One
: > need only recall the tragic rash of suicides and other deaths that
: occurred
: > in the county jail system to highlight the importance of oversight
: regarding
: > adult correctional programs. In general, while the existing language
is
: > broad and uses the inclusive language "all matters pertaining to", the
: > proposed replacement is comparatively narrow and does not constitute a
: full
: > transfer of roles and duties.
: > "c) Confers with Circuit Judges on operation of courts and court
related
: > offices and agencies"
: >
: > As with b) immediately above, the proposal also replaces this with:
: > 1. under Finance Committee:
: > "Receives and reviews all program requests from elected and appointed
: > officials and recommends approval of said requests to County Board."
: > 2. under Policy, Personnel and Appointments Committee:
: > "Works with all elected and appointed officials in the review and
: > development of policy initiatives"
: >
: > Again, while item 1 would preserve the duty of receiving requests from
: > officials such as judges and item 2 would preserve the role of
: considering
: > policy initiatives, the proposal strips out any other matters relating
: to
: > operations within the court, court-related offices and court-related
: > agencies. As above, the role of oversight is not preserved. As another
: > example, the important recent commissioning of the Citizens Advisory
: > Committee on Jury Selection is neither a "program request from an
: elected or
: > appointed official", nor is it clearly "review and development of a
: policy
: > initiative", and so would not fall under your proposed replacement.
: While
: > the existing all-encompassing language covers duties and roles having
: > anything to do with "operation of courts and court related offices and
: > agencies", the proposed replacement is comparatively constricted and
: serves
: > to strip out many possible duties and roles.
: >
: > "d) Considers programs and receives reports involving Courts, Circuit
: > Clerk, State's Attorney, Public Defender, Court Services, Coroner,
: Animal
: > Control and Emergency Services & Disaster Agency departments."
: >
: > The proposal replaces this with:
: > 1. the new agenda item for County Board meetings called "Monthly,
: > Quarterly, Annual Reports"
: > 2. under Finance Committee: "Receives and reviews all program requests
: > from elected and appointed officials and recommends approval of said
: > requests to County Board."
: >
: > This preserves only passive duties in the service of officials
: (receiving
: > reports from officials in 1., receiving requests from officials in 2.)
: while
: > stripping out power from our County's representatives to either
consider
: > programs or reports from anyone *other* than elected or appointed
: officials
: > and also stripping out power to *initiate consideration* of programs
: > involving the various public institutions cited (Courts, Circuit
Clerk,
: > etc.)
: >
: > At the February Champaign County Board meeting on February 19, 2009
you
: > characterized the proposal as follows:
: > "we would be folding Justice Committee's responsibilities into Finance
: and
: > into Policy ... Facilities Committee would be folded into Highway and
: > Transportation"
: >
: >  video:
: >  http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard
: >
:
/2009-02-19_Champaign_County_Board_meeting_Beckett_folding.wmv<http://imsa
:
hp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsah
:
p.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_J
: ustice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > Your verbal description provides the impression that you are treating
: the
: > elimination of both committees in the same way, since you describe
both
: > eliminations as "folding" duties and roles from one place to another.
: > However, as I've illustrated above, for one committee the proposal
: transfers
: > the roles and duties verbatim, using precisely the same language,
while
: in
: > the case of Justice, the roles and duties are substantially
constricted
: in
: > the transfer, tending to preserve only duties in the service of
: officials,
: > diminishing the influence of constituent voices on government
operations
: and
: > policies, thus impeding representational government.
: >
: > At the Democratic Caucus meeting on February 17, 2009, you said "Every
: duty
: > that Justice has is folded into another committee".
: >
: >  mp3 format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-every-duty.mp3<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: > wav format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/*Beckett-every-duty.wav*<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-every-duty.wav><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > So my second question to you is "How do you reconcile your statement
: "Every
: > duty that Justice has is folded into another committee" with the
actual
: > content of your published proposal, in light of the many duties &
roles
: of
: > Justice, itemized above, that would be stripped away?"
: >
: > *******************
: >
: > Finally, I'd like to address your stated motives for coming forth with
: this
: > proposal.
: >
: > In the cover letter of your proposal, you write "In light of the
current
: > financial strain the General Corporate Fund is experiencing, it seems
: timely
: > to adopt a streamlined approach for our committee system that can also
: > generate fiscal savings." (Again, the proposal is online at:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf
: >  )
: >
: > At the Democratic Caucus Meeting on February 17, 2009, you described
: your
: > motivation at length: "Here we are asking all of these other [county]
: > departments to step forward and propose a way to be more efficient and
: to
: > save money. What's the County Board doing? And then I started running
: into
: > employees at the courthouse [saying] 'Well, what are you guys doing?'
: and I
: > thought to myself well, what *are* we doing?"
: >
: >  mp3 format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-what-are-we-doing.mp3<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: > wav format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/*Beckett-what-are-we-doing.wav
: >
:
*<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-what-are-we-doing.wa
:
v><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg
:
><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_
: to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > You went on to stress that "It's about efficiency in government"
: >
: > mp3 format:
: > http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard
: >
:
/Beckett-efficiency-in-government.mp3<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/
:
ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/c
:
cboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_i
: nto_Facilities.pdf>
: > wav format:
: > http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/*
: >
:
Beckett-efficiency-in-government.wav*<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/
:
ccboard/Beckett-efficiency-in-government.wav><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~
:
randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~r
:
andall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_H
: ighway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: >
: > and "I see that we have a hiring freeze that's on the agenda, so we're
: > already sending that message that it's important for us as a county
: board
: > member to say to our employees 'we bit the bullet too'. We became more
: > efficient".
: >
: >  mp3 format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-hiring-freeze.mp3<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http:
//imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_elim
inate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: > wav format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/*Beckett-hiring-freeze.wav*<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-hiring-freeze.wav><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > You concluded those remarks by describing how you wanted to "say to
our
: > employees that when we needed to belly up to the table and do some
cuts
: and
: > tighten our belt, we did it as well."
: >
: >  mp3 format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-belly-up.mp3<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: > wav format:
: >
:
http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/*Beckett-belly-up.wav*<http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/Beckett-belly-up.wav><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/highway_into_facilities.jpg><http://imsahp.chambana.net/~randall/ccboard/2009-02-12_Beckett_proposal_to_eliminate_Justice_and_fold_Highway_into_Facilities.pdf>
: >
: > Your emphasis on cost efficiency as the motivation behind your
proposal
: > is quite clear. And if you were proposing a way to save money without
: > significantly diminishing County Board operations, that certainly
would
: > qualify as increased cost efficiency. However, your proposal
encompasses
: > radical cuts in County Board operations, so it's not clear that the
end
: > result would yield increased efficiency.
: >
: > The committee structure constitutes the operational core of the County
: > Board and is where the bulk of the County Board's work gets done. In
: your
: > published proposal, you cite an annual cost savings of $14,580
(per-diem
: > costs for Board members). But your proposal cuts 33% of all committees
: > and 48% of all committee seats while only generating a savings of
: 1/100th of
: > 1% in the County's budget of $120 million. (The budget is online at:
: > http://www.co.champaign.il.us/COUNTYBD/2009budget/budgetinbrief.pdf -
: see
: > p. 10). Given the relatively minuscule cost savings compared to the
: > extreme magnitude of the cuts, it seems unlikely that this would
result
: in
: > an overall increased cost efficiency.
: >
: > Since the goal is cost efficiency to generate savings, why not simply
: > propose cutting the per-diem rate in half until the recession is over?
: (i.e.
: > $22.50 per meeting instead of $45). That would generate the same
savings
: as
: > your proposal, but without the drawbacks of:
: >
: > A. Severely slashing the County Board's operational core
: > B. Diminishing the County Board's focus on highways, social services
and
: > the justice system
: > C. Stripping out much of the duties & roles of the Justice & Social
: > Services Committee
: > D. Reducing the influence of constituent voices through our
: representative
: > government
: > E. Requiring elaborate (and in this case, somewhat confusing) changes
in
: > the County Board Rules
: >
: > At the Democratic Caucus Meeting on February 17, 2009, there was
nothing
: > but opposition to your proposal. Ten Board members spoke in
disapproval,
: > none in support. The elegant and effective idea of simply cutting
: per-diem
: > rates was suggested at that meeting by Board member Lorraine Cowart
(in
: > fact, she suggested reducing the rate to zero, which would double the
: > savings).
: >
: > So my third and final question to you, Mr. Beckett, is "Why continue
: > promoting this proposal in the face of so much opposition, especially
: given
: > that a much simpler, more effective solution is plainly evident
(cutting
: > per-diem rates) which accomplishes precisely the goal you've cited as
: your
: > motivation?"
: >
: > To review, my 3 questions are:
: >
: > 1. How do you reconcile the discrepancy between your published
proposal
: > (which eliminates Highway in favor of Facilities) and your
contradictory
: > verbal portrayal of it (where you describe it as eliminating
Facilities
: in
: > favor of Highway)?
: >
: > 2. How do you reconcile your statement "Every duty that Justice has is
: > folded into another committee" with the actual content of your
published
: > proposal, in light of the many duties & roles of Justice, itemized
: above,
: > that would be stripped away?
: >
: > 3. Why continue promoting this proposal in the face of so much
: opposition,
: > especially given that a much simpler, more effective solution is
plainly
: > evident (cutting per-diem rates) which accomplishes precisely the goal
: > you've cited as your motivation?
: >
: > Thanks for your attention,
: > R
: >
: >
: >
: