All the dysfunctional cities did it last season.
Anoka city council gave city manager,Tim Cruikshank, a five year contract at 1:30 in the morning. It was at the very end of a nearly 7 hour meeting/ the last meeting of the year. Dori Schumacher made the motion in the last few minutes of her term. Cruikshank's contract wasn't up until August. This occurred with no discussion, no public input, few citizens and no press in attendance.
This five year decision will extend beyond the terms of every one who voted for it.
The Anoka Official City website has said: "The City Manager serves at the discretion of the City Council for an indefinite term."
This is really what you want to do: make sure the author, coordinator and enabler of the dysfunction is assured of his position.
Dysfunctional Maplewood recently installed their controversial manager after midnight as well.
Comment: Just speculation: Bjorn will hand over 'His Honorable and Exalted Mayorship" to brother Erik next time, replace Rice and Freeburg handily with shills, "run" Anoka from behind the scenes like all good machine boss characters have always done. Absolutely necessary to have staff at disposal. As well as the gavel and the rabble. Staff, the gavel, the rabble. The mystery is. . .why? What's in it for him? He may run a strong mayor defacto city (with the city manager as his administrator), but there's still no matching salary.
Comment: So it's a tri-pod of power: city manager to fix the behind the scenes/ do the set-up. That controls the agenda, the information presented , staff "recommends". Then the charismatic mayor dominates the meeting with no regard for rules (why was he allowed to moderate Windego issue?) and rouses the rabble to apply public pressure.
Comment: It works. The last meetings of 2006 pushed through downzoning, Windego lease and conservation easement. On that cobweb, the ACT website, there had been a comment about the Skogquist boys running Washington style politics in little unassuming, unprepared Anoka. If that's true, and folks don't have a clue, who do you think is going to "have their way with little Anoka".
Comment: That wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so young, inexperienced and get themselves beholden to people in their quest for support and political allies. Their "power base" as Bjorn has called it. Whatever happened to plain old citizen representation? Now we have constituents!? Who's looking after the interests of the whole city?
"That's the great benefit of youth. . .no experience with consequences."
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