This Week's Fundy Goes to Steve Talley - Chairman of theTIF Study Commission

I've been debating how to handle the excellence in public access that is the TIF Study Commission, and I've decided to carve out individual awards as each person is serving a different aspect of public involvement and access.

So, this week's Fundamental Friday Fundy Award is going to Steve Talley, who is the Chairman of the Commission.  He is certainly doing a great job of keeping the meeting flowing, but more importantly, it is Councillor Talley who has managed to maintain an inviting ambiance to public comment time.  Outside of the first meeting, where the length of the meeting took us all by surprise, Talley has not limited the time for comments, either in total or individually.  Now, as we enter the phase of discussion to create policy, he is opening the floor several times for input from those not on the dais.

I've seen my share of public comment periods, and the way Steve Talley is running these ones lowers the threshold for those who might be unaccustomed to speaking their minds in public settings.  He is always attentive, welcoming, and sincerely appreciative of the input of the folks who do comment.

Fundamental Fridays - Current Planning

This week's Fundy goes to the staff of Current Planning. I would have mentioned them for the first award had an important zoning matter not been pending.  Now that is behind us, I am happy to extol the high standards of open government these folks set for all the rest.

There should be some clever, Dr. Suessian rhyme perhaps, to list the ways you can easily obtain documents from the good folks at Current Planning.  Show up in person, unannounced, and request a file or even any information they have about a particular address.  Email them.  Phone them.  During the times I worked on the voting records of the MDC and BZAs, I was welcomed to use their computer system to fill in my spreadsheets.  Never has there been any hesitation and the only delays have been those necessary to locate some of the older, dusty files.

I hesitate to begin listing names, as there are so many and I hate to miss anyone...  but, here goes.  Let's start with the Secretaries to the Commission and Boards - Heather Stephan and Emily Holmes.  Ann Able and her staff.  Larry Williams and his staff - David Hittle, Jeff York, Melanie Mullens and Alex Sulanke.  I know every neighborhood leader will agree that these professionals outshine everyone else when it comes to public access.

Fundamental Friday -- Barney Levengood of the CIB

This week's Fundy goes to Barney Levengood of the Capital Improvement Board.  Levengood is the Executive Director and runs the day to day operations for the Board.

Levengood is one of the best in providing public records upon request in a timely manner and without fanfare.  In fact, he is the only one that ever held a request of mine because the documents I wanted were still in negotiation.  Once signed, he forwarded them to me immediately without requiring me to submit a new request.

I often disagree with the policies and funding requests of the CIB, but the access that the public has to their documents is very much aligned with the spirit of open government - thanks in large degree to its Executive Director.

Fundamental Friday - WCTY

This week's Fundy goes to the entire staff of WCTY, AKA "the government channel" folks.  They are the usually unseen stalwarts who cover every City Council meeting, including all of their committee meetings save the committee on committees, and all Board and Commission hearings held in the City-County Building.  They travel around town with cameras in tow, nights and weekends, to cover community meetings and Mayor's Nights Out.

Led for years now by Station Manager Ken Montgomery, the crew provides live broadcasts and taped archives so that all citizens of Marion County can keep their own eye on what is getting done and who is doing what in City government.  As they say, sunshine is the best disinfectant.  And with that sentiment, nothing can beat what the WCTY folks do for all of us and our Democracy, each and every day.

If you don't know, all shows are archived and can be viewed at any time of the day or night at indy.gov/cable .

The crew is small, but work diligently.  They are Christy Thomas, Alan Dhayer, Bradley Sims, Nick Hess, Tim Barrett, and Dave Lister.

I've only seen one Councillor do it, but maybe I've just missed others.  I always get a chuckle out of it when Councillor Bob Lutz gets ready to call his committee together.  He looks at the camera, says "are you ready?", and the camera nods in assent.  While they may be out of view, they do their jobs with the greatest professionalism and they give us all access to what those in power are up to.

Fundamental Fridays

Please bear with me before you start groaning with derision.

It seems to me that there are fundamental aspects to good government and good governance.  Open, transparent, accessible government - for instance.  Working in the best interest of the community, not special interests - for instance.  Good stewardship, leadership, vision - for instance.

It also seems to me that there are folks who serve in our local government who demonstrate a fundamental aspect of good government on a daily basis, and others who do so from time to time.

Dare I say it so clearly but -- not all is wrong with our local governance.

So, in order to promote it when I see it, I am instituting a new feature to Had Enough Indy ?  It will be an award worth the paper it is written on.  I'll call it the Fundamental Friday Award - or "Fundy" for short.

The inaugural Fundy (drum roll, please) goes to Councillors Angela Mansfield, Ben Hunter, and Ryan Vaughn, and Mayor Greg Ballard.  The reason is - compromise when compromise will bring about benefits to the community.  In years gone by we might have called it statesmanship - putting the needs of the people before party politics or grandstanding opportunities.

The topic involved is, as you already know, the enlargement of Indy's smoking ban that will still fall short, but not far short, of a complete ban.  However, it will be as close as all sides can get if they hope to garner enough votes for passage and to win the Mayor's signature.

Mansfield and Hunter have been working together, across the political aisle, for years now, trying to move the smoking ban forward.  They were ready to reintroduce a previously defeated measure once the Democrats took control of the Council in January, but a measure unlikely to be signed by the Mayor.  Vaughn threw a Hail Mary pass in the last minutes of Republican control; likely to give Mayor Ballard something he could stomach and sign, saving him face.  Nonetheless, they all came together and are now lending their support to an slightly more aggressive Vaughn measure.

So, include the coming together to work for the benefit of the public, to the art of compromise when compromise will bring benefits to the community, as the reasons why the very first Fundy goes to Mansfield, Hunter, Vaughn, and Ballard.