Bruce needs to send the circus out of town

“Professionally,” I don’t enjoy covering the circus that the monthly Bruce Board of Aldermen meetings have become. It was just two weeks ago that I sat through more than two hours of Alderman Lyn Parsons and Police Chief Stan Evans shouting at each other from across the board room about how they don’t like each other, “professionally speaking.”

Aldermen routinely shout back-and-forth at each other about what one said outside the meeting. People in the audience – and believe me the Bruce board has begun to attract an audience, mostly not due to some sincere interest in city government, but just to come see the show – often interject themselves in the shouting with comments both serious and often sarcastic.

At one point during the shouting match at the most recent meeting, Billy “Cannonball” Cannon shouted out at Alderman Parsons and Chief Evans to just “rub noses and get it on.”

“Settle it the Cannonball way,” he yelled to the laughter of the crowd.

That’s the first response when watching this board and administration function – laughter. At least until you’ve sat through several dozen of these meetings, then it becomes more painful.

To put it bluntly, it’s embarrassing, and I hate to say that when I have friends serving in these important roles.

Personally, I like the mayor and all of the Bruce aldermen, but the lack of professionalism is just a shame.

This mayor and board have done some great things for the city. They’ve taken the steps to address the long overdue sewer problems that have plagued the town. They’ve tackled some very difficult budgetary matters and put the city in an unprecedented, outstanding financial situation.

When it comes to managing taxpayer money, this mayor and board have been nothing less than superb, as the auditor has reported each of the past three years.

But when it comes to representing the city of Bruce with integrity and respect,  and properly conducting board meetings, this board needs a lot of work.

For starters, some “rules of order” need to be established and enforced.

Aldermen should exhibit more respect to their fellow board members, whether they disagree with them or not, and audience members shouldn’t be allowed to jump into the middle of the debate.

Aldermen and department heads should have more communication outside the meetings so they’re prepared to have intelligent, respectful discussions in the meeting.

I’m a staunch supporter of open government, and I’m equally fervent in my desire for good government. To have both you need rules of order. Without order, you get less progress and more “Barnum and Bailey.”

For all the good this mayor and board of aldermen have done, the results don’t justify the means. They need to re-evaluate the manner by which they’re conducting business and send the circus out of town.

You may email Joel McNeece at joelmcneece@gmail.com