2006/08/17
Councilors' motion to appeal denied [Updated]
An appellate court today denied the Common Council's to continue an appeal of a decision that a private mall expansion is a public project [story update].
The decision (PDF) is brief, and basically says that the Council has no authority to litigate on behalf of the city.
Let's review what happened here. The city sued the owner of the Carousel Center and lost. The city appealed, but negotiated a settlement that required the approval of the mayor (elected), the county legislature (elected), the Common Council (elected) and the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency (SIDA – a board appointed by the mayor).
The mayor, having negotiated the deal, approved it. SIDA rubber-stamped it, as anyone who could be fired for going against the mayor would have. The County Legislature, for the first time since I've been here, said, "this is a city matter, we'll support the city's decision." The Common Council did not approve the deal.
So, the mayor drafted a new deal, which didn't require the Common Council's approval. He went behind the back of an elected board, met with SIDA members individually so they didn't have to post a public meeting and got their approval, and then rushed it onto the County Legislature's agenda – and they approved it, against their prior announcement.
I'm generally pretty rational about things, and can reasonably disagree with someone. But the mayor broke the public trust. He went behind the backs of the members of an elected council, and even those who agree with the mayor in principle on this issue should be angry as hell. The mayor has already proven to me that he doesn't value his constituents' input.
Common Councilor Stephanie Miner told the newspaper she doesn't know if there's a next step, but at the very least, we can all let the mayor know that he needs to listen to the people who pay him once in a while. You can reach him at:
Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll
City Hall
233 E. Washington St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
I'll be writing a letter this weekend, and I'll post it here for you to draw from.
And let's remember to call this what it is: A mall expansion. This is not DestiNY USA, the proposed massive development without design plans, rights-of-way or approvals that the owners think will create $5.1 billion in salaries for CNY residents.
The decision (PDF) is brief, and basically says that the Council has no authority to litigate on behalf of the city.
Let's review what happened here. The city sued the owner of the Carousel Center and lost. The city appealed, but negotiated a settlement that required the approval of the mayor (elected), the county legislature (elected), the Common Council (elected) and the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency (SIDA – a board appointed by the mayor).
The mayor, having negotiated the deal, approved it. SIDA rubber-stamped it, as anyone who could be fired for going against the mayor would have. The County Legislature, for the first time since I've been here, said, "this is a city matter, we'll support the city's decision." The Common Council did not approve the deal.
So, the mayor drafted a new deal, which didn't require the Common Council's approval. He went behind the back of an elected board, met with SIDA members individually so they didn't have to post a public meeting and got their approval, and then rushed it onto the County Legislature's agenda – and they approved it, against their prior announcement.
I'm generally pretty rational about things, and can reasonably disagree with someone. But the mayor broke the public trust. He went behind the backs of the members of an elected council, and even those who agree with the mayor in principle on this issue should be angry as hell. The mayor has already proven to me that he doesn't value his constituents' input.
Common Councilor Stephanie Miner told the newspaper she doesn't know if there's a next step, but at the very least, we can all let the mayor know that he needs to listen to the people who pay him once in a while. You can reach him at:
Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll
City Hall
233 E. Washington St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
I'll be writing a letter this weekend, and I'll post it here for you to draw from.
And let's remember to call this what it is: A mall expansion. This is not DestiNY USA, the proposed massive development without design plans, rights-of-way or approvals that the owners think will create $5.1 billion in salaries for CNY residents.
