Commentary: Staying Informed is Every Citizen's Right and Responsibility

Last night's Fernley City Council special session was an exhibition of the woefully uninformed. As the council met for final approval of the new ordinance regulating residential and commercial trash services, the public hearing turned in to a parade of the inattentive who took the opportunity to berate the council for not informing them of the impending move to mandatory trash service.
The 20 or so residents who spoke their minds to the council all had a similar gripe: why hadn't the council and city done a better job of informing the public about this move to compulsory trash service? That, despite the fact that the discussion and debate about a new waste franchise agreement has been on numerous council agendas and the subject of various newspaper articles since last June or July.
It would appear that these somnambulating citizens also took a siesta in civics class as well. Their input and subsequent dressing-down of the City Council was well-intentioned and within their rights, albeit three to four months too late.
In this day and age of information overload, it's very tempting to tune out, turn off and otherwise bury your head in the sand. But citizens have an obligation and responsibility to stay informed.
The City Council, in this particular case, made every reasonable effort to make the public aware of changes coming up in the waste franchise agreements. Why these folks didn't get the word until TrashPros delivered a trash container to their curb remains the big question that can only be answered by these individuals.
Comments at last night's meeting likened the City of Fernley to dictatorial regimes like Cuba and North Korea. Some even went so far as to threaten to leave the city and move away over the issue. These people were clearly livid because they didn't get the word about changes coming in the city's trash service.
Unfortunately, their ire was misdirected. Instead of wagging their fingers at the City Council for not informing them, these residents need only look in the mirror to find the guilty party. Being an informed citizen does take some modicum of effort.
Council agendas are routinely posted online and at city hall in advance of meetings. Local newspapers, although paring staffs and cutting distribution in this economic tumult, make an effort to cover stories that impact the public.
With information so readily available from a variety of sources, the idea that the City Council should spoon feed the populace is not only naive, but dangerous. When addressing the added burden of the fees for trash service, one resident posed the question, "What's next?"
What's next, indeed. Every citizen must exercise their right to stay informed and keep an eye on elected officials at all levels of government. If we, the people, fail to do so then we can't complain when we get blind-sided by what's coming next.

Council Set To Mull Bacock's Exit Agreement

Today's Fernley City Council meeting--set to begin at 4 p.m--will be punctuated by the council's consideration of long-time City Manager Gary Bacock's exit as the city's top executive and two versions of a proposed settlement agreement.
In what was originally slated to be the last council session before two new council members are sworn in during the first meeting in January, the council has now slated a special session for next Monday, apparently to clear some last minute business before the close of the year. More details on that to follow in an upcoming post...
The big item on today's agenda will see the council mulling over two proposed settlement agreements for Bacock, who said in an agenda report to the council that, "Due to the election, it is clear that a transition is coming."
Apparently seeing the handwriting on the wall, the embattled City Manager has proposed two versions of a settlement agreement with the city, one that would offer up six months of severance--two months longer than his current agreement with the city calls for in the event of termination--and another that offers the city's first and only manager the standard four months.
There are some nuances in wording between the two documents, but either version has a certain level of goodwill and transitional assistance attached to the agreement. On the surface, it appears that the major difference lies in the term--four months versus six.
In his agenda report to the council dated December 11, Bacock recommends three current department heads as possible candidates for the interim city manager: Bonnie Duke, Finance Director/Treasurer; Lowell Patton, Public Works Director; and Fred Turnier, Community Development Director. "Each of these department heads has the experience to temporarily fill this acting assignment," Bacock tells the council.
Based on the terms of either agreement, Bacock will be placed on paid administrative leave Saturday, December 20. Bacock, who pulls down a salary in the low six figures, was hired as Fernley's first town manager in September 1998. He became city manager when the town incorporated July 1, 2001.
Tucked away on the council's standard consent agenda are a couple of items worthy of note...
There are three acquisitions of land for water conveyance projects, presumably tied to the ongoing construction of the city's water treatment plant. The combined cost of those acquisitions total $183,000.
The council will also award the construction contract for the Nevada Pacific Parkway waterline relocation project that has to be done in order for the new interchange to proceed at I-80. While the city has a shared cost agreement with Nevada Department of Transportation, the city's exposure on the project is pegged at $436,613.38.
Other regular agenda items include swearing in the 2009 Youth City Council, and a review of all appointments to various committees and commissions in an effort to determine whether a council member, city staffer or a member of the public would be better suited to certain committees.