The City of Troy, New York, "Where Henry Hudson Turned Around."

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

CAN'T ANYONE HERE...

...PLAY THIS GAME?

You know, we wanted to give Carmella Mantello the benefit of the doubt. She has worked in mediocrity the way some masters work in oils. Present but not actively offensive. Recent events have shed a bright light on what can only be termed incompetence, ignorance or arrogance. Ms. Mantello, currently, and until January 1, 2016, is merely a private citizen. She either does not know this undeniable fact, cannot believe it or does not care. To not understand power and the limits of power is a bad sign in the incoming Council President.

At the last Council meeting the Council, as it does, scheduled the next Council meeting for January 7, 2016. This is standard procedure. The Council has been meeting on Thursdays for a long time. Formal notice of the meeting has been sent per the Charter.

Private Citizen Mantello believes she has authority to schedule the meeting for Monday, January 4, 2016. She wants the Finance Committee to meet at 5:00PM as a warm-up for a 6:00PM Council meeting. Apparently, Thursday is a big television night for Ms. Mantello.

-----Original Message-----
From: Carmella Mantello
Sent: Dec 22, 2015 10:49 AM
To: lynn kopka
Cc: erin teta , Mark Mcgrath , Dean , John Donohue , Jim Gulli , Bob Doherty , Kim
Subject: Re: notice for Org. Mtg 2016
Hi all. 
Please be advised that the organizational (regular) meeting of the Troy City Council will be held on Monday, January 4, 2016 at 6 p.m. preceded by a Finance Meeting at 5 p.m. There is no city council meeting on January 7, 2016. 
All council members will be give notice of the January 4th meetings and copy of the agenda in an appropriate manner. 
This meeting is being called pursuant to the Troy City Charter public officers law and second class cities law. Hopefully, this will clear up any confusion. 
 
Thanks. 
 
Carmella

Sent from my iPhone
 
 
On Dec 22, 2015, at 10:59 AM, lynn kopka <lkopka@earthlink.net> wrote:

Can the new council, which is not a duly constituted body until January 1, 2016, set a different date and time or am I misreading the charter? What was reported from December Finance had Jan 7 as the date. Did notice go out from the current city clerk for Jan 4? this is extremely confusing and makes scheduling difficult.



From: Carmella Mantello [mailto:cmantell@nycap.rr.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 1:30 PM
To: Lynn M. Kopka
Cc: Cheryl.Christiansen; Erin Sullivan-Teta; Ian.Silverman; Rodney Wiltshire
Subject: Re: notice for Org. Mtg 2016
 
Lynn,
 
Once again, the outgoing council has no authority to set meeting dates for the council taking office on January 1, 2016. Rather, the new council will give proper notice on January 1, 2016 along with the agenda for the organizational (regular) meeting and finance committee, for Monday, January 4, 2016. 
 
Looking forward to seeing you at the organizational (regular) meeting on Monday, January 4, 2016. 
 
Carmella
 
 While the Council has the authority to schedule the monthly Council meeting on any day they wish, said schedule is set at the first Council meeting in January. According to the Charter, Section-27:
 
Regular meetings of the City Council shall be held once each month on such dates as the Council shall designate, each year, by amendment to its rules at its January meeting. No local law, ordinance or resolution may be acted upon at a regular meeting unless a copy thereof shall have been delivered under the supervision of the City Clerk to each Council member at least 24 hours prior to said meeting.
 
Also per the Charter (C-32):
 
All meetings of the City Council, regular or special, shall be held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall at 7:00 in the evening unless some other place or time has been voted by a majority of the members of the Council or unless a written call for such meeting, signed by five members of the Council, is filed with the City Clerk 72 hours prior to the time of the meeting and due public notice has been given of such change or changes.
 
The Council has designated the date -  January 7, 2016. Notice has been sent by the Clerk. Ms. Mantello lacks authority to change the meeting to January 4, 2016. First, she currently does not have the authority to do anything. Like Democratus, she is a private citizen who holds no government position. Secondly, nothing can occur at said meeting until the Clerk has delivered proposed legislation, etc. to the Council members 24 hours prior to the meeting.
 
Unless the current Clerk wished to comply, and one doubts she will be working on New Years Day or Saturday or Sunday, their can be no meeting.* This is because the current Clerk remains the Clerk until the new Clerk is appointed. Ditto for the Deputy Clerk. The office of Clerk and Deputy Clerk do not have definite terms and last as long as the Council majority wants them to last. Therefore, until the organizational meeting appoints a new clerk.....you get our point.
 
Also note, Ms. Mantello wants to change the time of the meeting in violations of the Charter. Again, one doubts the City Clerk will be available on New Years Day for the appropriate 72 hour Notice.
 
Does Ms. Mantello know the incoming majority does not yet have their clerk or deputy clerk appointed? Does she not know that she needs the current clerk's cooperation or is she deluded into believing that the individual that will be appointed clerk is somehow, magically, the clerk? A magic clerk that is not yet bonded?
 
As an aside, Ms. Mantello, on Christmas Eve, wished the current Clerk and Deputy Clerk a Merry Christmas and then walked into Human Resources to deliver pink slips for both individuals. This was a small act that is beneath the dignity of a would-be public official. The Clerk and Deputy Clerk know they will not maintain their respective positions after the organizational meeting. What was the point of pink slips? Furthermore, and more to the point, Ms. Mantello has no authority to fire anyone. The Council will perform that act when they appoint new individuals to those positions. Bad form, Carmella, bad form.
 
Ms. Mantello (possibly the bastard child of Evita Peron and Gary Busey) has also asked for the keys to City Hall on January 1st, 2016, so proper notice of the new meeting date and time can be sent. She has been told 'no' twice by the Deputy Clerk and finally told to stop calling. The new Mayor should keep City Hall locked over the weekend. If not, Evita will think she can do whatever she wants, whether the Charter says she can or not. Nip this in the bud, Pat, or it will be a long four years.
 
Past Councils have had regular procedural mishaps. Its what you get when the system is based on part-time, citizen legislators. This, however, is just someone who salivates so much at the idea of some power that she can't help herself. Like Kirstie Allie at an all-you-can-eat buffet or Bill Cosby with free pharmaceutical samples.

Ignorant, incompetent or arrogant? You decide (combinations are allowed).

* They can always meet, maybe have some hors d'oeuvres with a fine Armagnac, but they cannot conduct Council business. 

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm starting to miss Ken and Rodney.

Anonymous said...

You are so bitter. This is what it looks like when responsible people want to get things done.
The steamroller is fueled and I suggest you get out of its way.

Anonymous said...

Just like Flounder said at the Parade..."Oh boy is this GREAT!"

Anonymous said...

Unreal.....Congrats Troy, you elected her! Good luck Pat!

Anonymous said...

Carmellazilla LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey Brother

Anonymous said...

Madden needs to put a stop to this and not give her the keys Jan 1- will he even be sworn in by then? People plan their schedules and other meetings around the Thursday meetings, does she not have time for a meeting both Monday and Thursday? Then maybe she should not have run.

Anonymous said...

I'm with 7:14.

Jesus, bring them back.

Phana24JG said...

While I understand her desire to "take immediate action," symbolism over substance rarely works. I get the desire to see a "steamroller" as 7.58 suggested, but the fact remains she is only the Council President, and I doubt the capable(we hope we don't get fooled again) Mr. Madden will just stand there. There will come a time for confrontation, but it is always wise to pick your battles very carefully. This accomplishes nothing and the benefits are few.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. Too much ego. Spitzer bragged about being a steamroller, too. We all know how that turned out.

Anonymous said...

LOL @ 8:30 AM!

Anonymous said...

4 years of a cluster fuck. That's what we just went threw. She's doing by the letter of the law. Good for her.

Anonymous said...

She's not following the law, moron.

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to the new year with Carmella and Mad Dog McGrath. This should be fun!

Anonymous said...

Carmellazilla---Almost pissed my pants

Anonymous said...

Ummm 4:10PM you might want to read the post again. What Carm is doing is against the law, as in not legal, as in... never mind. Way above your comprehension level.

Anonymous said...

Lemme guess 4:10. You were a Gordon supporter.

Anonymous said...

No surprise. Mantello + Dworsky = Disaster.
So much for giving her the benefit of the doubt.

Anonymous said...

So power hungry. Kind of pathetic. She needs a life.

Anonymous said...

@11:19, "against the law" it is perfectly legal and within the charter rules. You wannabe or unemployed lawyers should spend more time reading the charter and less time assassinating others character.

Phana24JG said...

Dumber than Kim?? Let me guess, you thought Anastasia Robertson was the Official Council Scholar?

Anonymous said...

She has no authority until sworn in. However, she has the authority once sworn in to try and get the meeting changed to Monday. She will need the cooperation of the Clerk, which isn't likely. The problem with her scheme is that she thinks the person the majority will appoint as clerk can perform the duties of the clerk before duly appointed. So, if the current clerk cooperates, the meeting can be Monday. If not, not.

Guy Fawkes said...

Phana, I believe you are being harsh. I often thought of Anastasia as the Descartes of the Council, with Mark McGrath the Saint Francis.

I do believe Democratus is correct in describing Carmella as mediocre. She is the perfect bureaucrat and that takes a high degree of mediocrity. She should do reasonably well in her current position.

If she was going to break out and be a true leader, she would have challenged Gordon for the nomination. She fell in line with a City GOP that can't get out of its own way. She could have charted her own course but failed to do so.

Oh, well, I'm off to Parliament.

Kim AP said...

Im smart. I can do things. Im threw trying to explain it to you.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like someone is upset with Kim. To Bad get over it she will do fine. She is just what this council needs. And if you are so upset with her you should of run. When she runs again go up against her. Then will see if you have the guts and at least we will see your name.

Anonymous said...

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Anonymous said...

One more thing-- dworsky--goldfarb--dunbar--& Carmella// #hotubtimemachine3 #letsChowmuchmorewecanfuckup

Anonymous said...

I to went threw a custardfuk

Kim said...

How will I get threw the next too years. Im glad I have my freind Carmella

Phana24JG said...

Awesome first paragraph, Guy. Kudos on the Rene Descartes reference, post of the week. I have always admired her work. :)

Mediocre is a tad harsh for Carm. While this week has not been her best, she still has some points accumulated from her prompt post-election confab with the Mayor-elect. We need them both to do well.

A few more posts like that one and we may have to start calling you Sir Guy.

Anonymous said...

I'm smart / I can run things #Freido

Anonymous said...

For Mantello to want to change the long standing Thursday night Council meeting to a Monday, some major conflict must be happening on thursday nights.
Informed sources tell us Thursday is Dworshy's online gambling night. We know he could never abstain from this compulsion simply to pull Mantello's strings.
It looks like Trojans must adapt to Dworsky's gambling habits if they want to observe city council business.

Anonymous said...

She had as much authority as I did to move those meetings until sworn in. This is just Carmzilla setting the tone. It won't work. Prepare for another clusterfuck

Anonymous said...

Carm Carm Carmella chameleon, you come and go. You come and go!

Anonymous said...

Before even taking office Carmella was already using many people's time and energy to deal with a controversy she created. So far, we have heard no good reason from her as to WHY this change needs to be made. Is it just so she can see how much of a stink she can make and how many feathers she can ruffle BEFORE taking office? This does not bode well for her leadership style. I see why the republicans would run Gordon for Mayor instead of Carmella. At least Democratus will have a whole bunch of great material for the next two years. If this is her first move, it's going to be an interesting ride.

Anonymous said...

No one's upset with her. We're thrilled to have someone on the Council stupider than Erin Sullivan Teta.

Anonymous said...

Yeah your a brain surgeon for sure..Erin works hard and tried to help the people that elected her..why don't you ball up and run against her..she's won twice numbnuts..

Guy Fawkes said...

Phana, mediocre is a compliment. My opinion of most elected officials is generally lower than mediocre. Sub-ocre as it were.

Now, anyone see those crown jewels.

Anonymous said...

She was elected as an at large councilperson who had most votes to become council president. She didn't run as council president, it just worked out that way. She is a petty, power hungry, shit pot stirring jerk. People didn't vote for her to be a steamroller, they voted for her as an at large council person. She didn't have the nerve or character to fight the republican slugs for the mayoral nomination. She did what she was told. Now her lust for relevance and power is apparent. She did all this petty bullshit before being swore in!!! I wish I could have my vote back. She is acting just like Tut, an egomaniacal, think skinned cry baby. Good luck Trojans, you wanted her, you got her

Anonymous said...

Phana, all she had to do was wait a week! Her lust for power is making her look like a fool. A petulant child. All "good" she did in the last month gets thrown out the window. She is going out if her way to piss everyone off. You think that's productive? Say it isn't so

Phana24JG said...

As I said 4.44, not her finest hour, but the drama and hand-wringing over this reminds me of those reality shows my wife occasionally turns on.