Tonight's ANC 8C Meeting: New day or more of the same?
Good Morning Neighbors!
Tonight is supposed to the first meeting of the new 2011 - 2012 term of Advisory Neighorhood Commission 8C. The meeting is scheduled (I hope but haven't seen a flier/email) to take place tonight at 6:30pm at the UPO Petey Greene Center located at 2907 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave, SE (next to the King gas station). You may recall this meeting was scheduled for last Wed but was rescheduled at the behest of the current Chair, Commissioner Mary Cuthbert. Unfortunately, The Advoc8te and community were unaware of the change (again) because of the lack of community notice (again). Speaking for my neighborhood I didn't see a sign, a flier, or even get an email about the orginal or rescheduled meeting. Sometimes I feel like I have spent more time outside waiting for a meeting than attending a meeting. In all honestly, because of the ANC rules, anything that is voted on in tonight's meeting could be ruled null and void because of the lack of required community notice.
This meeting should be important because that is when the Commissioners are supposed to elect officer positions for the year, although to be honest I never quite understood that. Electing Commissioners in January in the first meeting before the community has a time to meet the new commissioners seems odd, but oh well.
Anyhow, the January meeting is supposed to set the tone for the upcoming year. The officers’ positions are supposed to be elected (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer) and the yearly budget is supposed to be presented to the community, voted on, and adopted. Other administrative actions are supposed to take place such as reviewing, approving, and submitting the financial reports, participating in the security fund (the bond that is supposed to reimburse the ANC in the event of theft and/or mismanagement of ANC funds), and presenting in the public meeting the plans for the yearly budget.
FYI- soliciting comments and feedback from the community is MANDATORY before adopting the budget by a majority vote of the commission. Without an approved budget, the ANC is not allowed to spend any money -- or is not supposed to anyway---according to the DC Auditor. In the past, for many years in fact, ANC 8C has not had an approved budget and therefore according to the DC Auditor did not have the right to spend any ANC money, unfortunately the ANC under the direction of the current Chair (Commissioner Cuthbert) continued to pay $900/month in rent for an "office" (without a phone line or working equipment) in a barbershop on MLK Jr. Ave. According to at least one commissioner, William Ellis, the treasurer, it is unclear who owns the office and who is receiving the monthly payments. There is no lease for the office, something that has been of grave concern to the Auditor’s Office as well as CM Yvette Alexander, who was the Chair of the Committee on Aging and Community Affairs.
Because of the unapproved payments and the ANC's inability to adopt the DC Auditor's recommendations regarding the unapproved payments, the DC Auditor has now decided to withhold over $20,000 (the amount of the rent payments) from the 2010 ANC allotment and once again, the community is left holding the (empty) bag. Despite many pleas from the community (including yours truly), the past commission (with the exception of Commissioner William Ellis who worked tirelessly and who I as a private citizen am endorsing for Chair) ignored the Auditors numerous warnings, and frankly basic common sense when it comes to ANC operations.
CHotR: 9 days until deadline for ANC 8C to respond to the DC Auditor or the DC Treasurer will withhold $24,300 from future ANC 8C allotments
CHotR: Commissioner William Ellis' Open Letter To the Community Regarding ANC 8C.
At the risk of "talking out of school”, I can't imagine any other organization (private or public) that wouldallow over $20,000 of their operating budget to be wasted on an unapproved expense, especially an expense for an empty, raggedy, unused, and over-priced office that the DC Auditor warned in an audit report was an "uneconomical waste of public funds." Did I mention the rent payments have been the ONLY expense for ANC 8C for at least five years? Five years! I cannot imagine any private citizen spending $900 a month on rent for an apartment they do not use, without a lease, and without knowing the name of the property owner, especially not to the tune of $100,000+ dollars as has been the case for the past ten years. At best, it smacks of inefficiency, at worst, something much more nefarious.
I don't get it, and frankly neither should the community. I can't imagine anyone in good faith trying to justify these payments and for the commissioners who sat on the ANC board last year term and either turned a blind eye to the issue or who were more concerned about the "appearance" of power, shame on you!
CHotR: Dr. Phil makes a surprise visit to ANC 8C! Advises Commission to "Stop the madness!"
I have come to terms a long time ago that when it came to ANC 8C I was most likely going to be unpopular, perhaps even "hated" (okay that ass wupping threat even took me by surprise) for ringing the alarm about the things occurring in the Commission. Despite the risk of being a accused of being “busybody” or a “hater”, I cannot in good faith as a tax-paying citizen of the District, a homeowner in Congress Heights, and as a decent human being not say and write about the past and currently travesties that have occurred within this commission. Too much is at stake for our community to be asleep at the wheel or afraid to speak up about what is going on. I have been very disappointed and frustrated in our past ANC 8C commission and I made no secret of it.
Some of the past problems can be chalked up to a lack of knowledge and a lack of experience but other problems can be chalked up to one huge vice -- ego. I have never understood why for some people it is more important to be in charge of a bad team than is a team member on a good one. Fewer titles are more coveted in Ward 8 than the title of "Chair" and I have never understood that. I think a good Chair can guide a good organization on the right path, I have seen some good ones but "Chair" should not equal "Despot" and unfortunately, my neighbors and I have seen that happen in some of our community organizations.
The good news is that more attention is being paid to organizations EotR, from both within and outside of the community; residents (new and old) are getting involved in their community organizations either by running for positions or by voicing their concerns and recommendations. The veil of secrecy is starting to lift and residents are becoming interested either for the first time or again to get involved in the inner works of their community organizations.
I have always been of the opinion that the real power isn't at the front of the room at the head table but in the audience. The community should be what guides, advises, supports, and should be the watchdogs that guard against tomfoolery, waste, and fraud because lord knows the DC goverment agencies tasked with stamping out such waste are powerless to stop it. I am always suspect when politicians and/or community organizations try to dissuade members of the community from getting involved or attempt to make things appear so "high level" that they are beyond the scope or understanding of every day residents. When you operate under a veil of secrecy you are encouraging bad things to happen, at best you are only getting part of the full story.
Therefore, I encourage my neighbors and my neighbor's neighbors to "get involved, ask questions, and demand more.”
We can do this, in many ways we already have. Now let’s put our COMMUNITY at the head of the table!
Current ANC 8C Commissioners
*new commissioner this term
8C01/William R. Ellis
8C02/Dion Jordan
8C03/Mary J. Cuthbert
8C04/Lloyd T. Logan *
8C05/Yottie Kenan-Smalls*
8C06/Frank Jackson II*
8C07/Brenda E. Shields*
To submit an article or to inquire about advertising send an email to Advoc8te@congressheightsontherise.com
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| My agenda: A productive ANC 8C |
Tonight is supposed to the first meeting of the new 2011 - 2012 term of Advisory Neighorhood Commission 8C. The meeting is scheduled (I hope but haven't seen a flier/email) to take place tonight at 6:30pm at the UPO Petey Greene Center located at 2907 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave, SE (next to the King gas station). You may recall this meeting was scheduled for last Wed but was rescheduled at the behest of the current Chair, Commissioner Mary Cuthbert. Unfortunately, The Advoc8te and community were unaware of the change (again) because of the lack of community notice (again). Speaking for my neighborhood I didn't see a sign, a flier, or even get an email about the orginal or rescheduled meeting. Sometimes I feel like I have spent more time outside waiting for a meeting than attending a meeting. In all honestly, because of the ANC rules, anything that is voted on in tonight's meeting could be ruled null and void because of the lack of required community notice.
This meeting should be important because that is when the Commissioners are supposed to elect officer positions for the year, although to be honest I never quite understood that. Electing Commissioners in January in the first meeting before the community has a time to meet the new commissioners seems odd, but oh well.
FYI- soliciting comments and feedback from the community is MANDATORY before adopting the budget by a majority vote of the commission. Without an approved budget, the ANC is not allowed to spend any money -- or is not supposed to anyway---according to the DC Auditor. In the past, for many years in fact, ANC 8C has not had an approved budget and therefore according to the DC Auditor did not have the right to spend any ANC money, unfortunately the ANC under the direction of the current Chair (Commissioner Cuthbert) continued to pay $900/month in rent for an "office" (without a phone line or working equipment) in a barbershop on MLK Jr. Ave. According to at least one commissioner, William Ellis, the treasurer, it is unclear who owns the office and who is receiving the monthly payments. There is no lease for the office, something that has been of grave concern to the Auditor’s Office as well as CM Yvette Alexander, who was the Chair of the Committee on Aging and Community Affairs.
Because of the unapproved payments and the ANC's inability to adopt the DC Auditor's recommendations regarding the unapproved payments, the DC Auditor has now decided to withhold over $20,000 (the amount of the rent payments) from the 2010 ANC allotment and once again, the community is left holding the (empty) bag. Despite many pleas from the community (including yours truly), the past commission (with the exception of Commissioner William Ellis who worked tirelessly and who I as a private citizen am endorsing for Chair) ignored the Auditors numerous warnings, and frankly basic common sense when it comes to ANC operations.
CHotR: 9 days until deadline for ANC 8C to respond to the DC Auditor or the DC Treasurer will withhold $24,300 from future ANC 8C allotments
CHotR: Commissioner William Ellis' Open Letter To the Community Regarding ANC 8C.
At the risk of "talking out of school”, I can't imagine any other organization (private or public) that wouldallow over $20,000 of their operating budget to be wasted on an unapproved expense, especially an expense for an empty, raggedy, unused, and over-priced office that the DC Auditor warned in an audit report was an "uneconomical waste of public funds." Did I mention the rent payments have been the ONLY expense for ANC 8C for at least five years? Five years! I cannot imagine any private citizen spending $900 a month on rent for an apartment they do not use, without a lease, and without knowing the name of the property owner, especially not to the tune of $100,000+ dollars as has been the case for the past ten years. At best, it smacks of inefficiency, at worst, something much more nefarious.
I don't get it, and frankly neither should the community. I can't imagine anyone in good faith trying to justify these payments and for the commissioners who sat on the ANC board last year term and either turned a blind eye to the issue or who were more concerned about the "appearance" of power, shame on you!
CHotR: Dr. Phil makes a surprise visit to ANC 8C! Advises Commission to "Stop the madness!"
I have come to terms a long time ago that when it came to ANC 8C I was most likely going to be unpopular, perhaps even "hated" (okay that ass wupping threat even took me by surprise) for ringing the alarm about the things occurring in the Commission. Despite the risk of being a accused of being “busybody” or a “hater”, I cannot in good faith as a tax-paying citizen of the District, a homeowner in Congress Heights, and as a decent human being not say and write about the past and currently travesties that have occurred within this commission. Too much is at stake for our community to be asleep at the wheel or afraid to speak up about what is going on. I have been very disappointed and frustrated in our past ANC 8C commission and I made no secret of it.
Some of the past problems can be chalked up to a lack of knowledge and a lack of experience but other problems can be chalked up to one huge vice -- ego. I have never understood why for some people it is more important to be in charge of a bad team than is a team member on a good one. Fewer titles are more coveted in Ward 8 than the title of "Chair" and I have never understood that. I think a good Chair can guide a good organization on the right path, I have seen some good ones but "Chair" should not equal "Despot" and unfortunately, my neighbors and I have seen that happen in some of our community organizations.
The good news is that more attention is being paid to organizations EotR, from both within and outside of the community; residents (new and old) are getting involved in their community organizations either by running for positions or by voicing their concerns and recommendations. The veil of secrecy is starting to lift and residents are becoming interested either for the first time or again to get involved in the inner works of their community organizations.
I have always been of the opinion that the real power isn't at the front of the room at the head table but in the audience. The community should be what guides, advises, supports, and should be the watchdogs that guard against tomfoolery, waste, and fraud because lord knows the DC goverment agencies tasked with stamping out such waste are powerless to stop it. I am always suspect when politicians and/or community organizations try to dissuade members of the community from getting involved or attempt to make things appear so "high level" that they are beyond the scope or understanding of every day residents. When you operate under a veil of secrecy you are encouraging bad things to happen, at best you are only getting part of the full story.
Therefore, I encourage my neighbors and my neighbor's neighbors to "get involved, ask questions, and demand more.”
We can do this, in many ways we already have. Now let’s put our COMMUNITY at the head of the table!
Current ANC 8C Commissioners
*new commissioner this term
8C01/William R. Ellis
8C02/Dion Jordan
8C03/Mary J. Cuthbert
8C04/Lloyd T. Logan *
8C05/Yottie Kenan-Smalls*
8C06/Frank Jackson II*
8C07/Brenda E. Shields*
To submit an article or to inquire about advertising send an email to Advoc8te@congressheightsontherise.com