Citizen raises concerns for city of Lincoln administration, its finances and proposed ordinance change

Blinn Bates addressed Mayor Seth Goodman and Lincoln City Council members with the following letter concerning the oversight of the city and its finances:

Dear Mayor Goodman & Lincoln City Council members,

I know many of you, but for the sake of anyone I do not know, my name is Blinn Bates. I live in the City of Lincoln, own a home here, my children attend school here, and I own and operate a business here. I proudly attended District #27 schools, graduated from LCHS, and have made Lincoln my home since my graduation from law school. I now own and operate a business that my Grandfather and others started in Lincoln in 1972.

I contact you today as a lifelong citizen of this City, and a concerned one. The Council will take up for consideration on March 2, 2020 the “City Administrator’s Proposed Resolution Amendment to Add Language to New Section 8, ‘Being kept apprised of all City Operations.’” This Agenda item first appeared on the Committee of the Whole Agenda dated February 25, 2019. While the title of the Agenda item is innocent enough, the language of the actual Ordinance does much more than what is indicated.

Along with the change that is specifically stated within the Agenda item, the language of the Ordinance would substantially reduce the job responsibilities of the City Administrator by 1) eliminating the responsibility of the Administrator to ensure meeting agendas are prepared; 2) removing supervisory responsibility of City department heads; and 3) eliminating responsibility for preparation of the City budget.

If these changes to the job description of the City Administrator are accepted by the Council and this Ordinance is passed, the position of City Administrator will be deemed useless. The City would essentially be paying Ms. Kavelman to hold a job title with no substantive job responsibilities.

I believe the position of City Administrator is a vitally important one for our community to grow and thrive, and I have seen, firsthand, the benefits of a talented Administrator. The annual budget of the City of Lincoln is approximately $22,500,000. You will not find a CEO of a private company of that magnitude that is not highly qualified, extremely talented, and well trained to perform the demanding tasks of their position. In order to find someone that possesses those traits, it requires sufficient compensation. This is not a position that should be bargain-shopped.

The individual that currently occupies the position of City Administrator possesses none of the necessary qualifications for the position, and is not capable to perform the tasks the position requires. The fact that the Council is even considering passing this Ordinance signifies the agreement of each and every one of you that Ms. Kavelman is not capable of doing the job that she was hired to perform. Neutering the position itself to avoid Ms. Kavelman being held accountable to perform the tasks she was hired to accomplish is not the answer.
 

If I were hired by a trucking company to drive a semi-truck and haul freight, that trucking company would be in a precarious position because I do not possess the necessary skills to drive a semi-truck. I could have the best of intentions, but, even if I were able to get the semi moving down the road, I would be putting my employer and everyone I encountered at risk. My employer would likely get sued when I injure someone or lose control and hit an unsuspecting pedestrian. I would also more than likely cause my employer financial harm when I inevitably cause damage to the truck.

When my employer learned that I did not possess the necessary qualifications to do the job, do you think they would give me a raise to just sit in the truck? Absolutely not. My employment would be terminated IMMEDIATELY. The result should be the same in the situation the City Council is faced with.

At some point in time, each and every member of the City Council took an Oath of Office and swore to faithfully discharge the duties of their office. Continuing to allow this charade to continue does not live up to that promise. Spending another dime of taxpayer dollars on an obviously incapable employee does not, in my opinion, fulfill the obligations you all have made.

The passage of this Ordinance is not the answer. Deep down, I believe each of you knows what the answer is. For yourselves, for the Citizens of the City of Lincoln, for the businesses that we still have, and for the future of the City, I implore you to do the right thing.

Sincerely,
Blinn Bates

Editor's note: To allow a balanced perspective, Lincoln Daily News offered the council an opportunity to respond to Bates' letter, which arrived Wednesday evening, but received no response.

[Posted February 29, 2020]