Contrary to rules, the Council put controversial items on the consent agenda; meaning they would pass without public discussion. After Mary Shkut tried to ensure these items would be publicly discussed the Mayor and his Council voted to have deputies remove her. The deputies refused.
A: Mary Strives for Government Transparency &
The Pollino's Majority Responds by Voting to Have Her Arrested
The Council Majority Uses Consent Agenda to Hide & Adopt Policy
So, first you have to know that, any and all policies listed under the meeting's Consent Agenda must be "uncontroversial and routine" (Per Rule 11). Here's why... ~ The entire stack of policies are passed in a single Council vote ~ The policies on the Consent Agenda are not openly discussed before they are adopted. When misused, the Consent Agenda can hide controversial policies from the public and they can be adopted without transparency, or public scrutiny
Mary Respectfully Declines to Leave Her Seat
Contrary to Rules, the Council put controversial items on the Consent Agenda Items included the Budget, Shut-down Bonuses, LUP Survey w/o a contract, etc. Mary tried to address this and ensure items would be publicly discussed In response the Mayor asked Mary to leave the Council table She respectfully refused and cited an attempt to carry out her Council duties
B: The Council Majority Votes to Have Her Physically Removed
The Mayor Calls on the Sheriff's Office to Physically Remove Her
The Mayor called a vote to have Mary ‘physically' removed The Council passed the vote however, deputies were reluctant to act The Mayor insisted Mary be removed based on the Council's vote for removal Mary prepared for arrest and made legal statements suggested by attorneys Still, the deputies did not act on the command and things grew tense The Mayor grew frustrated at the inaction and called for a recess Listen to the audio from this segment of the meeting, below.
Mayor Pollino's and His Majority Attempts to Have Mary Physically Removed
The Consent Agenda can be misused to pass policy while evading open deliberation Mary hoped to remove non-compliant Consent Agenda items to ensure transparency Pollino's Council responded by trying to have Mary physically removed
Pollino Gets Frustrated with Sheriff Deputy Inaction
Two related developments occurred later in the meeting. After the Mayor called for a recess a brief side bar was held between the Mayor, the deputies and the attorneys. Deputies determined Mary was not a disturbance and would not remove her. Mary was instructed to continue participating to the greatest extent possible Mary's contributions and objections were typically based on legal or policy grounds. The Council and Staff ignored Mary's participation and did not count her votes
C: The Council Plans to Unlawfully Usurp Mary's Office & Agrees to Spend Taxpayer Funds to Dispute Mary's Appointment
Council agreed to collect applications and move toward usurping Mary's office
Council agreed to spend taxpayer funds take legal action Mary's appointment