I’ve covered the Nevada City council for three decades and seen more than a few ugly confrontations, but watching the current mayor deride former mayor Cathy Wilcox Barnes for her objection to the city’s spending spree was definitely a new low.
For 150 years Nevada City got by with one city manager, but now we have three, the current City manager, a deputy city manager, and an assistant city manager. The city council has always been a volunteer job, but now we are told that without medical coverage and a $500 monthly stipend, no one will want to run for the job. How did they ever manage to survive the Great Depression and a few dozen recessions?
Then there’s the plan to spend $30K on hiring a mediator to iron out a compromise on a declaration supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, which I’m sure will be quite an effective way to stop a war on the other side of the world.
The idea is to rely on grant money and a good economy to keep the city afloat, but maybe they should look at California’s debt and over-promising too much to too many for a peek at what is likely to come their way.
Or, just cuss out the naysayers, and get a new pair of rose-colored glasses.
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In all my years covering the city council I never saw anything like this episode. There have always been contentious issues that defy compromise, but to blow $30K on a symbolic resolution really takes the cake. (And no facilitator is going to please everyone!)