Writ Of Mandamus

More on the writ later, but first let's set the stage...

As many of you may know there has been a dinosaur zoo operating in Dunwoody for a few years now. Not live dinosaurs or even fossilized bones but the inflate-a-date variety. Now the city is shutting down the dino-zoo and that is making fur fly over on fece-book with most seeing dino-extinction as a sin against god and humanity. Mostly because their kids liked it. 

This would be a real teaching moment if it weren't taking so long. Some are just now learning that Dunwoody takes an "enforce on complaint" approach to anything they deign to address and with any action subject to their assessment of the complainer, the alleged offender and the alleged violation. This has led some to call for an open records request to identify the dino-hater presumably to go after them, but be honest, isn't guessing more fun? Others are seeking their very own inflate-a-dino to defy "the man." Others cannot fathom how an inflatable is a sign. Some want to "throw the bums out" suggesting write-ins for the unchallenged in the upcoming election. The zoo-keeper confesses to knowing the rules but has been doing this for three years which may not be the best thing to immortalize on the interweb. The mayor is going to "look into it" which is politician-speak for "I'm outta here" as there is much that any city politician would not want the electorate figuring out as they dig into this affair. Let's learn that anyway.

We'll start with the "sign, not-sign" confustication by looking at the actual ordinance, specifically Section 20-34 - Prohibited Signs:

Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the following signs are prohibited within the city:

(1)Dilapidated signs, including sign structures.

(2)Animated signs, including balloons, streamers, air or gas filled figures, signs that move mechanically as a result of human activity, wherever located.

There you have it, no ignorance, no excuse. Those dinos are prohibited and in violation of city ordinance. You should also know that this ordinance passed unanimously, 7-0, with much self-congratulatory backslapping and support from many if not most of the current politicians. So what exactly is the mayor looking into? An unread ordinance that was voted for? How often does that happen?

Suppose the mayor does look into it. Can the mayor actually do anything? Let's see what the city charter has to say about that, specifically Sec. 3.05. - City council interference with administration:

Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations under Section 2.08 of this Charter, the city council or its members shall deal with city officers and employees who are subject to the direction or supervision of the city manager solely through the city manager, and neither the city council nor its members shall give orders to any such officer or employee, either publicly or privately.

It is impossible to believe that anyone who voted yes for the Dunwoody referendum ever read this (or ever will) as this prohibition is kryptonite to all those Dunwoody zionists preaching local control. Dunwoody is modeled more after DeKalb Schools with powerless elected officials than after DeKalb county where our elected officials have real staff, real responsibilities and offer the electorate real control. In Dunwoody, voting in new bobble-heads only affects the entertainment value of council meetings. 

The third leg of this stool is the "enforce on complaint" practice. Here we look to Sec. 3.04. - City manager; powers and duties enumerated:

The city manager shall have the power, and it shall be his or her duty to:

(1)See that all laws and ordinances are enforced;

Job one: enforce all laws and ordinances. In what world is that: just sit on the sidelines until someone complains? No one should be complaining because if the city manager were getting the legally mandated job done there would be nothing to complain about. Why? Because if all laws and ordinances had been enforced then this one in particular would have been enforced three years ago. Isn't what the city is doing to us the very definition of dereliction of duty? And since the only thing mayor and council can do is upgrade the city manager, which they are not doing, they too seem to have dropped the ball. And none of this seems to bother any of them.

This brings us to the writ of mandamus, a court order forcing a government to do its job. Maybe it is time to pursue that path as we're living in the municipal equivalent of a failed state where clearly defined responsibilities are being ignored in deference to...who knows what. This city's failure has conditioned folks to believe that ordinances don't matter, which means your vote doesn't matter, because the council vote doesn't matter. Just ignore what you don't like and hope no one important complains. And had the city done its job these dinos would not have been up long enough for folks to come to believe if something is popular or you get away with it long enough then it cannot be illegal even when it is. Is that what we want to teach our children? Because that is exactly what this city is doing.

Man Plans. The Gods Laugh.

Or perhaps the city plans. The citizens laugh. Or so it seems from the front page article in the Blue Bag Rag (print edition only, hmmm). Seems like the city had a plan obtained at cost from the PATH Foundation, or simply foisted on us by PATH and as it so happens significant, vocal residents really do not like this plan. 

So guess what: they're probably going to change "the plan," calling into question not just this plan, or this part of it but all other parts and the process thru which these "plans" originate. Plan thrown out there? Check. Perfunctory "public info/input sessions?" Check. Rubber stamp by council? Check. Total train wreck? Double check. 

The real problem is not with the Peeler Road section of this interstate lane, it is with the process of turning over planning for things in the city to agenda-fueled special interest groups. PATH doesn't give a hairy rodent's rectum about the folks who live in Dunwoody. They only care about paving. Anywhere and everywhere. 

Maybe the only path we should pave is the one that takes the PATH Foundation the hell out of Dunwoody.

A Good Sign

Or so says the City of Dunwoody. Even if it looks illegal and trashy to you, as you may have figured out when it comes to local rules, regs and ordinances, this city would have to work hard (harder than their demonstrated capability) to care less. 

And yes, this sign has remained in place for days, including business days, so assuming someone, anyone at city hall actually works business days, they have intentionally neglected their responsibilities. Honestly, someone should be fired since this is only one illegal sign desecrating the village. 

Above The Law

In a normal place and time the last thing you would expect is police openly evading the law, in spirit and perhaps in fact. But this is Dunwoody where the ends justifies whatever means folks at city can think of. The logic, however, is convoluted:

“I think if we had to put the exact address, then we might as well stop trying to enforce human trafficking,” Grogan said. “If we started saying, ‘Okay, we made 15 arrests here at the Crowne Plaza today.’ Well, then, the Crowne Plaza could get bad publicity from that, and then say, ‘Hey, y'all, this is hurting our business. We're not gonna allow you to do this.’”

 Ponder that a bit...done? Okay, if you made 15 prostitution (they word-inflate to "human trafficking" but it IS prostitution) arrests at Crowne Plaza in one day, then that isn't a hotel, it is a brothel. And, maybe, just maybe, they, the pimps, the prostitutes and the hotel managers should be run out of town. Instead, Top Cop wants to molly coddle them. Why? In his own words because he fears if the Crowne gets upset they're "not gonna allow you to do this." What? Really? Top Cop says some hotel manager can keep his police force from enforcing the law. Wow. That is so incredible, so unbelievable that the only explanation for those words to ever float thru the air is that the speaker thinks anyone who hears it is an idiot.

Are we that stupid? Or, are we smart enough to vote in a mayor and council that will make the changes necessary to stop this madness?

Shining Path

Not THAT Shining Path, though there may be similarities. No, it is THIS Shining Path, the one hellbent on paving your slice of paradise. With the help of city bureaucrats of course. Oh, and the accelerant on this dumpster fire is your very own tax dollars. 

But the money isn't the real problem. The fact that we hired an army of bureaucrats but not a single one with any relevant domain expertise for this issue or frankly any other--that is the real problem. It is the fact they hire single issue, dogmatic theocrats who see your world through the pinhole vision of their manifest destiny. They built their power and authority around nothing more that "paths are good, more paths are great" and anyone who challenges them is a heretic...an infidel. Even if what they do causes harm to you and yours. You must worship their golden calf even if you have tablets of your own. And you are powerless to resist because they are in an unholy alliance with the aforementioned army of bureaucrats who will overwhelm you with shear numbers. 

This city was promoted on the promise that "we could do better ourselves." Do what exactly? Import outside agendas? Hire "better" (our just more?) consultants? We've certainly done the former but the latter has not served us well. 

This is not the happy path we were promised.

If You Were Trying...

These four words are the beginning of a thought exercise, perhaps even a litmus test. This exercise ends with "what would you do differently?" Most of the fun is in the middle. For example, "If you were trying to create a failed government, what would you do differently?" You could ask this any day, any time at Dunwoody City hall of anyone you bump into. What makes it an exercise is that you'll never get an answer from anyone on the payroll. 

A more topical thought exercise is "if you were trying to convince the public this government is corrupt, what would you do differently?" This relates to the longstanding use of personal communication channels for official city business. This gives the impression of a culture of backroom dealings, and underhanded under the table negotiations where the well connected are, well, connected. And you aren't. And since it is all off the books you'll have a damn hard time even finding out what is really going down (spoiler alert: it ain't your taxes) and apparently the folks down at city hall really like it that way with the mayor enjoying the practice for a decade.

Well at least until they were called to task and then someone pointed out these clandestine, covert practices are uncommon and in many jurisdictions verboten. So now they're fixin' to git ready to start thinkin' 'bout doin' somethin'. Bless their little hearts. But you would be wise to NOT hold your breath waiting on this city to do the right thing or come close to doing anything the right way. Just look at their track record.

What We Got Here...

...is a failure to communicate. Or...so says an audit of DeKalb County public schools. Seems a couple of years ago DCSD decided to install a new financial system, something they are in sore need of and should really learn how to use. Of course no software system can fix stupid especially when you have no clue about anything related to finances. Remember that these are the fools who refused to adopt the standard accrual method preferring instead to keep cash in brown paper bags. No one, absolutely no one, was surprised they never reported financials on time. 

Setting up this software went the way it ALWAYS goes: off the rails. But in the real world, where things have to work or you go out of business, you watch this process very closely and when things go pear-shaped you do something immediately. But these folks are on the public dole, responsible to no one and accountable for nothing. So here's the real shocker: they didn't even know the train was off the tracks until someone else told them.

The Ga DoE put them on a tight lease. Sort of. They have 120 days to come up with a recovery plan with unanimous board approval...but...they have already indicated they have no intention of complying. Board member Dr. Joyce Morley indicated her willingness to delay that process, asking, “What if we don’t all agree?” Dr. J seems to be setting the stage willful noncompliance. Others on the board seem less rebellious but equally out of touch with reality. Dierdre Pierce offered up: “I just want to thank you for getting us from late and high risk to on time and moderate risk.” Is this because they're running a system built on social promotions and participation awards where any improvement no matter how unacceptable the accomplishment is cause to cheer. Anything but abject failure gets an A for participation. Allyson Gevertz rosily cheer leads with “Just in my years on the board we have come light-years on the audit” riffing on Deirdre Pierce's “I just want to thank you for getting us from late and high risk to on time and moderate risk.” 

Even though educators are supposed to be society's great communicators, it is unsurprising this project has gone open loop. What continues to surprise is how voters keep approving eSPLOSTs. 

Pros From Dover

We were told from the beginning, and it is enshrined in the city charter, that we would forgo meaningful representation for the promise of professional, virtually flawless, city operations by hired bureaucrats. Reality has proven to be far from the promise. We've had serious ethics violations, not averted by a city attorney bureaucrat. Odious incompetence and open malfeasance plagues the police department. We've had multiple DWB violations (costly). We've had civil rights violations (more costly). Sexual hijinks (untold costs, to date). Fealty to business over residents (think "bark park" in your back yard) has proven that even if they are competent, they're devoted tocojones anyone but us. And this all lands on the city manager, first and current, who've not the bollocks to do anything (positive) about these train wrecks. Certainly we're getting neither Hawkeye nor Trapper John.

And...given the only lever our eviscerated mayor and council have to pull is replacing the city manager with someone with some cojones we obviously need some changes in who gets elected and the only relevant question during any election debate is "are you committed to changing the city manager?" Or, should we bypass that and fix the city charter?

Santa Fears Trucks Too!

A very official route shows that Santa completely avoided the joke of a no-truck-zone that the city refuses to enforce. 

Avoiding Dangerous Trucks

Even Santa won't take the risk of traveling through areas where the city all but encourages reckless, lawless, dangerous truck traffic. You DO know that Touch Down doesn't live there anymore, right? So your sins of omission are punishing everyone else and TD is well beyond your reach. So give us all a break, OK.

Coke Runner

Speeding In No-Truck Zone

While the top dogs in the Dunwoody PD have everyone patrolling social media there is no one addressing violations where YOU live. In Your Dunwoody.