mrt wrote:
If I had a skill, a trade, or a product that could be used by a school, I'd be in line asking.
And I think that'd be just fine, assuming you and your immediate family aren't elected officials. It's all about propriety.
Riverside Info » About Riverside
Segway Sagas
(18 posts)-
Posted Thursday Sep 24, 2009 20:35 #
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but I also said
There is not a whiff of conflict of interest in the RB thing either since he has no control or influence in the management of HS monies (assuming he was the one that rb used).
If he was on the RB board, this seqway thing - if he was the one involved; I myself do not know for sure if he was involved, but am repeating what I have read here - would be improper.
johnm is right, I am a bit loquacious of late. :)
Posted Thursday Sep 24, 2009 20:39 # -
mrt,
I am not criticizing him for locating his business outside of Riverside. I am criticizing him for his failure to support those who do choose to locate their business in town, and for the appearance of impropriety created when his out of town business possibly seeks contracts that will be paid for, in part, by Riverside taxpayers. To my knowledge, none of the other members of the Board, past or present, have put themselves in this position.
I'm also disappointed by the fact that Reynolds, a small businessman who must know the difficulties faced by the Riverside business community, failed to break ranks with his party and do something to help business in Riverside. But upon reflection, this may be consistent with his views. I don't think he, or other RCA members, want any real business in Riverside. If one looks at their campaign literature, it's all about supporting Riverside business for Riversiders. Perhaps he's concerned that his business would bring in outsiders.
Posted Thursday Sep 24, 2009 20:48 # -
Sorry new here, trying to add a link that I couldn't resist -
Posted Thursday Sep 24, 2009 21:44 # -
There is nothing per-se unethical about Reynolds selling Segways to RB. The issue is that Reynolds' self-proclaimed mission is to stop the flow of wasteful spending - unless that wasteful spending benefits him.
Purchasing Segways for RB is the epitome of wasting my tax dollars - yet Reynolds is promoting this wasteful spending and benefitting financially from it.
What happened to the RCA's loathing of "no bid contracts?" Was is/was there a bidding process?
Now if he donates the Segways that would be a different story.
Posted Thursday Sep 24, 2009 21:57 # -
If you have a problem with the expenditures of your school districts, it is time to take it up with the SCHOOL BOARDS! Where are you people at School Board meetings???
Show up and voice your opinion.
We quibble over paltry amounts regarding the village. 1,300 children in D96 receive TWICE the amount of revenue the village does. (I am not even mentioning the $ amount for D208! which is more!!)
This is not the problem of Apple & Segway dealers.
It is your elected officials problem.Make our elected officials on the school board accountable!
Posted Thursday Sep 24, 2009 23:12 # -
stmarymom - I saw that news today too.
Posted Friday Sep 25, 2009 00:39 # -
Thinking some more about this, I'm not sure the following statement from mrt is correct:
There is not a whiff of conflict of interest in the RB thing either since he has no control or influence in the management of HS monies (assuming he was the one that rb used).
I want to be clear that I don't believe there is a legal conflict of interest in Mr. Reynolds potentially pursuing business with RB. As far as I can tell, a Riverside elected official may do business or seek to do business with anyone of his choosing, even the Village itself. I'm also not trying to single out Mr. Reynolds for criticism, and this particular post has nothing to do whether or not it's fair to draw attention to the location of his business.
However, it seems to me that there is more than a whiff of what a citizen might consider to be conflict of interest in this saga. While mrt is correct that Village trustees have no control or influence over RB's moneys, they do make decisions that directly impact the high school. The high school is the largest facility and the largest employer in Riverside. Our building inspectors conduct code inspections, our Village issues permits and licenses and our Public Works department maintains some of the roads and sewers that service the school.
But most significantly, the Village, through the Police and Fire departments, provides public safety services to the schools. A quick search of the Landmark reveals half-a-dozen incidents over the past few years that have been serious enough to warrant Riverside Police intervention at the high school. And those are just the events that made the paper. I'd imagine that Riverside police officers are at the high school on a weekly--if not daily--basis, addressing all sorts of major and minor issues. Additionally, my understanding is that our community service officer spends a considerable amount of time at the high school on a regularly scheduled basis.
What's the link here? Well, one of the main reasons articulated by the RB administration for the potential purchase of Segways is security. As a Trustee, Mr. Reynolds makes decisions that directly impact the security of the high school. Indeed, Mr. Reynolds is not only a Trustee, he's the Chair of the Public Safety, Health and Landscape Committee of the Board. In that position, he's the Board's direct liaison with the Police Department. If in fact he is seeking business with the high school, I think it inappropriate that he vote on, or otherwise undertake actions relating to, security or public safety issues at the high school. Appearances count for something, and to me, this looks pretty bad.
Again, seeking business from the school is not illegal, and I don't believe that Mr. Reynolds is unethical. I think he's a smart, decent man who does not possess the experience in government to avoid these types of pitfalls. I do think there is a appearance of impropriety here that should be corrected.
Posted Friday Sep 25, 2009 13:35 #
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