By Anne Scheck
editor & publisher
Trammart News
The City of Independence has a budget committee, and sometimes it has vacancies that are hard to fill. But one volunteer, who had been on the committee, is experienced in handling the matters that come before it. This same guy serves on a similar committee for MINET, the municipal broadband co-founded by Independence. He was instrumental in understanding the recent plan for expanding MINET. As a matter of fact, he once was a city councilor himself.
Gary Van Horn, a neighbor of mine, was not reappointed to the city’s budget committee. I confess to liking Mr. Van Horn, who lives a few doors down from me and owns a dog of which I am also fond, but that isn’t why I am so puzzled by his involuntary exit from the committee. I’d overheard one city councilor encourage him to continue on it; He’s received high praise from the MINET general manager for his service on the committee there.
So why would the Independence City Council fail to reappoint him to its budget committee? That is a mighty good question, and, in my view, also a truly mysterious one. If you have ever pored over the city budget – and I would encourage anybody to try it – I predict you’ll have deep appreciation for anyone who donates time and energy to do so on a regular basis.
Perhaps the least surprised of anyone by Mr. Van Horn’s departure was Mr. Van Horn himself. He predicted months ago that he would not be asked to return. The reason for his pessimism? “I think I ask too many questions,” he told me.
Inquiries about this to the Independence City Manager yielded this e-mailed response: “There are a number of reasons that a City Council might choose to pick someone new to serve without regard for the qualifications of a member who has finished his term and is seeking reappointment,” stated David Clyne, when asked about this development.
One reason, he explained, might be to add a new perspective to the proceedings. Different ideas over time can help staff and Council sharpen their approach to meeting city goals, he said. Another reason: To give new members of the community an opportunity to learn more about city matters. “Frequently, budget committees help prospective leaders gain a better understanding of the municipality’s mission and operations before making the decision to run for council,” Mr. Clyne said. Also, there might be the “re-emergence of a past community leader,” he said.
This last point is one to ponder. Isn’t Mr. Van Horn a community leader, re-emergent or not? I am still pondering that point – right along with how Mr. Van Horn could be dis-invited from the budget committee since he seemed to understand the spreadsheets so well that he once went over pages of the document with me line-by-line on my back porch, in a kind and patient way.
Also, both Mr. Clyne and Mayor John McArdle have expressed the value of their own experiences. Mr. Clyne once praised the Independence Police Department on one of its achievements by referencing his many years of work in Colorado, which gave him a long lens for comparison with other law enforcement agencies. Mayor McArdle has alluded to his time as a qualifying Olympic athlete. And, although a presidential boycott of the games decades ago precluded his participation, he has credited the lessons of sportsmanship as vital to shaping his perspective today.
Mr. Van Horn has been a community participant for the almost dozen years I have lived a few houses away from him. We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. But he has helped me understand budget numbers when they seemed a jumble of figures. He has the benefit of years of experience in his previous work life, too. And he always, unfailingly, has been a good sport – even when dropped from a city committee he served for so long, gathering information he was happy to share.
editor & publisher
Trammart News
The City of Independence has a budget committee, and sometimes it has vacancies that are hard to fill. But one volunteer, who had been on the committee, is experienced in handling the matters that come before it. This same guy serves on a similar committee for MINET, the municipal broadband co-founded by Independence. He was instrumental in understanding the recent plan for expanding MINET. As a matter of fact, he once was a city councilor himself.
Gary Van Horn, a neighbor of mine, was not reappointed to the city’s budget committee. I confess to liking Mr. Van Horn, who lives a few doors down from me and owns a dog of which I am also fond, but that isn’t why I am so puzzled by his involuntary exit from the committee. I’d overheard one city councilor encourage him to continue on it; He’s received high praise from the MINET general manager for his service on the committee there.
So why would the Independence City Council fail to reappoint him to its budget committee? That is a mighty good question, and, in my view, also a truly mysterious one. If you have ever pored over the city budget – and I would encourage anybody to try it – I predict you’ll have deep appreciation for anyone who donates time and energy to do so on a regular basis.
Perhaps the least surprised of anyone by Mr. Van Horn’s departure was Mr. Van Horn himself. He predicted months ago that he would not be asked to return. The reason for his pessimism? “I think I ask too many questions,” he told me.
Inquiries about this to the Independence City Manager yielded this e-mailed response: “There are a number of reasons that a City Council might choose to pick someone new to serve without regard for the qualifications of a member who has finished his term and is seeking reappointment,” stated David Clyne, when asked about this development.
One reason, he explained, might be to add a new perspective to the proceedings. Different ideas over time can help staff and Council sharpen their approach to meeting city goals, he said. Another reason: To give new members of the community an opportunity to learn more about city matters. “Frequently, budget committees help prospective leaders gain a better understanding of the municipality’s mission and operations before making the decision to run for council,” Mr. Clyne said. Also, there might be the “re-emergence of a past community leader,” he said.
This last point is one to ponder. Isn’t Mr. Van Horn a community leader, re-emergent or not? I am still pondering that point – right along with how Mr. Van Horn could be dis-invited from the budget committee since he seemed to understand the spreadsheets so well that he once went over pages of the document with me line-by-line on my back porch, in a kind and patient way.
Also, both Mr. Clyne and Mayor John McArdle have expressed the value of their own experiences. Mr. Clyne once praised the Independence Police Department on one of its achievements by referencing his many years of work in Colorado, which gave him a long lens for comparison with other law enforcement agencies. Mayor McArdle has alluded to his time as a qualifying Olympic athlete. And, although a presidential boycott of the games decades ago precluded his participation, he has credited the lessons of sportsmanship as vital to shaping his perspective today.
Mr. Van Horn has been a community participant for the almost dozen years I have lived a few houses away from him. We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. But he has helped me understand budget numbers when they seemed a jumble of figures. He has the benefit of years of experience in his previous work life, too. And he always, unfailingly, has been a good sport – even when dropped from a city committee he served for so long, gathering information he was happy to share.
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