In response to
ongoing criticism in the media about the city's travel budget,
Alderwoman Deb Hadcock fired back Monday night with a lengthy
speech about the educational value of out-of-town conferences that
degenerated into criticism of council members who don't attend
committee meetings.
"How does spending
$2,100 this year on travel compare to council members who get paid
$1,000 a month to attend assigned committee meetings but do not
attend?" she asked. "If we want to save taxpayers' money, maybe we
should only have one council person from each ward, because in my
ward, only one council member is attending assigned committee
meetings."
Hadcock's criticism
seemed aimed in particular at fellow Ward 2 Alderman Sam Kooiker.
Hadcock never specifically used Kooiker's name and said later that
her comments were directed at more than one council member, but
there were several obvious references to Kooiker's educational
background and committee attendance.
"You can elect
professional politicians that have degrees in city administration,
or he may have some knowledge on how to run a city but don't know
how to apply that knowledge or just don't care," she said. "Or you
can elect representatives that work hard to give back to the
community."
Kooiker has a
master's degree in public administration and touted his city
administrator training during last year's mayoral run.
Hadcock made the
comments after talking about the benefits of getting hands-on
information about various issues that communities face during
National League of Cities conferences. Hadcock views travel as an
investment that helps her be a more effective policy maker locally
- not a waste of taxpayer money, as some critics have
said.
Hadcock said people
should elect more people who want to get things done instead of
people seeking political power "who could care less about doing
what's right" for the public.
Kooiker did not
respond during the meeting, but other council members indicated
Hadcock's comments were out of line because they appeared to be
singling out one person and had a personal tone.
"This is a prepared
statement that is impugning members of the council. It's
essentially a campaign speech, and I think it's out of order,"
Alderman Bob Hurlbut said.
Hadcock apologized
if anyone took her remarks personally, but she said she is tired of
picking up the slack for other council members who don't show up
for committee meetings.
Reached Tuesday for
comment, Kooiker said he was surprised by Hadcock's comments and
lack of specifics.
"I'm not going to
respond to personal attacks, and most of it was exactly that. What
I will say is, when it comes to my council duties, I have been
committed and dedicated," he said.
He specifically
mentioned that while visiting his sister Bonnie while she was
terminally ill, he took phone calls about council business on his
cell phone while standing on her lawn in Omaha, Neb.
He also noted that
he had filled in for some of the council members last November
while they were attending the National League of Cities conference
in New Orleans, saying he gladly filled in so the legal and finance
committee would have enough members to constitute a quorum and
could meet.
Contact Scott Aust
at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com
