Chalk it up to this city simply growing so much too rapidly. To be generous, to be kind, that’s the reason I am going to proffer for the fact that too many members of the city council simply don’t have the expertise, the experience, to competently set policy for Kyle and its citizens. Governing a city the size of which Kyle has become requires far more competency than, say, presiding over a neighborhood PTA meeting, but, unfortunately, by watching our council in action recently I have come to the conclusion that’s the intellectual capacity of many current council members. I hold City Manager Scott Sellers in high esteem. I know, if I was in his place, I would have become so exasperated by some of the actions and some of the questions asked by certain council members, I would have grabbed them by the neck and screamed “Either learn the job or quit right now so we can replace you with someone who does know how to do it.”
And maybe it’s not entirely their fault. It’s perfectly OK if you don’t know how to swim to stand in the deep end of the pool when it’s empty and some of these council members first ventured into the pool when it was empty. But now it’s full, and not knowing how to swim becomes extremely problematic, especially when there are no lifeguards on duty.
This is the second time I’ve realized many members of the council representing the citizens of Kyle were not up to that task. The first time was in August 2018 when the council was debating potential changes to the city’s charter and, during these debates, they simply would not or could not stay on the subject of changes to the charter. What made it so exasperating was that they didn’t even realize their discussions were off the subject. Instead of acting like city council members they came across like kindergarten kids on the playground. I became so exasperated by the experience I simply threw up my hands and this journal went into extended hibernation for almost two years, When I emerged from my self-imposed exile I was hoping things may have gotten better and for a while there I really thought they had. But now I realize the conditions are worse than they were back in the summer of 2018, not because the current council members are any less qualified than those of that time, but because the stakes are so much higher now due to the city’s incredible growth. Simply put, too many members of the Kyle City Council are minor leaguers forced to play and compete in the majors.
In a rare example of graciousness I am not going to single any of the minor leaguers out by name. But for those readers who would like to take the time to identify them, here’s how to do it: Review the videos of the recent council meetings during which the just-passed budget is being addressed. Specifically pay attention when the subject of lobbyists is being discussed. You can identify the sub-pars by those asking the city manager such questions as “What is our lobbyist going to do?” or “Can you outline for us the responsibilities of our state lobbyist?”. Asking those questions should immediately disqualify a person from serving on the city council because not only the ability to set policy for a city like Kyle but also the concept of policy-setting is simply beyond their grasp. As representatives of the people, they get failing grades.
Citizens up to the task of serving on a council representing residents of a city such as Kyle would, instead, be asking this question when it comes to the subject of a state lobbyist: “What, specifically, is the city’s legislative agenda for the 2023 session and, if we haven’t formulated it, why don’t we create a task force immediately to begin putting that agenda together for consideration by the entire council?” Then, when that agenda is completed and receives council approval, the next question becomes “What parts of this agenda do we want our lobbyist to concentrate on?”
The short answer to the question of “What is our lobbyist going to do?” is simply “Whatever you instruct that lobbyist to do.” Any council member qualified to serve on the Kyle City Council should know that the lobbyist works for that council, takes his/her instructions from the council and serves at the whim of the council. The state lobbyist is the council’s voice in the state capitol, the person who carries the city’s water to Austin. The lobbyist is the council’s marionette, and the council controls its strings and provides it with a voice.
And any council member who doesn’t know this or who doesn’t want to step up and control those strings, provide that voice, should resign immediately and turn their seat over to someone who does.
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