At the July 13th BZA meeting, Chairman Weber asserted her right to tell members of the BZA to "shut up" in front of the New Haven Independent reporter Thomas MacMillan. In response to this and her directly telling me to shut up, I contacted the Mayor's office, and attempted to file a grievance with the City ethics commission. My complaint was multi-part.
1. The Board does not keep minutes.
2. The Board does not use any protocol, such as Roberts Rules of Orders, unlike other city boards and commissions.
3. The Board does not have a full compliment of members.
4. The Board conducts discussion outside of the regular voting session, both on the telephone and in-person, and does not enter it's reasoning into the public record. Applicants often have no idea why they have been denied. Board members are pressured to vote yes or no in private by the Chair.
My requests are simple. I would like the board to use a standard protocol for running the meeting, I would like the board to stop discussing how to vote outside of the public meeting, I would like the board to keep minutes and make them available to the public, and I would like the chairwoman to agree that she can not and will not instruct other board members to "shut up".
In response to these requests, the mayor arranged for me to speak with Victor Bolden, City Counsel, but did not follow-up nor was I made aware of the process by which I could file a grievance with the ethics commission. In early September the Mayor informed me that he had spoken to other members of the BZA and decided that my issues were suited to a public vote of the BZA. If he had replied sooner I could have had this added to the September agenda. However, his tardiness in responding means that the issue can not be discussed until October.
I believe the BZA does not have the right to operate unless it keeps public minutes, has a full compliment of members, and restricts it's voting to only matters entered into the public record. As such, I will not be voting on any issues before the BZA until these more important issues have been addressed.
I don't believe it is fair to the citizens of New Haven, the residents, the business owners, or any one concerned with good governance and transparency to labor under a closed-door system that prizes secrecy and control over transparency and openness. Applicants should have a right to know why they were denied so they may return with an improved appeal. Citizens have a right to know what influences decision-makers at all levels of government.
If you are unhappy about the way the Mayor has handled the BZA, please express your displeasure with this at the polls. His hands off approach to his appointees is alarming and disappointing. His institution of an anemic and weak Ethics Commission is even more alarming. I hope that we can send his office a strong message on this point, if no other, and let him know that as citizens we demand an open and accountable municipal government.
