This posting is directed to the citizens of Piedmont who will be voting in the election next Tuesday. One of the issues on the ballot concerns three amendments to our City Charter. The first two will prove beneficial to the city and should be approved. The third item relates to the definition of an abstain vote cast by any person sitting on a council or board during a vote on city business, specifically the City Council. Currently, an abstain vote is not counted as either a yes or a no vote. When a council member feels that he/she has a conflict of interest concerning an item to be voted on, that member must be afforded to ability remain neutral when deciding the issue. The new definition contained in the third item noted above states that an abstain vote will be counted as a no vote, thereby negating the ability of the council member to remain neutral. In addition, in many cases, the no vote could actually provide a personal benefit the member, which the member was attempting to prevent. I have seen several conflicting comments regarding the abstain issue, and I would like to provide the following information. The current definition as noted in our current City Charter states as follows: SECTION 8-13A. ABSTENTION FROM VOTING. If a member of the City Council or a member of any board or commission of the City abstains from voting on an issue, then said vote shall not be recorded as a negative vote, but shall be reflected in the minutes as an abstention and not counted in determining whether a particular item passed or failed. The following is copied from the Roberts Rules of Order website: Question 6: Do abstention votes count? Answer: Abstentions do not count in tallying the vote negatively or positively; when members abstain, they are in effect attending only to contribute to a quorum. The Oklahoma legislature allows a member to vote present. This vote is considered a non-vote, which is same as the abstain vote noted in our charter. The UN allows for an abstain vote which is also considered a non-vote. For the above noted reasons, I am asking that the voters reject the third amendment to our City Charter.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 15:55:54 +0000