Lee’s endless orations, blustery diatribes, well-practiced bullying, self-aggrandizing speeches, lengthy narratives… they go on… and on… and on…. again costing tax-payers overtime pay, tired employees, etc.
Here is another area we researched to illustrate for you – the difference in meeting lengths before and after Lee’s arrival in 12/2020. In 2021, with some exception for joint vacation rental workshops, your Councilmembers and City employees spent over 3x as many hours in meetings with him (123 vs 40 hours) with nearly 2x the average meeting time (4:23 vs 2:32 hours). To help, the Council has had to adopt new Rules of Order several times, including prompt meeting ends at 10pm (5/3/21) and time limit to speak on items (3/7/22).
This does NOT count time spent in Closed Sessions. Example: The February 8, 2021 meeting started with a 2-hour closed session at 4pm, immediately into open session at 6:10pm, ending at 12:56am, back into closed session until a little past 2am. 3 Additional hours not counted below. Nor does this count anything other than City Council meetings, no other committees, Boards or other official duties.
Watch for yourself and tally Lee’s individual time: https://bigbearlake.12milesout.com.
Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Meeting Time* | 22:08 | 20:13 | 17:26 | 13:36 | 19:28 | 40:40 | 123:08 | 55:11 |
Average Meeting Length* | 1:34 | 1:26 | 1:20 | 1:08 | 1:37 | 2:32 | 4:23 | 2:45 |
Longest Regular Meeting | 2:39 | 2:18 | 2:13 | 2:36 | 2:49 | 4:30 | 6:46 | 4:29 |
* Closed Sessions NOT included
Meeting Costs were estimated on 5/17/2021 for both meeting time and meeting preparation, documented here. Each hour of a regular open session meeting = $1,800. The preparation for each meeting (depending on agenda size) ranges from $19,300 to $31,300. For comparison:
2019: 20 Hours Total x $1,800 Per Hour = $36,000. 12 Meetings x $19,300 minimum = $231,600.
Total Meeting Expense in 2019: $36,000 + $231,600 = $267,600 min.
2021: 123 Hours Total x $1,800 Per Hour = $221,400. 28 Meetings x $19,300 minimum = $540,400.
Total Meeting Expense in 2021: $221,400 + $540,400 = $761,800 min!
2015 | Hours | |
Jan 12 | 01:35:09 | |
Jan 26 | 01:55:31 | |
Feb 9 | 00:52:42 | |
Mar 9 | 00:56:54 | |
Apr 27 | 02:04:46 | |
May 11 | 02:27:56 | |
Jun 8 | 01:41:35 | |
Jun 22 | 01:02:25 | |
Jul 13 | 02:37:27 | |
Aug 24 | 00:55:54 | |
Aug 24 | 00:26:23 | |
Sep 28 | 02:30:10 | |
Oct 26 | 02:39:05 | |
Dec 14 | 00:22:24 | |
22:08:21 | Total Hours in 2015 | |
2016 | Hours | |
Jan 11 | 02:18:34 | |
Jan 25 | 01:03:20 | |
Feb 8 | 01:04:49 | |
Feb 22 | 01:43:24 | |
Mar 14 | 01:56:37 | |
Apr 25 | 01:51:18 | |
May 9 | 00:40:03 | |
Jun 13 | 01:18:40 | |
Jun 27 | 02:48:58 | |
Jul 11 | 02:05:37 | |
Aug 22 | 01:13:50 | |
Sep 26 | 00:40:04 | |
Oct 24 | 01:04:27 | |
Dec 12 | 00:23:34 | |
20:13:15 | Total Hours in 2016 | |
2017 | Hours | |
Jan 9 | 01:21:55 | |
Feb 13 | 00:56:38 | |
Feb 13 | 02:13:35 | |
Feb 27 | 01:06:37 | |
April 24 | 02:48:16 | |
May 8 | 01:02:22 | |
Jun 12 | 00:59:36 | |
Jun 26 | 01:10:34 | |
Jul 10 | 00:12:54 | |
Aug 28 | 01:10:46 | |
Sep 25 | 01:23:32 | |
Nov 13 | 02:05:01 | |
Dec 11 | 00:54:37 | |
17:26:23 | Total Hours in 2017 | |
2018 | Hours | |
Jan 8 | 01:15:49 | |
Jan 22 | 01:09:03 | |
Feb 26 | 0:44:41 | |
Apr 23 | 00:40:19 | |
May 14 | 01:08:13 | |
Jun 11 | 00:46:25 | |
Jun 25 | 02:36:33 | |
Jul 9 | 00:38:24 | |
Aug 27 | 01:01:13 | |
Sep 24 | 01:23:23 | |
Oct 22 | 01:09:55 | |
Dec 10 | 01:02:21 | |
13:36:19 | Total Hours in 2018 | |
2019 | Hours | |
Jan 28 | 02:49:52 | |
Feb 11 | 01:13:47 | |
Feb 25 | 01:52:17 | |
Apr 22 | 01:31 | |
May 13 | 01:06:14 | |
Jun 10 | 02:18:06 | |
Jul 8 | 0:39:27 | |
Aug 26 | 02:17:03 | |
Sep 23 | 01:32:07 | |
Oct 28 | 02:17:11 | |
Nov 25 | 01:35:15 | |
Dec 9 | 00:15:48 | |
19:28:07 | Total Hours in 2019 | |
2020 | Hours | |
Jan 13 | 01:21:45 | |
Jan 28 | 01:07:38 | |
Feb 24 | 01:40:36 | Frank Rush’s 1st Meeting |
Mar 9 | 01:38:22 | Start of COVID |
Apr 16 | 03:20:34 | |
Apr 27 | 03:10:15 | |
May 11 | 03:30:33 | |
May 21 | 01:24:19 | |
Jun 8 | 02:23:28 | |
Jun 16 | 02:39:26 | |
Jul 13 | 01:47:33 | |
Aug 10 | 02:02:26 | |
Sep 14 | 02:04:40 | |
Oct 12 | 04:30:47 | |
Nov 9 | 03:40:51 | |
Dec 14 | 04:17:44 | Lee’s 1st Meeting |
40:40:57 | Total Hours in 2020 | |
2021 | Hours | |
Jan 11 | 5:35:05 | |
Feb 8 | 6:46:04 | |
Feb 22 | 2:17:27 | Special TBID Workshop for Lee |
Mar 8 | 5:04:56 | |
Mar 12 | 3:57:44 | With Planning Comm |
Mar 22 | 4:02:04 | Budget |
Mar 22 | 5:53:36 | Budget |
Apr 5 | 5:24:08 | |
Apr 15 | 5:07:48 | With Planning Comm |
Apr 19 | 2:15:56 | |
Apr 20 | 2:08:22 | With Planning Comm |
May 3 | 4:57:34 | |
May 17 | 3:27:06 | New Rule adopted 5/3 – 10pm End |
May 24 | 5:35:59 | With DWP Comm |
May 25 | 5:16:20 | With Planning Comm |
Jun 7 | 4:14:28 | |
Jun 21 | 5:08:17 | |
Jul 19 | 4:59:47 | |
Jul 26 | 5:15:53 | Interviews for Mayor Repl |
Aug 2 | 6:05:28 | |
Aug 9 | 7:06:21 | Interviews for PC & DWP |
Aug 16 | 2:58:51 | |
Sep 20 | 4:14:05 | |
Oct 4 | 2:08:49 | Lee Absent |
Oct 18 | 2:37:19 | |
Nov 1 | 4:20:09 | |
Nov 15 | 2:29:15 | |
Dec 6 | 3:39:12 | |
123:08:03 | Total Hours in 2021 | |
2022 | Hours | |
Jan 11 | 4:00:31 | |
Feb 7 | 3:57:53 | |
Feb 25 | 1:44:56 | Lee Absent (Unexcused) / Rush’s Last Mtg |
Mar 7 | 3:36:45 | |
Mar 11 | 0:40:44 | New Rule adopted 3/7 – Time Limits |
Apr 4 | 1:57:48 | |
Apr 18 | 3:25:54 | |
May 2 | 2:15:33 | |
May 16 | 3:57:46 | |
Jun 6 | 3:45:46 | Lee Absent (Excused) |
Jun 20 | 04:14 | Lee Absent; Resulted in No Quorum/Mtg |
Jun 29 | 13:17 | Lee Absent (Unexcused) |
Jul 18 | 4:18:06 | |
Aug 1 | 4:29:05 | |
Aug 11 | 1:13:34 | |
Aug 15 | 2:58:44 | |
Sep 19 | 3:55:32 | |
Oct 3 | 1:44:31 | |
Oct 17 | 3:09:00 | |
Nov 7 | 1:55:57 | Lee Absent (Unexcused) |
Dec 12 | 1:46:16 | Lee’s Final Officially Seated Meeting Absent (Unexcused) |
55:11:52 | Total Hours in 2022 |