Cabarrus Cheap Seats

History is made by those who show up - Benjamin Disraeli

Well, in the case of the Harrisburg Town Council: it’s made by those who don’t show up.

What Went Down

According to an article in Wednesday’s Independent Tribune, Harrisburg Council Members Phil Cowherd, Michael Hart and Steve Sciascia were present at the Harrisburg Town Hall before the meeting was called to order. Bill Williams was out-of-town. On the agenda was a request to reconsider a decision on the zoning of a YMCA and a Lowe’s within the Town Limits. With Williams absent, the vote would be 3-3 with the Mayor casting the deciding vote. This caused Council Members Cowherd, Hart, and Sciascia to bolt so that four members would not be present on the 7-member board making a quorum impossible.

The Statutes

Well, not quite. According the a quote from the Town Attorney, Richard Koch, the Mayor can step in and with the remaining members consititute a quorum. North Carolina General Statute 160A-74 pretty much backs that up:

A majority of the actual membership of the council plus the mayor, excluding vacant seats, shall constitute a quorum. A member who has withdrawn from a meeting without being excused by majority vote of the remaining members present shall be counted as present for purposes of determining whether or not a quorum is present.

However, North Carolina General Statute 160A-69 causes a little bit of a problem for those who were in attendance:

The mayor shall preside at all council meetings, but shall have the right to vote only when there are equal numbers of votes in the affirmative and in the negative. In a city where the mayor is elected by the council from among its membership, and the city charter makes no provision as to the right of the mayor to vote, he shall have the right to vote as a council member on all matters before the council, but shall have no right to break a tie vote in which he participated.

If the mayor can constitute a quorum and he cast votes in cases of ties; but the statute does not seem to give the mayor the right to cast votes with or against the majority.

The Reaction

Depending on where they came down on the big box issue, Harrisburg residents in attendance had mixed reactions. Some applauded the action, others called for the council members resignations.

In a Cabarrus Neighbors article, Phil Cowherd was quoted as follows:

“It was a strategic move. We leave. There’s no quorum; they can’t vote. Pretty good, huh?” Cowherd said.

Pretty good? Far from it. I will admit that their hearts are in the right place. Big box stores cause a number of long-term problems, besides being abominations of archetecture. The aestetic issues aside, councils and commissions are setup around the assumption that members will be present and operate on the boundary condition that each member has a duty to cast a vote. Walking out of a meeting sends the message that regardless of what the other side has to say, you will not work with them. Citizens have an expectation that their Council members will build consenus, converse, compromise, and debate within the letter and spirit of the law. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose; but when this matter goes to court (which looks inevitable) - the Harrisburg Town Coucil will be officially dysfunctional.

I don’t believe that anyone should resign; but even though the 2005 election was largely a one-issue one (big box) in Harrisburg - the Town Council deals with myriad problems. At the very least, the folks in Harrisburg deserve elected officals that will show up - regardless of the outcome.

An aside, for some reason, I can’t help but think of JibJab’s “Big Box Mart” - Click Here to Watch