From W-C3:Washington County Board held a rare evening meeting to approved County's $118 million budget. When Supervisor Mark McCune tried to introduce his $1,000,000 budget cut amendment, County Board Chairman Herbert Tennies found McCune out of order refusing to let him speak.The Chairman then refused to allow an amendment citing HIS authority to make up rules. A motion was made to allow the Board to vote on the Chairman's decision. Supervisor William Meyers, Richfield said, "The U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section VIII established the rule of law over the rule of any man. You don't get to just make up the rules, Mr. Chairman." To which the Chairman responded, "Yes, I do!" 19 of the 30 Supervisors agreed and voted in favor of the Chairman, making Washington County the first Hugo Chavez-style republic in Wisconsin. With this vote, the narrative of a functioning democracy is no longer allowed. Under Tennies, Washington County now will only allow dissent so long as those dissenters agree with the Chairman. Supervisor Mike Bassill, West Bend said, "This action sets a dangerous precedent for the future." One Supervisor, who asked to remain unnamed, stated, "Meyers is the real problem here. You need to go along to get along. He won't do that!" Video of the meeting is available by contacting Mike Ryan, West Bend Community Television Coordinator, (262)335-5157, wbcctv@ci.west-bend.wi.us. Additional information is available by contacting W-C3 at http://www.w-c3.org/contact.php or by calling 262.628.2940.
