City Government at the Zoo

I went to the City Council meeting at the zoo this morning.

It was a stroke-fest. There was a breakfast spread, and the city employees (none of whom looked to be malnourished) were feeding at the trough.

About fifty people sat at a dozen round tables. They were presumably department heads.

I sat in the back, at the end of a row of plastic chairs reserved for media. My “colleagues” punched away at their cellphones, and at least one dozed.

The City Manager told his employee what a good job they’re doing, and how the City is meeting its nebulous goals.

More retail. More entertainment options. The arena.

Really.

Your city government lives in an alternative reality where people’s main concern is how to spend their disposable income.

The City Manager claimed that the El Paso market was home to 2.5 million potential consumers. He failed to mention that federal law keeps about a million of them south of the river.

Was he subtly advocating open borders?

There was some genuinely good news. The mayor bragged about how his administration had moved from accrual accounting to cash-basis accounting. Refinancing existing debt has saved the taxpayers some money. And O&M is being ciphered into the cost of every project.

I was there about an hour when my phone rang, and I took that opportunity to slip out.