Star political columnist Matt Tully may not have found time to walk a block down the street to the federal courthouse to watch the public corruption trial of Lincoln Plowman unfold, but he did take a trip up to Carmel to watch city councilors
vote to award themselves a $20,000 a year perk and describe it as one of the toughest votes they had ever made. The most apt description of what took place came from outgoing Councilor John Acceturo according to Tully:
Councilman John Accetturo walked by me a few minutes before the start of Monday night's Carmel City Council meeting and pointed with a smile toward a group of his colleagues.
"Sometimes," he said, "I think people do stuff just to make themselves look bad."
Tully notes that the council voted for a new health insurance perk for themselves despite overwhelming public opposition to the move:
In emails and phone calls, and in impassioned public testimony, Carmelites made clear their dissatisfaction with the council . . . .
Their timing seemed calculated; they introduced the ordinance after the May primaries -- the only elections that matter in Carmel because none of the council members will be challenged by Democrats in November.
Tully picks up on the absurd explanations offered by councilors who supported the perk:
Councilwoman Luci Snyder promised not to take the coverage but said the perk was appropriate because, "We pay for excellence here." Colleague Ron Carter said it was "the hardest vote" he'd taken, a self-pitying sentiment echoed by others.
Voting to give yourself a new perk isn't exactly a profile in courage.
Congratulations, Carmel City Council. You've proven you can be just as bad of a city council as the one we're stuck with down here in Indianapolis.
