Frankel irked by absenteeism, offers resolve

Bangor City Councilor Marshall M. Frankel, dismayed by the poor attendance of some of his fellow councilors, has crafted a resolve he hopes will shake things up.

“The absenteeism is atrocious,” Frankel said Thursday. Councilors who miss committee meetings lack enough information to make informed votes. Topping that, he said, issues frequently will need to be discussed two or three times at a committee meeting to bring up to speed councilors who missed meetings.

The resolve that Frankel said he plans to submit for council consideration asks the chairman to adjust committee assignments based on councilors’ attendance.

“It’s been brought to my attention,” Chairman John W. Bragg said. “I’d like some time to talk to the councilors involved about absenteeism. It is important to attend meetings. A resolve publicly brought up is just not the way to do it.”

It’s an effort to be fair, said Frankel. Others see it as little more than another episode of grandstanding. Whatever it is, debate on the resolve stands to poison relations just as the council heads into months-long wrangling with next year’s budget.

At the council meeting Monday night, Frankel and Councilors Patricia A. Blanchette and William M. Shubert asked Bragg to consider reallocating committee assignments in light of the poor attendance. He refused, adding that if individual councilors sought reassignment he would try to accommodate them.

“Committee meetings have had to be canceled. It is a shame,” Blanchette said Thursday. “The mayor refused to make reassignments. We have no other choice.”

In his resolve, Frankel urges Bragg to review the attendance records and to make the necessary reassignments in order to reduce absenteeism. He also asks the chairman to increase the committee assignments of councilors with good attendance records.

When it comes to naming the councilors who most frequently miss committee meetings, fingers get pointed at Richard I. Stone and William M. Cohen. Cohen, Stone and Shubert sit on the recently formed Airport Committee and the attendance record of Stone and Cohen has been notably spotty.

“I don’t need to get defensive, but I have a full-time job,” Cohen said. “When business allows and the issues are critical, I am there.

“Is this really good government or is this personal against Richard Stone and Bill Cohen?” Cohen asked Thursday. “Last year when I was chairman I made assignments according to who had the time to spend and Marshall bitched and moaned. This year he’s coming at it from 180 degrees differently.”