They Are Listening (At Least Some Are)

Every so often at a Perth Amboy Council Meeting, someone will come up to the podium and address the Business Administrator, Greg Fehrenbach. Mr. Fehrenbach sometimes will have his head down while the person is talking to him. Sometimes the person talking to Mr. Fehrenbach will reprimand him by telling him that he is “rude” because he is not looking at them while they are addressing him.

At a recent meeting a resident at the podium said this to Mr. Fehrenbach.

I have been at many Council Meetings and I have observed Mr. Fehrenbach with his head down when someone is addressing him. What they don’t realize is Mr. Fehrenbach is not being rude; he is doing what he should be doing which is writing down what the person is saying.

Often they may be questioning the B.A. about something that he may not be able to answer that particular evening.

Mr. Fehrenbach may need to research the questions so he can give them an answer the next time they appear at a meeting.

At a meeting someone may come up to me while someone is speaking at the meeting and I’m trying to write down what is being said. It breaks my concentration.

I also have to agree with Council President Joel Pabon. Sometimes a resident will address a question to Mr. Pabon. Mr. Fehrenbach will answer that question and the person who posed the question might say, “I am addressing the Council President.” At this particular meeting when that happened, Mr. Pabon said, “I was surprised that someone complained about Mr. Fehrenbach answering questions. That’s what Mr. Fehrenbach and Mr. Blunda (City Attorney) are paid for. They have more knowledge than we. They can answer the questions instead of us stuttering trying to give an answer. The seniors love him (Fehrenbach).”

It’s also very important to be aware of what you say after the cameras stop rolling. I witnessed a very ugly scene after the Perth Amboy Board of Education Meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2013.

An authority figure in the School System was approached by a student after the meeting. That authority figure told the student to get away from them and said, “I don’t want to talk to you.”

I was appalled. If there was something that a student said that you thought was incorrect or misleading during the meeting, there is a different way to let them know your displeasure. The authority figure could have addressed the issue after the student made remarks during the public portion. Instead they chose to act more like a child having a temper tantrum instead of an adult.

I have disagreements with my staff. I remember one time when someone from my staff made me very upset when we were out in public. I was very aware of our surroundings and although I was steaming at that point, let them have it behind closed doors. The difference is we are all adults. A student should be addressed as a student. It takes respect to get respect and you as an adult should be an example.

There is such a thing called decorum and in that situation after the Board of Education Meeting there was a lack of that on the person is an authority figure’s behalf.

In case that authority figure needs to know what decorum means. Here is the definition: dignity or good taste that is appropriate to a specific occasion.

Whenever I have had to show displeasure with something that my staff had done I’d let that person give an explanation why they acted in a specific way. At the end, when we air out what is bothering us, we’d come to an understanding.

Remember: just because the camera stopped rolling doesn’t mean that eyes and ears stopped seeing and hearing. The eyes and ears that see and hear this behavior may be someone that may cause you to lose your job.

C.M.