Mr. Long wrote an article published in "YourHub.com" on March 3 rd. entitled "Negative Spirit Prevails On City Council". You can read it at: http://denver.yourhub.com/Thornton/Stories/Sound-Off/Politics/Story~436210.aspx

Mr. Long does raise some very interesting questions, and many of us in Northglenn want answers, but not from Mr. Long. We want answers from our elected officials; the Mayor and our city council members. And the most important question raised about Mr. Long is why is he still an official of this city?

In the 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4th paragraphs of his "story" Tim long states that the city needs new financial software, and that the city staff did an interesting job of presenting their findings to the city council. We can all agree with that. But then in paragraph five he launches into a six paragraph harangue including name calling and invectives more akin to juvenile, school-yard threats and prattle than to some sort of intelligent and relevant comment made by an appointed official representing Northglenn!

Mr. Long berates council members Wieneke, Miller, Baker, and Mayor Pro-Tem Paiz for questioning the staff about their recommended selection of a software vendor. But as revealed at the council's study session of March 6 th, there are indeed many critically important questions regarding the staff's recommended software. We'll all hear much more about what's wrong with the staff's recommended purchase, including the facts that it's not even close to "state of the art" and that it would cost about $100,000 more to purchase and will cost several hundred thousand more to maintain than a better alternative.

Our city council will make a choice selecting our new financial software package sometime in the next few weeks. Not any of them are suggesting that we don't need new financial software. I know that all nine of them will give their choice serious consideration, and that whichever software vendor they choose, they will have had the benefit of in-depth questioning by some perhaps older, but most certainly wiser, members of our city council.

What bothers so many of us is how some members of our City Council, namely Mayor Novak and Council Members Monroe (Ward 2), Downing (Ward 2), and Parsons (Ward 4) can call for mutual respect, civility and cooperation among council members and at the same time allow their own appointed officials to engage in the intentionally misleading and frankly disgusting display of ill-will and rancor such as exhibited by Mr. Tim Long. For the record, Mr. Long was appointed unanimously by the previous city council to the Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority on December 14 th, 2006. Could it be that Mr. Long speaks for some of the previous council that lost their seats in the last election?

I ask city council en banc to remove Mr. Long and any other appointed officials like him that won't limit their public discourse to factual, honest, civil, respectful debate while they represent this city!