Post by M.T. Patritz da Biondeu on May 8, 2013 9:24:42 GMT -6
Estimat S:reu Tuischac'h,
It seems as if there is a lot of confusion as to what the bill actually is trying to accomplish. Yes, it was my error to bring the amendment to the bill to the first post. The amendment was posted as a respond in the thread. It has now been updated.
In response to the Túischac'h: You answered your question right in your question. It is a PUBLIC servant position, not a GOVERNMENT position. The government (ie the political party in charge) should not be able to remove the Burgermeister on their own whim. It should be a decision made by the nation as a whole (ie the Ziu). Right there solves a lot of problems. I've listed a few scenarios to demonstrate my point.
Scenario 1: Burgermeister Adam has been doing a great job at keeping accurate records, making reports, and safeguarding the funds under Seneschal Zander. Seneschal Zander has to resign from his position due to busy school life, so Yuri is appointed as the new Seneschal. Seneschal Yuri dislikes Burgermeister Adam because they don't see eye to eye on most bills, plus Yuri doesn't like blonds... which Adam is. Yuri removes Adam from office (even though he's doing great) in order to replace him with someone he likes. (Seneschal could also be replaced with Finance Minister in this scenario.)
Scenario 2: Burgermeister is supposed to be non-political. POLITICAL PARTY 1 Seneschal appoints Burgermeister. If POLITICAL PARTY 2 becomes next Seneschal, they shouldn't be able to replace the Burgermeister just because a previous party appointed them.
Those are two big points of the appointment/removal process. Now, I understand where you are coming from on 'this doesn't make the Burgermeister any more accountable'. You're right... not on the front. In the current situation I am dealing with as Burgermeister... did you know that the NATION (not a political party, not the government) is missing almost every financial document, over $500USD in funds, and it's next to impossible to figure out where the information was lost? Main reason why... the position changed so often! The position had/has no stability because you could be out of office and on your bum in less than a day if the Seneschal or Finance Minister didn't like/want/need you in office. It's kind of a nuisance to work your rump off doing accounting work to know that you can be replaced on whim. (I personally don't find it a nuisance, because I love this kind of stuff... I'm going to school for Business Management with a focus on Accounting and Human Resources. I am actually writing off Talossa as a project for a final. But that's a whole different story.) Since the position can/did change so many times... I don't know who to point the finger of blame at! I could blame all the previous Burgermeisters... I could blame the Finance Ministers, the Seneschals... I could even blame you for not making inquiries as to the status of the previous Burgermeister's work. By stabilizing the position... you now have someone accountable. The Burgermeister. If I end up missing money... you know who to blame, because I was in the position longer than a single party held power. Documents are smudged to hide something... you know who to blame.
A political party (The Government) should not be able to remove the national accountant. The legislature as a whole (political party in charge AND the opposition) should be the party removing the Burgermeister. The Ziu's vote is binding. The King should (and he MUST) be issuing the dismissal orders as the position is in the Royal Household. (I'm trying to remove 'political party' form the removal process.) The opposition parties should be glad with this particular act... now if they feel the Burgermeister is not acting appropriately for the position, they could start the removal process.
How do we make the Burgermeister more accountable? I've started a Glass Treasury Act to make my work fall under public scrutiny in order to create a level of accountability. I WANT the Ziu to enforce certain things on the Burgermeister. I WANT the Ziu to be able to ask for documents. I WANT public financial reports required (and not just once a Cosa). I may have rolled out the financial reform acts in an awkward strategy (as in... I should of put the Burger with no Cheese Act out after I got the Glass Treasury through...) but they need to be done.
I also want to draw attention to I am making my current position as Burgermeister more difficult. More paperwork, more filing, more attention to all my work... Why? To benefit the Nation. It should be standard for a Burgermeister to do these things... not just me because I'm a little bit looney and OCD when it comes to paperwork/accounting.
By the way, I also really don't care if the Nation doesn't want to see these changes enacted. I am not going anywhere. I am trying to fix the problem now instead of having the whole mess I am attempting to clean up now happen again. I will still continue to work my rump off in my position. I just feel sorry if I am ever replaced and the next person isn't as willing.
BTW: On the lost documents and money. I am still researching these matters by trolling our forums and documents I can find on the wiki/KOT.net. When I actually figure out who to point my finger at, there will be some Cort cases.
It seems as if there is a lot of confusion as to what the bill actually is trying to accomplish. Yes, it was my error to bring the amendment to the bill to the first post. The amendment was posted as a respond in the thread. It has now been updated.
In response to the Túischac'h: You answered your question right in your question. It is a PUBLIC servant position, not a GOVERNMENT position. The government (ie the political party in charge) should not be able to remove the Burgermeister on their own whim. It should be a decision made by the nation as a whole (ie the Ziu). Right there solves a lot of problems. I've listed a few scenarios to demonstrate my point.
Scenario 1: Burgermeister Adam has been doing a great job at keeping accurate records, making reports, and safeguarding the funds under Seneschal Zander. Seneschal Zander has to resign from his position due to busy school life, so Yuri is appointed as the new Seneschal. Seneschal Yuri dislikes Burgermeister Adam because they don't see eye to eye on most bills, plus Yuri doesn't like blonds... which Adam is. Yuri removes Adam from office (even though he's doing great) in order to replace him with someone he likes. (Seneschal could also be replaced with Finance Minister in this scenario.)
Scenario 2: Burgermeister is supposed to be non-political. POLITICAL PARTY 1 Seneschal appoints Burgermeister. If POLITICAL PARTY 2 becomes next Seneschal, they shouldn't be able to replace the Burgermeister just because a previous party appointed them.
Those are two big points of the appointment/removal process. Now, I understand where you are coming from on 'this doesn't make the Burgermeister any more accountable'. You're right... not on the front. In the current situation I am dealing with as Burgermeister... did you know that the NATION (not a political party, not the government) is missing almost every financial document, over $500USD in funds, and it's next to impossible to figure out where the information was lost? Main reason why... the position changed so often! The position had/has no stability because you could be out of office and on your bum in less than a day if the Seneschal or Finance Minister didn't like/want/need you in office. It's kind of a nuisance to work your rump off doing accounting work to know that you can be replaced on whim. (I personally don't find it a nuisance, because I love this kind of stuff... I'm going to school for Business Management with a focus on Accounting and Human Resources. I am actually writing off Talossa as a project for a final. But that's a whole different story.) Since the position can/did change so many times... I don't know who to point the finger of blame at! I could blame all the previous Burgermeisters... I could blame the Finance Ministers, the Seneschals... I could even blame you for not making inquiries as to the status of the previous Burgermeister's work. By stabilizing the position... you now have someone accountable. The Burgermeister. If I end up missing money... you know who to blame, because I was in the position longer than a single party held power. Documents are smudged to hide something... you know who to blame.
A political party (The Government) should not be able to remove the national accountant. The legislature as a whole (political party in charge AND the opposition) should be the party removing the Burgermeister. The Ziu's vote is binding. The King should (and he MUST) be issuing the dismissal orders as the position is in the Royal Household. (I'm trying to remove 'political party' form the removal process.) The opposition parties should be glad with this particular act... now if they feel the Burgermeister is not acting appropriately for the position, they could start the removal process.
How do we make the Burgermeister more accountable? I've started a Glass Treasury Act to make my work fall under public scrutiny in order to create a level of accountability. I WANT the Ziu to enforce certain things on the Burgermeister. I WANT the Ziu to be able to ask for documents. I WANT public financial reports required (and not just once a Cosa). I may have rolled out the financial reform acts in an awkward strategy (as in... I should of put the Burger with no Cheese Act out after I got the Glass Treasury through...) but they need to be done.
I also want to draw attention to I am making my current position as Burgermeister more difficult. More paperwork, more filing, more attention to all my work... Why? To benefit the Nation. It should be standard for a Burgermeister to do these things... not just me because I'm a little bit looney and OCD when it comes to paperwork/accounting.
By the way, I also really don't care if the Nation doesn't want to see these changes enacted. I am not going anywhere. I am trying to fix the problem now instead of having the whole mess I am attempting to clean up now happen again. I will still continue to work my rump off in my position. I just feel sorry if I am ever replaced and the next person isn't as willing.
BTW: On the lost documents and money. I am still researching these matters by trolling our forums and documents I can find on the wiki/KOT.net. When I actually figure out who to point my finger at, there will be some Cort cases.