RAMS could be better in the long run
After a series of fumbles and one questionable play call, a local government organization could come out with a win.
RAMS, the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools, has long been the organization cities, school districts and townships have sent their memberships to each year.
But when it was announced RAMS would be hiring a current state senator as its director, it appeared to be the wrong call. Not on the level of the Seahawks’ final play in the Super Bowl, but close.
This led the Ely city council to jump into the political mud and vote to withhold joining this year. Then, this week the mayor and council tried to rewrite Roberts Rules of Order when a motion to table the issue was passed 4-3.
A claim that five votes were needed to table went unchecked and the council voted 6-1 to rejoin RAMS. It took several in-meeting text messages to point out the SNAFU that the vote to table was correct.
So, for now, Ely is still not a member of RAMS although it appears that will be changed in the near future.
Following the city council meeting, members of the RAMS board met recently in Virginia to try to find a way to get the organization back on track. In football parlance, this is a first down on a long touchdown drive.
Going back to basics to determine just what RAMS is and isn’t will go a long way toward restoring both the organization’s image and usefulness.
Would it be helpful for area elected officials to sit down periodically to discuss common issues? Yes.
Are there going to be legislative issues Range municipalities and schools would like to pursue? Most likely.
What is needed now is to determine what RAMS should be and how to get it back to that. If that means there is a need for a full-time lobbyist, then the separate issue of who that should be can be discussed.
We’re glad to see a willingness from our elected officials to sit down and re-examine RAMS. We believe there is a benefit to having an organization that is a benefit to all of those who pay the dues. Taxpayers included.
