It's how we always have done it...

For those of you who know me, you know i hate that phrase; "it's how we've always done it." People tend to get locked into a single way of functioning and refuse to look for anything better or different. That said, there are some things that are inherent in preserving what was. Call them traditions, tenets or simply recognize governing documents for the purpose intended.

As an example, we all accept this country's founding writings as the basis for our governance. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution aren't something we trifle with. On a much smaller scale has been the construct of Sun City and how and why it was built the way it was.

In our first 25 years there was an ugly battle over whether to incorporate or not. By happenstance, i was at the Arizona Sate reference library yesterday and as i was reading through newspapers from the end of 1964, there was a vote on that very question. Incorporation was defeated by a wide margin.

The arguments against it were substantial but the ones that stuck out the most were if we were to incorporate, we would lose the special appeal of a community built on volunteerism and self-governance. We would literally become another Surprise, Peoria or Glendale.

Consequently, as we evolved, those who built Sun City, built it with safeguards in their documents that would insure we maintain those qualities people battled over to preserve.

Which brings me full center to this discourse; let's look at how this whole question over a new not- for-profit corporation would have played out ten years ago. The board first would have brought it to the legal affairs committee (retired layers and judges) for their input. Unfortunately, that committee was dismantled years ago. Once it cleared that hurdle (assuming it did) it would have been floated in front of the long range planning committee to study the impact and goals of how it would play out into our future. But wait, that committee too was kicked to the curb wasn't it?

And just for sh*** and giggles we assume the board ignored any recommendations and plowed forward, the membership of 100 could have attended one of the quarterly membership meetings and made recommendations of non-support and killed it. But alas, both the quarterly membership meetings are gone and the quorum requirement is now 1250 card holders.

While each act on it's own isn't big, the impact of these actions on a collective basis have created a power block for the elected 9 member board and the management staff. It was never what the framers of our documents intended, but it has clearly become a structure with little in the way of checks and balances.

Tragic in my humble opinion. As much as i am delighted we aren't just another Peoria, Surprise or Glendale, at least their elected officials by law have to conduct their affairs in the light of day and not behind closed doors and locked lips.