Emergency ordinances only get one reading and become effective immediately.  When an item is on the consent agenda it is grouped in with all the items and voted as a block.  I have learned that commissioners rarely look at the consent agenda… unless they want to slip something through.

Take for example this emergency ordinance that will cost the city $35,000Now I like bicycling in Portland… but the way that Adams is getting money to fund a hand-built bike show (which I volunteered at last year) by placing an item on the consent agenda is troublesome at best.

Last month I was gathering signatures for the recall in front of city hall while AFSCME local 189 was holding a rally because the city cut  but budget an laid-off workers.  This is in conjunction with the Adams canceling the leaf depots because he said that Transportation could not afford the $100,000 to keep the depots open.  He even suggested a city wide surcharge on trash services.

It makes no sense to me that if the city is strapped for cash how we can afford to subsidize a show for hand-built bikes that have a starting cost of about $3000.

I am all for the city wanting to increase cycling, however I think that keeping leaves off the streets and fixing pot holes will increase cycling with in the city than anything else.  The Oregonian had a prime example of what I mean with this photo:

Photo by Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian