Berra-isms Abound For City Council

It was Yogi Berra who once uttered the famous phrase…

“It’s déjà vu all over again.”

That’s the way it must have felt for the holdover members of the Fairfield City Council on Tuesday night when the discussion turned to the need for a policy on non-city employees riding in city vehicles. Didn’t we do this late last year? 

Yup, but a promised policy fell between the cracks, according to Mayor Brent Maguire.

You will remember the controversy from the Veteran’s Day parade when a city police officer was denied permission to let his mother ride in his squad car. The police department was said to have a policy against the practice. Passengers were not permitted.

The whole matter boiled up again when the city’s bucket truck gave spectators a bird’s eye view of the Frontier Community College’s Lineman Rodeo a few weeks ago.

It appears the majority of the council will support a new policy that allows for passengers in city police cars, fire trucks and bucket trucks if the city has liability protection. I think that means there will have to be a form filled out by non-employees waiving their ability to sue the city if something goes wrong.

We aren’t talking about having folks in the passenger seat on the way to a burglary…..We are talking about squad cars and fire trucks going slowly in a parade….or giving that occasional bucket truck ride to oversee a college lineman rodeo.

This can be handled with a common sense policy that covers all city vehicles. It honestly should have been handled the last time it became an issue….which brings to mind another Yogi Berra-ism when it comes to matters like this.

“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”