Arlington Tomorrow Fund

This is a touchy subject but it needs to be addressed.  The reason that it is touchy is that the Mayor wants one thing and the Council has to approve it.  Two names were offered to the Council for approval and the Council voted 6-3 to table both nominations.  The reason for putting the names on the table, instead of voting on them is simple.  Due to the size of the fund, ($100 million) there is a discussion of capping the fund and using the proceeds that are above the cap.  If that is done and there is $15-20 million to be used annually.  Should that expenditure be used by the ATF as it is currently comprised?  Or should we reconstitute the ATF to acutally be the City Council?  Or should the ATF only deal with the interest, and the principal above the cap moved to another fund with Council oversight?

Having many questions of this magnatude, the Council called for a special meeting to address these issues and many more concerning ATF funds/composition.  That meeting will be held on August 14th.  It made sense to me that we should not vote on the appointment of members to the ATF until after that meeting.  I brought this up in the afternoon session over a month ago but the Mayor wanted to go forward with the nominations.  So the Council voted to table the approval of the appointments.  The individuals that were nominated are both remarkablely capable and the tabling has nothing to do with their individual qualifications.  Each will be voted on if the ATF remains in its present form.