Auburn city councilor Matt Smith has found a candidate to interview for the city's public safety commissioner, even though it's a position that doesn't exist at this point.

Mayor Tim Lattimore is ready to make Michael Long the interim city manager without any formal search, so he's made a motion to go forward with the promotion without any warning for his fellow councilors.

The city hasn't had a permanent fire chief since June, and its interim chief appears poised to step down; yet council has done nothing to address the leadership situation at the Auburn Fire Department.

Auburn is about to lose the head of its planning and economic development office, but councilors don't have a plan for that position's future.

Could the Auburn City Council be any less cohesive?

With the fall season officially here, we can look back and declare this was one of the least productive summers a city council could ever have. And it couldn't have come at a worse time.

Consider what appeared in this space on June 15, shortly after the contentious 2006-2007 city budget passed:

“If there is to be true financial stability, Auburn cannot escape making some substantial changes in its structure,” we wrote.

“But for those changes to happen, the work on a restructuring plan needs to start now - as in tonight's council meeting. And it needs to continue throughout the summer until some concrete changes have been put in place.”

Instead, we've seen a summer with half-proposals, few substantive discussions and no tangible results. At this point, there's no prospect for the situation to change in the near future.

It's a good thing elections for council seats are not taking place this year, though city residents may be losing faith that this group can ever get its act together.