GOOD TO HEAR – By Mac Cordell
Meeting flexibility allows for better public involvement
Earlier this week at a city council meeting, residents of Marysville and surrounding communities got their first chance to talk about a proposed malting facility.
The assembled crowd of interested observers and commenters led to one of the longe...
Meeting flexibility allows for better public involvement
Earlier this week at a city council meeting, residents of Marysville and surrounding communities got their first chance to talk about a proposed malting facility.
The assembled crowd of interested observers and commenters led to one of the longest council meetings in memory.
Two weeks ago there was a similar crowd wanting to weigh in. At that council meeting, the congregants were told they would be heard, but were ultimately denied the opportunity to have their say.
The reason they could not address council? It wasn’t the right time. The first reading of an ordinance or resolution, the council said, is not for the public to have its say. Council procedure calls for public comment at the second and third public readings of proposed legislation.
While people had assembled, it was only the first reading and thus council would not hear them. Additionally, they were not permitted to even speak about the matter during the meeting’s designated public comments section.
Certainly these folks did not know all the ins and outs of the process, but they wanted to be involved. They did not know that council had created these procedures limiting when and how the public can address their council. They just wanted to share their concerns with the body entrusted to care about those concerns.
I absolutely understand the need for parliamentary procedure. I understand the need for rules and structure. I also understand that rules and structure should improve the ability for council to do the will of the people, not impede those people.
What would it have hurt the city to suspend the procedure on this issue to allow these citizens to address the representatives they elect and pay?
Again, I am not advocating for no regulations or policies. I am not advocating for a wild-west meeting. That said, the policy and procedures should be flexible enough to accommodate situations as they arise.
Ask any elected official and they will tell you they want more civic involvement, that they want the citizenry to engage with them. At some point, a common-sense approach to facilitate that would help.
-Mac Cordell is a reporter for the Journal-Tribune.