NOTE - Any called meeting can occur upon 24 hours notice. Agenda is posted on the lobby bulletin board, but not always on City web site
Council meeting agendas can change, so the Public needs to monitor all meetings despite the upcoming holidays and Spring break vacations. The Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals denied a variance request (5-0) by the owner of 35 Williams Street property on February 28, 2008. The owner has the option to appeal the decision to Superior Court within 30 days.
Editorial
City Council Needs to Reinstate Work Session Meeting to Week Prior to Regular Council Meeting
The City Council is supposed to be setting policy, hopefully, with the advice and consent of the governed. We are concerned about the city council's decision made in Greenville, SC to move the Regular Council Work Session to the same night and one hour before a Regular Council Meeting where votes are taken.
We believe this is a step away from more open city government embraced by some council as candidates in recent campaigns. Previously, Council Work Sessions occurred at 6:30 P.M. the Monday prior to a Regular Council voting meeting. The new plan circumvents this opportunity for the public to have time to discuss input with their elected representatives, effectively removing decision making for most issues to the purview of the new City Manager Warren Hutmacher and outside of public view, and with little opportunity for input before it is "a done deal." With so much at stake in our city, this is unfair. Residents who are the taxpayers deserve a say in their city's government.
Traditionally, the public does not have a designated time to speak during a Regular Work Session. Moving the Work session to 5:30 P.M. before a Regular Voting Meeting occurs at 7:00 P.M. effectively removes citizen input and smacks of "taxation without representation." Even council members at times have appeared confused about what they were voting on. The earlier afternoon time creates an additional hardship for citizens who must battle traffic if they wish to attend.
A Policy Work session is held one week after a Regular Council meeting for the purpose of building an agenda for the Regular Work Session that under the prior system was scheduled one week prior to the Regular Council Meeting, allowing time for citizen awareness, discussion, council contact, and input.
We commend the council for long range planning efforts. Reorganization, Infrastructure, Capital Improvements, Service Delivery, Planning, and Intergovernmental Relations are timely topics the council debated at the retreat. We urge the council to allow more time for citizen input before making major policy changes affecting well-being and quality of life in our city and our pocketbooks.
