At 7 pm Monday, after/during a rally at City Hall, the City Council actually had its monthly work session. These meetings are open to the public by law. You do not need an invitation. I go every month. I’m usually the only average citizen there. This month was no different.
Work sessions are usually just to inform. But when you attend Council meetings online or in person, you can say your piece in front of the whole group - the Mayor, the Council, the Planning Director, the City Management, the City’s attorneys...basically all of the people in town who could possibly initiate the kind of changes you might want to see.
I started going because I don’t feel like everyone in the community gets a voice in the direction of the City, or benefits from the direction they’ve chosen, although we’re all still required to pay the cost of it in various ways. I firmly believe that our local government is not nearly as transparent, open, or inclusive as it should be.
When they’re allowed to choose who gets a seat at the table in the decision-making processes, they inevitably pick people they know who already echo their opinions. It’s incredibly cliquey.
That’s why I make my own seat at the table, to stay informed and provide a voice for taxpayers and working-class individuals, whenever state law requires a meeting to be open to citizens. They still do their best to ignore me as much as they can, but a constant presence is much harder to ignore than a one-time appearance. And, many people would be harder to ignore than just one.
So, when YOU see a viewpoint or group that lacks representation in the City, please come out here and BE their consistent representative. Make YOUR own seat at the table.
I’d enjoy seeing more of my fellow citizens at City Hall for a change. And where there’s overlap between the people and ideas we represent (I figure that’s true in almost all cases), it only makes sense to work together!