Has anyone noticed over the course of the past year, the Mayors attempt to stymie the public's right to participate and demand answers from their elected and appointed officials? Well that right is about to be denied even further!
Tuesday's city commission meeting includes an agenda item to remove the "citizens request to appear" before the commission, which flies in the face of the public's legal right to participate, in turn severely limiting their right to question the actions made and/or taken by our public officials and staff.
The question is "who" is behind this scheme to shut down the public's right to know and request to appear and more importantly "why?"
Is it the Mayor who is being kept on a short-choker chain by a previous longtime mayor?
By the way, is it just me, or does this Mayor seem more like Obama than Obama does? Remember, they both think that they (government) know better than the public who should be left out of the decision-making process wherever possible.
Is it a sitting city commissioner, the city manager or city attorney? We know how they hate to be questioned and feel that they are totally above everyone else and that the public is just a pain that has to be kept in the dark and silenced at every turn.
Or is it all of the above?
Why is this thinly-veiled power grab being brought forward at this time? As a hint, watch for new decisions to be made by the planning and zoning board coming down the pipeline, which this commission wants to push through without any questions being asked by the public.
Is it the timing during a holiday season, when the citizens are focused on their church and family?
Is it to prevent "outsiders" from bringing attention to the overall city hall playbook?
What then is the overall objective in this sneaky move?
To stymie public input?
To set the stage for bigger and more extreme power grabs planned by this commission and its' staff?
Remember, this all started last year, when this commission voted to extend their own terms, immediately after the election under the guise of going to even-year elections rather than letting the citizens decide the issue.
For years and years, residents could stand up for three minutes and speak on any issue that was on their mind. Anyone who wanted more time to get a dialogue going could make a "request to appear" to the city clerk in advance of the next meeting so it could be placed on the agenda and the city manager and city attorney could have time to research the given issue of concern.
Some examples include the effectiveness of the previous city manager that resulted in his departure and the financial waste of having Bert Fish hospital in the CRA, which to a city commission vote to change it.
But now all of a sudden, they want to push the citizens even further away from having their say and getting answers.
Are you mad yet? How mad?
From my perch, I say enough is enough! It's time to start the recall petitions! What do you think?
Until the next time,
Bob Tolley