Thursday, July 24, 2008
Editorial: Superficial changes won't let public in
Roanoke's mayor and council should take the time to enact more than window-dressing reforms for including the public.
From the RoundTable blog
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As public hearings go, the one Roanoke Mayor David Bowers hosted Monday to solicit comments on his seven-page memo to improve council's relations with citizens was a bust. Just one speaker bothered to show.
Bowers, though, did get an earful -- from council members. Ironically, he didn't seem to hear. The newly returned mayor would make a grave mistake to start this administration by dismissing lightly the concerns of fellow council members. And he would double that mistake by passing as reforms cosmetic rather than substantive changes the public craves.
Bowers was on the mark when he wrote in his July 1 letter to council, "Out on the campaign trail this spring, I heard citizens' concerns about secret meetings, too many closed-door sessions, and inability to address council in a manner in which the public felt that they were being heard."
But it is doubtful that moving a podium, eliminating a coded light system in favor of a mayoral stopwatch or even giving speakers two additional minutes to make a point will do anything to change that perception.
Sure, the public might like that Bowers and council allow them to park briefly in their city hall spots when they aren't using them. Or they might find it somewhat helpful if executive sessions were numbered so at least they could keep track. And they might benefit if council sessions were aired more frequently on cable. But that's all window dressing.
Where Bowers veers off course is in presenting ramblings that flit from preregistering speakers to parking spaces as a well-thought-out adoptable platform.
It is, as Councilwoman Gwen Mason noted, a mish-mash that is difficult to grasp. And Mason at least knows the ropes. Three council members -- Court Rosen and Anita Price, who came on board this month, and Alvin Nash with just a few meetings' experience -- have yet to figure out how things work to know how best to change them.
Rosen asked Bowers to delay a vote for six months, but it was as if Bowers couldn't, or wouldn't, understand what he was saying.
If the mayor and council take the time to consider what would really work to better include and inform the public, they would understand that the public isn't complaining about superficial things like stopwatches and podiums.
They want to be privy to council's deliberations and understand how members arrive at decisions. One remedy would be to broadcast council's monthly work sessions with its in-depth briefings. That item didn't even make Bowers' list.
