Monday's City Council Meeting Short and Sweet
Last night's meeting lasted less than an hour.
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Monday’s Smyrna City Council meeting clocked in at 50 minutes after the governing body tabled several items from its already brief agenda.
A public hearing regarding the approval of Smyrna’s film ordinance and Ward 5 Council Representative Susan Wilkinson’s appointment to the tree board were both tabled till the May 7 meeting.
The agenda’s other items, including approval of RaceTrac Petroleum’s commercial building permit and the approval of a privilege license for Georgia Auto Pawn, all passed 6-0. Teri Anulewicz, Ward 3 Council representative, was absent. Couple the short agenda with only two speakers during citizen input and that makes a 50-minute meeting.
During committee reports, Wade Lnenicka, Ward 6 Council representative, addressed a constituent who contacted him about moving citizen input to the beginning of Council meetings. Lnenicka said he felt its placement at the end of the meeting was appropriate.
He also noted that there are multiple, more expedient ways citizens can get in touch with elected officials and city staff including by email or phone. Contact information for City Council members and staff can be found on the city’s website. He said citizens can also file complaints or ask questions through the city’s customer service portal.
“There are a lot of ways you can contact your elected officials or senior staff and get their attention,” he said. “To speak before the body is important, but it’s not the primary way that citizens should look to get business done. Why wait every two weeks to speak when you can do business every single day?”
During citizen input Alex Backry, a regular speaker, “respectfully disagreed.”
“I remember the old days when we had to wait two and three hours to speak for three minutes,” he said. “It turned off a lot of people that couldn’t wait that left. It’s a reasonable request to have it at the beginning of the meetings.”
Backry asked that the Council vote to put citizen input at the beginning of meetings at the next Council meeting Monday, April 16.
K. Davis
12:33 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
The council meeting was short but it wasn't sweet. Lnenicka's explanation that lawyers' time was more important than the citizens' was one of the low points of the meeting.
The absurdity of our city government was made evident after two citizens raised valid questions and comments and were met with silence from the council.
The suggestion by council members to contact them personally is a way to keep the public uninformed. This is a city of darkness with a conspiracy of silence.
Amy
2:10 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Not lawyers' time, but the expense of lawyers' time to the clients who are there waiting to bring business before the council.
Michelle
2:50 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Thank you for the clarification Amy. Makes sense when you have an attorney present charging you by the "minute" for their service to not make them wait through public comment. Although, I am sure the attorney would not mind. :)
K. Davis
12:37 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Also the agenda meetings are now at 5:30 before the council meetings. They are open to the public but the council will not announce that or that the day and time have changed.
J. B. Smith
12:52 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
I haven't heard Alex Backry say much of anything that was important, other than express his right to free speech.
Bill
1:52 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Just because a request is reasonable doesn't mean it has to be approved.
Neal Dow
6:09 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Backry does not think he has the right or wants the right to preach to a captive audience. He's doing his civic duty just like anyone who goes to the microphone during council meetings. In a democracy elected officials must answer to the citizens. That's their responsibility. It's our responsibility to hold them accountable. The fact that this has to be said is mind boggling. But then again this is Smyrna which hasn't been a democracy since Bacon got himself put into office in 1985.