Mattoon City Council showing promise with new format
Sunday, June 26, 2005
By Chris Rankin
Two weeks ago, I wrote on the exploitation of consent agendas. Now I give credit where credit is due. The Mattoon City Council changed the format of their meetings this week. The new format corrects this misuse and is far more informative than the previous.
In addition to the new format, the council has started making a document available showing pending agenda items. This lets the public know what the council is proposing well in advance of the meetings. Other documents are being made available such as draft copies of proposed ordinances and a reports on the city's positions on community related matters.
The new format includes a Miscellaneous Business section, where council members publicly debate proposed ordinances and give their positions on current local events. It is good to see the process unfold during a public meeting where citizens can opine on the issues. It gives the impression that the council does not want to keep the constituent out of the process.
Not only is the format a change for the better, the topics discussed during the session were impressive as well. At Tuesday's meeting, a proposed ordinance requiring drug and alcohol testing for all City employees was debated. Currently only employees represented by a collective bargaining agent are required for testing.
Details such as levels of alcohol concentration to consider a positive test and the percent of employees to be randomly tested over a year's time drew comments from both sides. Employees and the public were allowed to comment on the details of the proposal. The consensus was to use the same requirements as CDL testing. This seems the most fair and easiest to implement.
The most impressive portion of the meeting was the Council's comments on the possible relocation of the YMCA to the Sarah Bush campus. This was a hot topic during the campaign and seemed to fade away after the elections. Kudos to the council for keeping the issue fresh and up front.
The Mattoon City Council is against the YMCA moving away from downtown Mattoon. And they are willing to publicly state their positions and seem prepared to fight to keep it at its current location. The five-page report handed out at the meeting shows they have done their homework and are dedicated to this cause.
By bringing up the YMCA matter, frustrated citizens were given a chance to publicly voice their opinions to the YMCA proposal. Many feel shut out by the YMCA and SBLHC. The council was elected by the people and seems to want to keep the people involved.
The changes the new city council has made in the way they do business are an improvement. The appearance of closed-door decisions and under the radar deals is gone for time being. By keeping the public informed, the public will have a greater influence on the decisions they make. Time will tell if the policies they set follow suit with their candidness.
By Chris Rankin
Two weeks ago, I wrote on the exploitation of consent agendas. Now I give credit where credit is due. The Mattoon City Council changed the format of their meetings this week. The new format corrects this misuse and is far more informative than the previous.
In addition to the new format, the council has started making a document available showing pending agenda items. This lets the public know what the council is proposing well in advance of the meetings. Other documents are being made available such as draft copies of proposed ordinances and a reports on the city's positions on community related matters.
The new format includes a Miscellaneous Business section, where council members publicly debate proposed ordinances and give their positions on current local events. It is good to see the process unfold during a public meeting where citizens can opine on the issues. It gives the impression that the council does not want to keep the constituent out of the process.
Not only is the format a change for the better, the topics discussed during the session were impressive as well. At Tuesday's meeting, a proposed ordinance requiring drug and alcohol testing for all City employees was debated. Currently only employees represented by a collective bargaining agent are required for testing.
Details such as levels of alcohol concentration to consider a positive test and the percent of employees to be randomly tested over a year's time drew comments from both sides. Employees and the public were allowed to comment on the details of the proposal. The consensus was to use the same requirements as CDL testing. This seems the most fair and easiest to implement.
The most impressive portion of the meeting was the Council's comments on the possible relocation of the YMCA to the Sarah Bush campus. This was a hot topic during the campaign and seemed to fade away after the elections. Kudos to the council for keeping the issue fresh and up front.
The Mattoon City Council is against the YMCA moving away from downtown Mattoon. And they are willing to publicly state their positions and seem prepared to fight to keep it at its current location. The five-page report handed out at the meeting shows they have done their homework and are dedicated to this cause.
By bringing up the YMCA matter, frustrated citizens were given a chance to publicly voice their opinions to the YMCA proposal. Many feel shut out by the YMCA and SBLHC. The council was elected by the people and seems to want to keep the people involved.
The changes the new city council has made in the way they do business are an improvement. The appearance of closed-door decisions and under the radar deals is gone for time being. By keeping the public informed, the public will have a greater influence on the decisions they make. Time will tell if the policies they set follow suit with their candidness.
posted by Unknown | 12:17 PM
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