There
is a lot going on in most City Council meetings that is important. I have frequently
noticed council members tapping a way on their cell phones as deliberations go
on, the public speaks, etc.
Here
is a FACEBOOK thread from last week's Council meeting where the Pier was being
discussed:
Phil
Ammann Oh, I wish people would stop picking on Newt. He definitely
can liven up a room.
Janelle
Irwin And he's got a heart of gold. I love the dude, but he's an
easy target, sadly.
Kate
Bradshaw Imagine him in the State House...
Janelle
Irwin King of gaffes, perhaps?
Phil
Ammann He will be in good company.
Kate
Bradshaw He's not afraid to chew people out.
Amy
Elizabeth Foster It's not disrespect-its frustration that he
refuses to attend committee meetings where all our decisions are made and
background is provided. He also doesn't read the backup material so we waste
tons of your tax payer dollars b/c he isn't carrying his weight and it
drags on meetings. It's also sad bc he makes points sometimes that should be
listened to but people tune him out bc he starts with the same juvenile data no
matter what the topic is. There I said it.
Most interesting is the last Post.
City Council members are supposed to turn all posts and tweets
into e-mails and save them for public records purposes. I am making a public records
request for this one. I'll let you know if one shows up.
The point is this, while this one may be a bit questionable as to
its appropriateness it also begs the question of people getting information
from and/or supplying information to City council member's during meetings which
is neither in the public view or available as a public record.
Kind of moves a social media cloud over the meetings in the
sunshine concept.
I also find it exceedingly disrespectful as council members tweet
and post away on their cell phones as members of the public, who often struggle
with getting up and speaking, find themselves being technologically ignored.
All of this adds a great deal of credibility to the ongoing
discussion regarding how much these elected officials really care about what the
public thinks.
It is time for Council to agree to a cell phone free zone on the
Dias, and for the Legal department to enforce the Tweet/Post to email
requirement.
Since some of our council members are not good at dealing with
temptation, perhaps a secure lock box where the phones can be placed would be a
good idea.
E-mail Doc at mail
to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me
a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to
share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay
Post Photos
No comments:
Post a Comment