I keep hearing and reading the argument that people should go to the town meetings in order to stay informed on whats going on in town. That stance is both arrogant and ridiculous for many reasons. In this day of social media and websites, the transparency of our local government should not be limited to only those that attend meetings. I must applaud the efforts of whoever is responsible for creating the Thorntown Board Minutes page as it is long overdue. (Beth?) What is wrong with sharing concerns outside of the meetings on pages such as this one? I like to know how the rest of the community feels about certain topics that concern our town and feel that media pages such as this one is an ideal opportunity to express our concerns and have a friendly debate on controversial subjects without someone raising the argument that we have to go to the meetings. If there is a large enough consensus about anything that should be brought up to the council, then sure, we should go to the meeting to raise awareness towards whatever concerns us. However, I see this argument all too often over trivial matters such as someone asking a simple question to someone voicing a concern. My biggest peeve about anyone raising the argument that we should go to meetings is this: We elected our council to oversee and manage our town with the best interest of its citizens in mind. To say that everyone should go to every meeting is saying we should go to make sure our council doesnt misrepresent certain neighborhoods or citizens within our town. Im not saying that no one should go because we need people to see firsthand how our council represents our interests. Someone MUST go, but it shouldnt be that those who choose not to attend dont have the right to the information or dont have a voice about town business. Those in attendance have no more rights than those that are not in attendance! I do believe that it should be the councils responsibility to notify certain individuals within a neighborhood if a situation arises that will affect their way of life or their property values. (recycling centers, Habitat communities, etc) This is a small enough town that at least one council member should know someone in each area of town. If not, then we do not have ample representation for the town as a whole. A simple phone call or personal visit to relate important matters that greatly affect a neighborhood should not be out of the question. These controversial subjects do not come up often so its not like it is a common occurrence. After all, we elected these individuals to look out for our best interests. I know its not a requirement of a council member to do so and it might be an inconvenience, but its the right thing to do. Besides, it doesnt cost a dime and it shows our elected officials truly care about each neighborhood within our town. Why am I including this? Because it happened and a comment was made that since I did not attend a meeting, I was open to the consequences. That should never happen again to anyone in our town. Our properties and way of life means something different to everyone and Im sure its very important in some way to everyone. Not everyone can attend every meeting, not everyone has Facebook, internet, or means of staying connected. We all have this town in common though. Most of us want to see it prosper and preserve the quality of life many of us worked so hard to achieve. Going to town meetings shouldnt be a requirement to have that. Are we saying that if you miss one meeting and you miss an important topic that youre S.O.L.? Id hope not. The people that truly care about the future of this town talk to each other. Rumors, facts, and everything in between spread quickly. I am thankful we have a forum to relate with each other but I dont like to see that some of us think that the information should only be discussed at the town meetings.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 02:59:15 +0000