Transparency in Government After running for Council at Large six years ago and finishing fourth I had no intention of doing politics again. The experience was good as I got to visit many residents of the city to hear what they had to say about the issues that were important to them. I found the process to be daunting and enlightening at the same time. After the election I settled back into teaching courses in Communication at Monroe Community College and Brockport. The City moved forward with a number of changes some of which I thought were good others made me raise an eyebrow. It wasnt until the newspaper article on the “proposed” changes in the trash collection in the City did I start to think that the City was headed in the wrong direction. I believe the there was no transparency in the process that would have brought about a major change what had been a successful method of dealing with our trash and recycling needs. As a result I got involved with a significant number of citizens who worked to keep ARC as the preferred provider for trash and recycling. I believe there were attempts to stifle debate and to prevent the voices of the citizens from being listened to. As a group we did what we could to raise awareness in the City and to stop what many felt was an unnecessary change. Council heard the noise but did not listen to what the citizens were saying. We had three choices: try to force the issue to a referendum, ask for a hearing through the State, or change the composition of the Council. We opted to work to change the Council. While we may not be able to rollback the decision that was made we will work to insure that the governing process is more open. The Council needs to provide leadership based on what is best for the entire city.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 00:39:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015