Archive for 15 January, 2008
Subject: Town meetings/Public expression
January 15, 2008 10:22 pm
Dear Supervisor Mohan and Amherst Town Councilmembers,
Any action to reduce residents’ opportunity to attend or speak at Public Hearings would be a huge mistake and easily construed as an attempt to close, or at the very least limit access to, Town of Amherst government to the taxpayers. Town government is THE level of government which has the most impact on citizens’ day-to-day lives and it ought to be easily accessible to them, and their opinions should be welcomed, sought, and seriously weighed and considered.
Moving Public Hearings to an afternoon session would exclude the vast majority of people who have to work during the day. Furthermore, afternoon Public Hearings would not be televised, which would only serve to further close the working of town government to Amherst residents who currently closely follow town government, who are not able to attend and would then be only able to get snippets of information from a news article. This would be a huge step backward for our town. Public Hearings should not be taken out of regular Town Board meetings. Public Hearings are needed to develop a “public record” on important issues, and this can only be accomplished if the “public” has adequate access to the process. Speed of accomplishing something is not nearly as important as getting it right, as many of the issues decided have long-reaching impacts on the town and its’ residents/taxpayers. Also, as proposed, allowing developers/petitioners unlimited or more time to address issues than the residents would have is unfair to those whose properties and lives may be impacted by a decision. Lastly, referring to residents who may speak at a Public Hearing as “the opposition” has a negative connotation. These residents are Town of Amherst taxpayers. Any “Rules of Order” you adopt need to be fair and regarded as fair by the residents you serve. From what I have been reading and observing, the majority of you seem to agree, and I certainly hope you won’t be swayed.
Respectfully
