{"id":4062,"date":"2013-06-13T18:02:26","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T22:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=4062"},"modified":"2013-06-13T18:05:30","modified_gmt":"2013-06-13T22:05:30","slug":"youre-losing-the-democratic-process-gary-wright-lcc-2013-06-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/06\/youre-losing-the-democratic-process-gary-wright-lcc-2013-06-11.html","title":{"rendered":"You’re losing the democratic process –Gary Wright @ LCC 2013-06-11"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\n“I hope you’ll consider a democratic process working into your rules,”\r\nremarked a military veteran at\r\nTuesday night’s\r\n\r\nLowndes County Commission Regular Session<\/a>.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nAfter saying he was also concerned about how Deep South Sanitation\r\nis being treated,\r\nGary Wright said:\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"Gary<\/a>\r\n\r\nThere is a little bit of a lack of democratic process in your meeting\r\ngroundrules.\r\nOn your website I don’t know anything in there that said\r\nyou have only thirty minute meetings for the entire thing.\r\nI don’t know if this happens whenever you have a meeting\r\nthat’s only thirty minutes long; I’ve never been to one.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nTheir rules\r\n\r\ndon’t say that<\/a>,\r\nbut it’s not surprising there is confusion, given how hard they are to find,\r\nand that the Chairman apparently made up a rule about 15 minutes total\r\nfor Citizens Wishing to be Heard that also isn’t in their relevant ordinance.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\r\nBut on top that you should allow some sort of response dialog\r\nwith the citizens, even if it’s\r\nshort and it’s brief as long as it’s\r\ncourtesy that prevails.\r\nOr some promise of some sort of reply because\r\nif you’re losing the democratic process\r\nyou can’t get the public to support you to vote for you…\r\nand expect to have a dialog at some level.\r\n

\r\nSo I hope you’ll consider a democratic process working into your rules.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThe crowd applauded.\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nLeon County, Florida has an\r\n\r\nonline issue tracking system<\/a> so citizens don’t even have to come\r\nto a Commission meeting to make a request, and they can follow what\r\nhappened to their request.\r\nDunwoody, Georgia (smaller than Valdosta) has\r\n\r\na similar system<\/a>.\r\nThis is not rocket science.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nBut you are in Lowndes County, Georgia, where the Chairman\r\nexplained to Wright after the meeting that he didn’t want Commissioners\r\nor staff answering because that might start a dialog which might not\r\nbe orderly.\r\nInstead, he had all the CTBH forms\r\nand all the Commissioners could see them and respond if they wanted to.\r\nHe did not say any of them are required to respond, because they aren’t.\r\nHe did say there’s only one door out of the room, and he, the Chairman\r\nalways walks out past all the people still there.\r\nI pointed out the other door to the Executive Session room,\r\nand he did acknowledge he goes through that one when there is\r\nan Executive Session.\r\n

\r\nI didn’t ask him if he recalled\r\n\r\nhe went into an executive session 14 May 2013<\/a>\r\nand didn’t come out for so long that\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\n\r\nTom Hallman, to whom the Chairman had promised an answer<\/a>,\r\nleft the building.\r\nWhen I asked him for an answer to a related question in that same meeting,\r\n\r\nhis response was<\/a>:\r\n

\r\nAt this time we can’t discuss that issue.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nIn Lowndes County apparently order is more important than democratic process.\r\nWhy any chairman couldn’t stick to 5 minute speaker limits and have orderly\r\nquestion and response, referring to someone specific for a later response\r\nwhen needed, is a mystery to me.\r\nI’ve seen it done by many a council and commission,\r\nand I’ve never seen any other that limits citizen speakers to 15 minutes.\r\n

\r\nBut you are in Lowndes County!\r\n

\r\nHere’s\r\n\r\nthe video:<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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