Monday evening Iola council members will discuss — perhaps decide — whether to move their meetings to the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Larry Walden, who takes interest in public affairs as many other citizens should, proposed the council make a change. He pointed out USD 257 Board of Education meets the same evening as the city, the second and fourth Monday of each month.
His rationale was it would give citizens who like to sit in on both the opportunity. As is, they have to choose.
Humboldt faces the same conflict, with its council and USD 258 meeting on the night. Moran’s council meets on the first Monday; LaHarpe the second Wednesday.
Having meetings in the evening, when a far larger number of people are not on the job, makes sense in a participatory democracy, which we all should go out of our way to encourage. Also, it’s far easier for eight council members, seven school board members and three county commissioners to schedule their meetings so Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, and who knows how many others, can show up without having to make special arrangements.
By this standard, it would be a step forward to enlightenment if Allen County commissioners would switch from Tuesday mornings to evenings. And, by compressing their agendas a tad, they also could reduce their meetings to twice a month. If more were necessary, schedule them.
Transparency is a watchword during campaigns, but once elections dole out seats it is not so much of an issue; it certainly should be more so then.
Years ago Iola commissioners met on Tuesday afternoons. Eventually, they gave evenings a couple of tries. When no one or only a couple showed up, they beat it back to afternoons.
The point is, not every meeting and sometimes several in a row don’t stimulate attendance. When the opportunity for input on a sensitive topic arises, though, it is much better to have meetings as accommodating as possible.
THE REGISTER endorses whatever can be done to make city council and school board meetings open to all who want to attend.
— Bob Johnson
