A few days ago, I attended a meeting that had among its participants three City Councilpersons. It was only three, therefore an illegal quorum was not present. There were some other things that were not present. Intimidation of standing up before a microphone, glares of Council members that do not speak back, cameras at the back of your head, and encased within formal chambers of "officialdom" were not there. Animosity was totally absent.
I attended the meeting. Let me tell you what was there.
Informality was there. Respect for one another was there. Good humor with barbs and re-barbs were there. Honest observations and honest replies were there. Comfort was not just a word. There was genuine appreciation of other's thoughts.
I wasn't there during the whole meeting, but I would guess that maybe 10-12 citizens showed up along with the three Councilpersons. My observation was that everyone enjoyed the conversation and there was some solid "brainstorming" going on. One of my continuing criticisms of "official" and formal citizen input is that there is never any "brainstorming." All conversation was simply one way.......no Council feedback. They say the rules prevent that. I think some type of the subject meeting could provide an alternative.
I enjoyed the meeting. I think there should be more. If I was City Council, I would split into three "teams" and hold the same type of meeting each month. That would mean that each team would meet once a quarter. I believe the citizens of Rowlett would learn to love and anticipate all meetings of this nature.
That comes from "brainstorming." How many good ideas have come from Citizen Input? The fingers on one hand should suffice.
I attended the meeting. Let me tell you what was there.
Informality was there. Respect for one another was there. Good humor with barbs and re-barbs were there. Honest observations and honest replies were there. Comfort was not just a word. There was genuine appreciation of other's thoughts.
I wasn't there during the whole meeting, but I would guess that maybe 10-12 citizens showed up along with the three Councilpersons. My observation was that everyone enjoyed the conversation and there was some solid "brainstorming" going on. One of my continuing criticisms of "official" and formal citizen input is that there is never any "brainstorming." All conversation was simply one way.......no Council feedback. They say the rules prevent that. I think some type of the subject meeting could provide an alternative.
I enjoyed the meeting. I think there should be more. If I was City Council, I would split into three "teams" and hold the same type of meeting each month. That would mean that each team would meet once a quarter. I believe the citizens of Rowlett would learn to love and anticipate all meetings of this nature.
That comes from "brainstorming." How many good ideas have come from Citizen Input? The fingers on one hand should suffice.
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