by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
The public has a right to attend and speak its mind at every City Council meeting. But if recently filed legislation passes, a simple e-mail might serve the same purpose and save many people from having to make a trip downtown.
The brainchild of Council Vice President Kevin Hyde, legislation will be introduced tonight that would create a Council web mailbox where the public could send e-mails expressing their position on any pending legislative matter.
“Establishing something like this simply goes back to the idea that e-mail is quickly becoming the preferred form of communication in today’s business world,” Hyde said. “There’s been a lot of talk about running government in a similar manner so I thought this would be a logical progression in that direction.”
In its current form, the pending legislation would require the City’s Legislative Services Division to compile, summarize and categorize all pertinent e-mails by topic and bill number.
Additionally, legislative services would print those e-mails and provide them to the Council before it reviews its agenda for upcoming meetings.
The proposed rule change would not apply to quasi-judicial proceedings in which the Council functions as a panel of judges.
“However, I do want to stress that e-mailing the Council doesn’t necessarily mean that the public shouldn’t attend our meetings if they want to,” Hyde said. “It can essentially function as a supplement to that right. If someone wants to write an e-mail and speak at our meetings, they would be free to do so.”
Still weeks away from when Council committees will have the opportunity to openly review the bill and give their recommendations, Hyde has already discussed its merits with Suzanne Jenkins, who chairs the Council’s Government Performance and Technology Committee.
Jenkins said she was not yet prepared to offer an endorsement, but added she was open to taking a look at the legislation.
“I agree that doing something like this is a good way to look at using new technology to benefit the public,” Jenkins said, “but I would hate to see it completely replace public comments at our meetings. I think it would be a disservice if we just tallied up e-mail support and used it as an applause meter, especially if we’re looking at a hot issue.”
To keep that from happening, Hyde said provisions would be made that would require the e-mail policy to sunset next May unless otherwise extended by the Council.
“As I said, I believe the public should be present at Council meetings,” he said. “The way I see it, this can function as a win/win situation for everyone. Before we ever vote on a particular bill, we could approach it knowing how the public feels about it. Plus, our constituents would have more than the three minutes they’re allowed at our meetings.”