The Moorhead City Council is trying something new! For two months the council is experimenting with a new way for citizens to be heard.
The old system allowed "citizens to be heard" only at the beginning of the meeting, regardless of whether you were speaking on an agenda item or just wanted to have your say. If you wanted to address an agenda item you had to speak in the early spot and it was like talking to a blank wall. There was no built-in opportunity for questions from council. Then you could resume your seat and wait for the item to come up on the agenda and listen to council's discussion, but there was no further opportunity for you to speak.
Also, the old system exhibited disrespect for the concept of dealing with the public's business in an orderly way via agenda planning. By dealing with topics in a timely way the public can be informed as to approximately when that topic will be discussed and can plan their input accordingly.
Citizens should always be first. And the council is trying to respect the various needs, and time constraints, of citizens by providing three ways for citizens to bring their concerns forward. This is an "experiment." Please let us know by the end of March if it is an improvement.
Diane Wray Williams
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Moorhead City Council member
