Post 1-Sanford City Council Sticks With Status Quo

Council Members Fear Public Questions

Last night the Sanford City Council was caught up again in a monumental debate about what ought to be a simple matter--publishing an agenda for the Law and Finance Committee. This time the debate meandered around how many meetings a month to have, whether to continue to have Law and Finance Committee meetings, what other cities might be doing. It was similar to the kind of fruitless 45 minute discussion the County Commissioner's had at their last meeting about the smoking ordinance. The term Law and Finance Committee is a misnomer. It is a kind of pre-meeting workshop at which the members can be briefed on issues that may come up at the following week's official council meeting. It is a chance for the staff and council members to discuss items, some of which make it to the official agenda and some of which don't. So why not have an agenda published the morning of the meeting as requested by Charles Taylor? "Well if we get it, then the press might get hold of it, and the public might find out about it and ask us about an issue on the agenda and we won't know any of the background on it." was the main argument. Interesting logic. Let's all stay in the dark together. It is not really so much that they don't want the public to know; it is they don't want to look uniformed about an issue. Sanford has long since grown beyond the point when the public ought to expect a council member to know something about every possible issue that might come up. What is wrong with saying, "That is just coming up tonight and I will get back to you."? Perhaps some people have worried about looking dumb too long. City Manager Hal Hegwer seems to want to hang on to the opportunity to being able to make last minute changes. One council member raised that issue saying that changing the agenda could start rumors or look like "monkey business." Let's all stay in the dark together again. There is the opposite view is that the more open you are the more the public will trust its government. Taylor's view on the other hand, supported by Mike Stone, is that he wants the public to know what might be coming up in case they have something to offer. The vote to keep the status quo was passed by a 5-2 vote, with council members Martin, Brewer, McNeil, Williams, and Mann out voting the new comers. Note: In response to a request from the e-Lee Dispatch, the City of Sanford for the first time published the full agenda packet just as available to council members on the web for distribution. City Manager Hal Hegwer, City Clerk Bonnie White, and County Attorney Susan C. Patterson have an attitude of full cooperation to public information requests. It is time for some issues to be examined at city hall and perhaps the council members will get over their fear of the public knowing something they don't. Stay tuned. PS See Second Post For Today Below