TONIGHT THE Emporia City Commission opened the door. Now we get to see if they’ll listen to the neighbors.
Today at 6 p.m., the two remaining candidates for city manager were scheduled to meet with Emporia’s citizens. Anyone who wanted was welcome to come down to the Little Theater, listen to Matt Zimmerman and Ron Massey, even ask a few questions and write down a few thoughts before leaving.
(By the way, if it hasn’t hit 6 p.m. when you read this, why not head down to the Little Theater? With as long as Emporia’s city managers tend to last, it may be 20 years before you get another opportunity like this.)
But last week, one commissioner had questions of his own. On hearing that written comments would be collected from the public, Commissioner Ray Toso asked bluntly “What are you going to do with it?”
It’s a worthwhile question.
Comments are worthless unless they’re considered. And the city hasn’t left itself a lot of time to ponder. Originally, the commission hoped to have a choice named by the end of the month — which would be Wednesday.
So if the meeting is well-attended — and we hope it is — the commission will have to decide how quickly it wants to make its decision. And how thoroughly it wants to consider the advice of the citizens it represents.
Our advice: Take your time. Please.
It’s true that city managers are hired, not elected. The commission is under no obligation to take any advice from the public. But a decent period for reflection would at least give the impression that the citizens’ voices were heard. Given how little involvement the public has had in the process, that’s no small thing.
Commissioner Tom Myers put it well at Wednesday’s meeting.
“It’s a lot more important to do it good than it is to do it fast,” he said.
Emporia has lasted five months without hiring a city manager. How much harm will one more week do?
Janet (anonymous) says...
The commission is under no obligation to take any advice from the public? Maybe not, but I'd think they are under some kind of obligation to consider what the public wants in a city manager.
The commission is elected to represent the people of the town. If they consider themselves to somehow be above the people, they may find themselves answerable at the polls one day.
Listen to the people, listen well, then choose well.
February 28, 2007 at 11:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )