Something has to change here!
Someone needs a new City Administrator, or new rules, or something.
That someone is Sartell, MN.
But in Sartell, the council has opted to omit one common ingredient.
Somewhere between the Pledge of Allegiance and adjournment, most area city councils include a public comment period. The brief segment of the meeting gives residents a chance to talk directly to council members about any topic they choose, from budget decisions to potholes.
Alone among a dozen area cities, Sartell doesn’t have an open comment period at its council meetings. Instead, the first point of contact for residents is often with staff at City Hall.
City Administrator Patti Gartland says that approach is more efficient, allowing staff to determine what type of action is required.
“A lot of the time we’re able to address the issue with the person,” Gartland said. “It may not be a policy issue. It may be an operations issue that doesn’t need council attention.”
When issues arise that do require council action, Gartland said they are placed on the council agenda.
Sartell Council Member Joe Perske said he appreciates the information that city staff provides, but he has some concerns about the system. He said getting a topic on the council’s agenda is not always easy.
“Often that never happens,” Perske said. “They’re told, ‘We can’t put that on the agenda because it’s not the right time for this topic. It will come up in the fall or the next bonding cycle. Even as a council member my requests to put topics on the agenda are sometimes dismissed.”
Whoa!
Citizens aren’t allowed to speak to the entire city council and council members requests for agenda items are denied … and the City Administrator says the system is “efficient?”
Let’s just say I wouldn’t be a very obedient citizen of Sartell if I lived there.
This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 3:46 am and is filed under Government Meetings 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply
- « Older Entries
- Newer Entries »
