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TIL my town hall meeting had a secret rule about what we could talk about
I was at our local town hall in Springfield last month, trying to bring up the water testing results from the old factory site. The moment I said the word 'contamination,' the council head cut me off and said 'that's not on the agenda for public comment.' I later found out from a friend who works there that they have a list of topics, like that factory or budget overruns, that they just won't let people discuss openly. They call it 'maintaining order,' but it feels like they're hiding stuff. It changed how I see those meetings, you know? Now I realize they're not really for debate, just for announcements they've already decided on. Has anyone else run into a list of banned topics at their own local government meetings?
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parker_park85mo ago
So the public comment period is just for commenting on how nice the flower baskets on Main Street look? That's some real creative democracy they've got going on. My town's version of that is they let you talk, but the answer is always "we'll take that under advisement," which is government for "this paper goes straight to the shredder." It's impressive how they can make a public meeting feel so completely private.
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henry3155mo ago
Paper shredder? That's darkly hilarious and probably way too accurate.
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taylor_hayes255mo ago
Right? It's like they hold the meeting just to check a box. They've already made up their minds before we even walk in the door. The whole thing is just theater so they can say they listened.
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