Letter: City's public comment time too late for most
Nancy Powell
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 10/28/07
Editor: Very little shocks an 82-year-old retired newsperson. Do you think the St. Augustine City Commission has proved me wrong? They voted 3-2 to move time set aside for public comment on their proposed actions from first to last on the agenda.
In my day there were lots of little old ladies in tennis shoes and one or two in wheelchairs who came to almost every meeting and all were given time to speak and still get home before their bedtimes.
Regardless of age, people resent having to wait until midnight and sometimes the wee hours of the morning to speak only a few minutes. Not all are physically able. Who among the spectators is going to hang around three or four hours to hear what concerns their neighbors? How will this change in time affect the news media? Will their employers pay overtime?
How bad is this going to get? Will taxpayers be forced to attend public hearings at midnight?
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