Those who attend public hearings and forums such as Boards of Supervisors and City Council meetings and who are able to maintain their attention span should be commended. So much that impacts our quality of life, and thereby the real estate market happens in these meetings.
Consistency. Stepping into one meeting and immediately understanding the context in which discussions are being held is a near impossibility. There is a reason that many of the attendees either are paid to attend, have vested interests or are retired – the meetings are mostly dry, intricate conversations between folks who have intimate knowledge about local government.
My favorite part of yesterday’s BoS meeting was when a member of Staff referred to Code section “ten dot three dot three dot two,” said with such eloquence and ease – it just rolled off his tongue! Clearly here was a man who could straighten the tangled knot that is often referred to as “government.”
The various organizations that track local government, such as the FEF, CvilleTomorrow, PEC et al provide invaluable services to the community.
These meetings are vitally important. If no one listens or pays attention, who will know when politicians sacrifice their integrity?
Technorati Tags: politics, real-estate
The agendas of the meetings always look benign, even the discussions can be dreadfully boring, then the outcome…whoa no expected this or that. I suspect supervisors/councilors wish more people would be involved at those meetings to counter the very persuasive opinions of those present.
While I agree all those organizations provide a great public service, I wish I had time to go to more meetings because I prefer to hear things first hand.
It’s that dreadful boredom that lulls the populace into apathetic complacency. I too, wish I could attend more meetings, but am prevented by at least two things – the need to earn a living and the occasional bout with a short attention span. 🙂
i am just glad that Albemarle is podcasting their meetings. Kudos to Sean for his groundbreaking efforts.