Patterson Irrigator

Several local residents seemed to grab Patterson City Council members’ attention last month when they shared personal anecdotes about police harassment.

Though only a couple of incidents were mentioned, council members said they planned to discuss the matter further.

A thorough search of Tuesday’s council agenda seemed to indicate that the council planned to hold off on the topic; there was not a single mention of issues regarding police.

But, lo and behold, council members discussed the matter in detail when they reached the “Other Matters” portion of their agenda. During the meeting, Mayor Becky Campo urged attendees to wait until the end, saying police harassment issues would be discussed at that time.

The reason public meeting agendas are required by the state law is to notify the public about what will be discussed. By planning to talk about police harassment without placing it on the agenda, council members left local residents who might have had an interest in the subject out of the loop.

City Manager Cleve Morris has said city staff was not prepared to put the matter on the agenda yet, and the City Council will formally address those matters at a later date.

Still, this isn’t the first time items have been discussed without being mentioned on the agenda. In general, the topics addressed at council meetings often prove mysterious. For instance, the “Committee Reports” section at the end of the meeting leaves too much room for leeway. Why not simply state what will be discussed?

It’s time for the city to eliminate surprises at council meetings. Items slated for discussion must be clearly stated on the agenda, or they should not be addressed at all.

Let’s ensure that the public knows about public matters.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment