The city has been initiating or changing a lot of policies lately and they’re always accompanied by a great deal of acrimony.
Is there any way we could see a city program implemented without a lot of wailing, moaning, and gnashing of teeth? Is that too much to ask?
Don’t get us wrong, it’s gold for us in the news media. We fill columns and columns of newsprint with these “debates.” It’s great copy, as they say, but it isn’t good community development.
Lately, backtracking to some degree has followed the acrimony and that can’t be good public policy either. While we applaud the willingness to compromise, perhaps the best time to compromise is during the development of these policies. Seek the input before the final draft not after.
From the current conflict over garbage limits to the re-jigging of Dogwood traffic lights, the city never seems to learn anything about communicating with the residents of this city. Granted, the volume and vociferousness of the opposition doesn’t necessarily reflect the feelings of the majority but inability to make changes – even for the better – without a public fight impacts the mood of the community. What does it do for our reputation as a place live or to invest? We’re hoping the city is developing a communication policy behind the scenes as we speak because there doesn’t seem to be one in place now. At least, not an effective one.
Perhaps its unrealistic. Perhaps the mood of our society is such that civil discourse is just a pipe dream and there will always be some sort of cantankerous opposition. People are always more willing to complain than to compliment.
But we hope that’s not so. We hope there’s a way to conduct municipal business without throwing the whole community into turmoil.
We’d suggest implementing a new policy but we’re not in the mood for another fight.