Karen Burnett-Kurie: Public input versus the need to control, contain meetings

To The Daily Sun,

Often when public input is discussed by the selectboard, town committees and commissions, the conversation is around managing the input while accomplishing the group's necessary work. So, public input is allowed for 15 minutes at the beginning and end of each meeting.

Unfortunately, the public’s interpretation of this decision is their input is a burden to be controlled or contained rather than critical information to be sought and incorporated into decisions. No doubt the latter sentiments are expressed during committee discussion but the decision is still control and contain.

The Budget Committee had several conversations about public input this fall because they were documenting processes and procedures. When public input timing and time limits were set, numerous concerns were raised by the public. The decision remained unaltered.

Let’s be clear, we’re all sympathetic to managing meeting time. Some of these meetings go on for hours ― a burden for staff, volunteers and the public. If a citizen wants to provide input after a topic has been discussed they have to be present at the meeting's end. There are clear examples of some public input being off topic or expressed inappropriately. It is clearly a problem if public input demeans committee members or threatens and bullies.

At the Budget Committee’s last meeting, a conversation arose in response to emails, received between meetings, from citizens to individual committee members. The discussion about how and when to allow this input followed and came to the same conclusion as before. When the public could talk on this issue — the committee had already decided to continue the same way.

Since this topic was not on the agenda, the public could not provide input at the meeting's beginning. And now it was too late. Obviously that did not work for everyone. 

Karen Burnett-Kurie

Wolfeboro