The City of Amarillo continues to show complete and total disregard for the people of Amarillo.
During the meeting of the Amarillo City Council on Tuesday, resident James Schenck asked the City Council when the work sessions will be held for meetings once the City Council's proposed 7am meetings are implemented.
Miller's response to Schenck said a lot about the City's attitude toward residents.
"The meeting will start at 7am," Miller said.
Schenck then went on to ask whether the work session will be held at 6am in that case. Mayor Ginger Nelson's response to this inquiry was "all of that is still in the works."
So, it seems that the Amarillo City Council is enacting a policy that they don't understand. Why would a governing body, all five of whom ran on their business experience, approve an item that they haven't seen? In business, if you purchase something that you don't know what you are purchasing, you could be in big trouble. I guess that's not the way it works in government.
In truth, there is no beneficial reason that this City Council wants to change the time for its meetings. It seems that the only reason the City Council wants the change is to limit the ability of citizens to attend the meetings.
Mayor Ginger Nelson has shown disregard for the attendees of the meetings in the past. From yelling at citizens from the dais, to referring to speakers as "frequent flyers," Nelson has never shown appreciation for citizens who are involved in city government. It seems that this trait is being exercised by all of the City Council by choosing to support and abide by a policy that is not even defined and is only created to keep citizens out of City Hall.
Amarillo deserves better.
-Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief
