Your June 4 editorial about the three-minute public testimony limit at city council meetings starts with “We get it.”
No, you don’t get it. If you did, you would see the pattern regarding how the chipping away at public participation has been a gradual and deliberate strategy.
Several years ago, the city stopped televising planning commission meetings, citing cost as the reason. The public was thus denied the education that comes with first-hand observation of how land use decisions are made early, rather than later in the process.
The latest maneuver by the city further discourages public participation.
If the council wants to teach speakers how to get to the point and save time at the meeting, maybe those who pontificate from the dais ought to set an example.
By the way, your editorial writers might do the same. You could have made your point using half as many words.
Karen Brucoli Anesi
Durango
