Speakers from the Floor Change. The Positive View.

It has recently been reported that Mayor Bill Knight plans to make a slight change to the City Council meeting structure. Business items on the agenda will be dealt with first, and the 30 minutes Speakers from the Floor portion will be done at the end of the meeting.

Many people seem to be in favor of this change, but ex District 2 councilwoman Goldie Wells is not a fan. From the News & Record,

“On Thursday, the idea was met with hostility from residents when Councilman Jim Kee announced the new policy at the Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro meeting.

Some in the audience thought it was disrespectful of citizens or a way to squelch public discourse.

Kee told them the council was trying to be a more cohesive unit and support Knight on this.

Goldie Wells, a former councilwoman, asked Kee to go back to Knight and let him know the residents of District 2 didn’t like this idea.”

I personally live in District 2 and was not consulted by Wells or Kee about the change, so I’m not sure it is a factual statement to say “the residents of District 2 didn’t like the idea.” A statement such as this might make one wonder how Northeast Greensboro is defined and how many residents are being excluded.

Allow me to give an example of how this change could be helpful. The Ole Asheboro Association has distributed the following message in an effort to get people to attend tomorrow’s council meeting in support of the proposed downtown hotel (It’s a business item so supporters can speak when it comes up on the agenda).

“The Ole Asheboro Street Neighborhood Association (OASNA), Urban Hotel Group (UHG) and other partners in this project request your support for this initiative both in writing and your presence in front of the Greensboro City Council on January 19th at 5pm.  Let’s fill the council room!  Let others know about this meeting!”

Most working professionals don’t get off work until 5 pm or later, and getting to the Council Chambers early on in the meeting can be very difficult.

If this were not a business item and required emphasis during the Speakers portion of the meeting, having it later in the night would potentially allow more supporters to attend.

Furthermore, by the end of the night most of the folks in attendance for business will have left the Chamber, allowing more supporters for to pack in.