The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘We are the victim of our own success’
City looks to remedy lack of public input at community sessions
MIDDLETOWN — The mayor and Common Council members will be brainstorming ways to encourage citizens to participate in quarterly community council meetings, which recently have had very little — or no — public input.
“We want to make sure these are a good use of everybody’s time,” he said Friday.
Originally held toward the end of the month, these sessions were reduced to every three months due to lack of public participation about two years ago.
The mayor pointed to several new initiatives Friday, such as weekly public Zoom sessions with Community Health Center staff and other city stakeholders, and the newly instituted weekly Mayor Monday, where Florsheim answers people’s questions on Facebook Live. The latter is currently open-ended, and will stay so for at least the next few sessions.
For many months, Councilman Ed Ford Jr. also has been conducing Facebook Live sessions he calls “Convos With the Councilman.”
“In some ways, we are the victim of our own success,” Mayor Ben Florsheim said during last week’s WebEx meeting.
Since the pandemic began, public participation at various governmental WebEx sessions has been robust, the mayor said. Engagement is even more so on hot-button topics, such as Planning and Zoning Commission meetings on changes to zoning codes or proposed new de
velopments.
The past three community sessions (Jan. 14, Oct. 8 and July 5) all were less than 10 minutes in length. The roll call is read, the public session begins, but no one logs on with questions comments. Councilors always wait some minutes in case people are late in joining by computer or phone, but with no one outside of officials online, meetings are soon adjourned.
Most government meeting public comments are held at the outset. By Roberts Rules of Order, proceedings must adhere just issues on the agenda. There is a public comment period at the beginning of most of these, but they must remain on topic.
Such meetings are a direct line to the people who make important decisions for the city, the mayor said. “If the public wants to suggest ideas for things the council could and should be working on, the community meeting is a great opportunity to do that,” Florsheim said.
He intends to support any future efforts to encourage attendance. “We can do a better job about letting people know about that,” the mayor said.
In the past, leaders have suggested holding these feedback hearings at schools, the Community Health Center, or other locations where people feel comfortable gathering, Florsheim said. Although COVID derailed those plans this year, he hopes the issue can be revisited soon.
In general, there has been more citizen input on virtual platforms, which Florsheim calls a “double-edged sword,” since “the community meeting serves a unique function of being able to get all of the legislative bodies in one place at one time.”
Often, individuals contact the mayor directly with grievances or concerns, he said. “I want people to feel like they can contact me about anything. Oftentimes, if it’s a legislative change people are interested in seeing, the council needs to be a part of that, too,” he said, to ensure action can be taken if necessary.
The mayor said one way to increase interest is to advertise these sessions “as a way to know how to come learn about how to influence the legislative process, and how to get more engaged in city government.”
The ability to get the attention of council members together is a great opportunity for people, Florsheim said. “You might see one of them at an event downtown or run into another at the grocery store, but getting them all in one place, in a formal setting, that’s when you can really dive into the substance of things,” he said.
Meetings are held every three months. The next will take place sometime in April. For information, visit middletownct.gov closer to the event to find out the date and time.