Participate in your local governments

Local government is a participatory process.

That means local taxing entities, by law, take certain steps to keep the public informed; and citizens then have the duty to learn from that information, add input when they feel led to do so, and vote when the time comes.

Or at least that’s the way it is supposed to work.
Often times, citizens are so caught up in their daily busy lives that it becomes easy to not pay attention to what ordinance the city aldermen just passed or what tax rate the county commissioners want to adopt. But it really takes only a little time – just long enough to read your local newspaper, for example.

As citizens, we often don’t know what exactly is going on in Washington, DC, or even closer to home in Austin. The federal and state governments are distant; and although our representatives try to stay in touch with local folks, it’s a daunting task for a voter to keep fully informed about the latest bill before Congress or the myriad of issues that accompany the state budget ever two years.

But things are geared differently for the governments that are closest to the people. Cities, counties, schools, and other local districts are governed right here at home by people that most of you know personally; and their proceedings are required to be conducted in the public view.

For several weeks now, local boards have met to discuss budgets and taxes. The meetings were open to the public, and anyone was welcome to attend and find out what was discussed. Of course, it’s not practical for every citizen to attend every meeting, so that’s where your local paper comes in. We attend those meetings for you when we can and do our best to find out what happened at those we miss.

After much work and number crunching, your local boards propose budgets and tax rates and then, by law, they take out an ad in your local paper – sometimes pretty sizeable ads – to let you know that, “Hey, we’re going to raise your taxes,” or “Hey, we’ve got a budget here you might be interested in.”

They even announce the dates and times for additional public meetings to let you have your say about these issues.

The people are then given a few days during which they can get copies of these public documents before hearings are held. And at the hearings you have the opportunity to address these boards. You can say, “Hey, guys, this tax is too high” or “Hey, I appreciate you guys holding the line on expenses and keeping my taxes low.” Or you could even say, “Gentlemen, I really wish you’d raise my taxes just enough to fix the pothole in my street.”

Over the last 14 years, your editor has been to many public hearings. Most of them pass quietly without any hoopla. Occasionally, a citizen will get worked up about something and show up to gripe, which is their right and certainly part of the process. But for the most part, the board will call a public hearing to order, they may acknowledge that the newspaper representative is present, and then we all stare blankly at each other for a few seconds before the hearing is officially closed.

It can be kind of frustrating really. A lot of time, effort, and money go into public hearings. It is a shame that most people will never attend one.

Nevertheless, the newspaper and the governments will keep doing our parts in this process. They will keep conducting their affairs in the sunshine and giving you proper notice of important decisions, and we will be around to make sure they are doing things right and doing our best to keep you informed.

But after that, as always, it’s up to you do your part.

Get informed, attend a hearing, speak out if you want to, send a letter to the editor, and go vote when elections roll around. Give your elected leaders some kudos when they deserve them, and give them some static when they deserve that. Be involved and be cordial. But without your participation, your representatives have nothing to lead them as they make the important decisions that will be impacting your lives and your pocketbooks.

That’s the process, and it’s a good one. But it takes all of us.

Upcoming Public Hearings

August 19 – Panhandle Ground Water Conservation District, 1:30 p.m., White Deer.

August 19 – Clarendon College District, 11:30 a.m., Bairfield Activity Center VIP Room.

August 24 – City of Clarendon, 5:30 p.m., Burton Memorial Library.

August 30 – Hedley School District, 6:30 p.m., Hedley School Library.

August 31 – Clarendon School District, 7 p.m., CISD Administration & Technology Building.

September 2 – City of Hedley, 7 p.m., City Hall.

September 7 & 10 – Donley County, 9 a.m., Courthouse Commissioners’ Courtroom.