Council Working Rules‏

                          COUNCIL WORKING RULES

This coming Tuesday night has the possibility of being epic.  Will the new Town Council choose to give the people back their free speech or continue to restrict and censor free speech in the Town of Lisbon?  This council could take a giant step forward in restoring this community back to a great place to raise a family and end all the deceit and the many cover-ups.

The council working rules need to be returned to pre Lori Pomelow rewrite.   The current rules do not allow for residents to bring up any “New Business” during the meeting for other people to see on the Great Falls video review.  It eliminates residents from reviewing crucial aspects of local government.  The council has allotted time prior to the meeting but not all councilors are there and no ideas brought up during this time frame have ever been included in the agenda or the next agenda.  That makes it a total waste of time and is extremely restrictive.

The major reason these Council Working Rules need to be terminated is because residents are forced to speak during Audience Participation without having first heard the Sponsor or the Agenda Item explain the reason for the change and the Councilors debate on the issue.  Prior to Mrs. Pomelow’s rewrite after the Sponsor explained the change and the Councilors debated the issue residents in the audience were allowed to ask questions or provide input.  These current rules force residents to speak without knowing all the facts first. 

The Town’s “Mission Statement” encourages residents to participate in local processes.  The Mission Statement states “We are committed to sharing information with our citizens and including them as partners in the decision making process.”  How can residents become involved in local government if they are not allowed to participate in the process?   If you continue with the current Council Working Rules, the Town’s Mission Statement will have to be rewritten to eliminate the above cited sentence.

Prior to Mrs.  Pomelow's rewrite of the Council Working Rules there were few if any Freedom of Access Acts (FOAA) submitted.  Because of the current Council Working Rules, I believe the town has received over 152 requests.  The FOAA increase is a DIRECT result of these current Council Working Rules.  Since residents have not been allowed to participate in Council meetings in a positive manner, they have had to resort to the only other means available and that is the Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) program.  Local government is suppose to be transparent.  The wheeling and dealing is not part of transparency.  The people have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent.

This council will have an opportunity to start the healing process for this community by restoring the Council Working Rules back to the Mrs. Pomelow rewrite.  Will they take it?
Larry Fillmore