Attention Charlestown residents. On you ballot, in the section titled “Local Questions,” there is Question No. 8, titled Council Meetings & Conduct. This question seems innocuous, but it is important for all of us regardless of affiliation.
The intent of Question No. 8 is to allow any council member the right to add any reasonable subject to the agenda without it being voted off by other council members prior to a public council meeting. In the past, prior to a public council meeting there was an “agenda-setting meeting” with only the council members and town administrator present to vote on what would be placed on the agenda for the public council meeting. The agenda-setting meeting had one rule: you couldn’t discuss the agenda item. As a result, suggested agenda items could be voted off with no reason given. These meetings were stopped, but must not happen again, which is the purpose of this charter change. Council members should not be able to vote off an agenda suggestion before it is presented to the public. It defeats the purpose of a public meeting if they vote prior to the public meeting.
When I was on the Town Council, at an agenda-setting meeting I suggested two agenda subjects; one was related to military exemptions and the other to accounting of dredging funds; both reasonable subjects. Both were voted off by the four Charlestown Citizens Alliance council members. This had happened previously to me, so it was not a one-time experience. Later, it also happened to Charlestown Residents United council members. What is the point of a public council meeting if your agenda items can’t be heard? But, this is how CCA works — decide out of the public eye, then follow up with a predetermined script for public consumption.
The CCA in its brochure states the vote for Question No. 8 is a “toss-up” — don’t be fooled by the nonchalance. Prevent agenda-setting in the future. Make sure you approve question No. 8, otherwise council members could be deciding issues at an agenda-setting meeting the public will never know about
Steven J. Williams
Charlestown
A version of this article appeared as a Letter To the Editor in The Westerly Sun on October 29, 2024.
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