City Manager Spotlight

Adapting To Change Provides Benefits

I recently shared some of the business process changes that were thrust upon as a result of the pandemic quarantine. One of the most notable changes was in our public meetings. Government officials are legally required to conduct public business openly and transparently. In particular, the distancing requirements of the pandemic required us to find a new way to hold our public hearings. Previously, if you wanted to participate in a public hearing, you had to come to the meeting to voice your opinion or concern. Our new process now allows you to provide written comments several days before the City Council hears the item. No longer is it necessary to come to a 2-3 hour meeting for your 2-3 minutes of comment. This new hearing process provides the following benefits. The citizen has a more extended time to review the hearing item and prepare their response. The citizen no longer has to be physically present in the meeting to have their voice heard. And finally, this process recognizes the time-demands of our current day and takes advantage of our technology to contemporize an age-old ritual. If you have an interest in commenting on any public hearing, please monitor our meeting agendas located online at WashingtonCity.org/meetings.

We hope this new process will assist our citizens in their continued engagement with our community.

-Roger Carter

City Manager

WashingtonCity.org/manager