Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-07-25 Public Comment - M. Brown - Study Commission G.2 Potential Meeting topicsFrom:Marilee Brown To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Study Commission G.2 Potential Meeting topics Date:Tuesday, January 7, 2025 11:19:58 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Commission, Missing on the list of subjects for Potential Meeting topics is any feedback or discussions from elected officials. Or the public identifying problems with how committee’s work inrelationship to the Commission and Staff. I have served on and been an officer of the former Pedestrian Traffic Safety Committee which was a very effective self running Board/Committee. It then became the Transportation Boardwhich is now largely run by City Staff. Staff now usually decides what will be discussed at any given time and what will be voted on. Staff has also decided how meetings will be runand how and if discussions will take place with the public. Materials are often not presented to the public or members until the meeting itself allowing for no time to consider questionscarefully ahead of time. Important issues that matter to the public are now left out or kept to a non-conversation. Ask yourselves who prepared all the materials for your meeting today. Ask yourselves what has been inadvertently left out of needed discussion so that you don’t getswept down one path and ignore other possible directions. Ask yourselves who wrote the one sided resolution that now keeps the Commission from contacting staff like the public can. As the director of both Galla10 Alliance for Pathways and Safer Bozeman, I have beencompletely frustrated with the Commission’s inability to call staff with questions or comments or allow public rebuttal to staff comments at meetings. Our elected officials have less rightsthan we the public do. They are hostage to how Staff prepares material for any meeting and how Staff wants to prioritize issues and projects. Often the Commissions questions gounanswered. I have many stories I could tell you on how the Commission has been limited by Staff and Managers. Same is true of the Boards. Both are privy to only last minute letters from thepublic that leave no time to really explore issues and facts other than going though the City Manager just hours before a vote will occur. The Manager has to often make up answers forhis staff because there is no time to go back and forth to the appropriate people working on an issue. Much of the time materials are not provided to the public ahead of time to reviewbefore a comment period ends. This deeply effects how the public is heard and what they think their elected officials are doing or not doing. It leads to misinformation. I have watched the Commission often vote on what their priorities are only to have staffdecide what they really will do in the following years and override the Commission without discussion. It’s time to bring balance back to the relationship between the staff and elected officials. Don’t get me wrong. I know the Staff is hard working and really wants to do their best for theCity. And to be fair, they have been limited by the Commission also which is why they included themselves in possible discussion "pinch points". But Staff just can’t help seeingeverything from their own perspective and run things accordingly. We need better balance. I would love to meet individually with any of you. I have been in the perfect roll to observe City interactions for the last 8 years. Please reach out to me. Please listen to elected officials and citizens and take the handcuffs off of them. Sincerely, Marilee Brown406-579-5447 Marilee Brown, Chair GAP - Galla10 Alliance for Pathways 2411 Kid Curry Drive Bozeman, MT 59718 406-579-5447 saferbozeman@gmail.com www.frontagepathway.com