I've often been envious of those who serve in state and federal government. Not because of the issues they deal with or decisions they make. No, my envy is much more simple--I wish that those in local government had the same ability to caucus.
At the local level all decisions must be debated and decided in public. That can, and does, make for messy government as council discussion are totally unpredictable. Some messy discussions could be avoided if individual elected officials had a better sense for how their colleagues felt on an issue. And, arguments on one side or the other of an issue could better be crafted by the advocates.
Don't misunderstand--I do not question the need for local government to make its decisions in public; that is critical. So, too, the ability of residents to address local government before a decision is made. But, the ability for a quorum of th elected just to meet and talk through an issue in advance of the public meeting sure would be nice. This happens all the time at other levels of government and no one bats an eye over it. Why can't we do it at the local level, too?
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