I would like to afford anyone who would like to address the people of Hickory this forum as a platform. I am not here to censor people. If you don't agree with the message of this blog, you will be afforded the same opportunity as anyone else. The only thing that we don't want to do is resort to threats or obscenity.
I feel that this is a much better platform to bring issues to the people. The audience is limited at Hickory City Council because you are talking to a wall of non-response and maybe 50 people in the audience. This blog has the capability to reach a world wide audience and bring your concerns to the fore.
The City Council could do a few things to open up governance on the local level and take actions towards being transparent. 1) Televise (or at least Audio Record) the meetings and make them available on the Internet in an expeditious manner, 2)Town Hall Meetings a few times per year, and 3) Move Citizens Requesting to be Heard to the front of the City Council Meeting Agenda and if something happens during the meeting that piques curiosity, then people should be allowed to address those issues at the end of the meeting as part of "Matters not on the Agenda."
Letter sent to Larry Pope by Hickory City Attorney John Crone
