“Viewpoints” is a place on Chapelboro where local people are encouraged to share their unique perspectives on issues affecting our community. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work, reporting or approval of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com. If you’d like to contribute a column on an issue you’re concerned about, interesting happenings around town, reflections on local life — or anything else — send a submission to viewpoints@wchl.com.
Citizens Voices or Taxation Without Representation?
A perspective from Linda Brown
Chapel Hill’s Town Council voted 8-1 to hold a public hearing on Wednesday April 29 to discuss changes that could shrink Council membership from eight to six members, plus give the mayor a four-year term.
Making such an important decision, on the basis of a single public hearing, deprives the majority of the town’s residents of an opportunity to make that decision.
Democracy and fairness dictate that the Council should hold a referendum, during the November midterm election, to provide all interested residents with the opportunity to weigh in.
The Council has already almost wholly eliminated public input in decision-making processes. Few council members even bother to respond to citizen’s emails. This has created a situation in which we already suffer what amounts to taxation without representation.
Whether or not the number of Council members is reduced—without broader opportunities for citizen engagement there will be little impact on the existing feeling that there has been a deliberate effort to ignore residents thus silencing the voices of citizens.
One remedy would be to create districts to which a single council member would be assigned–the only real means of holding individual Council members accountable to the people they claim to represent.
I hope that town residents will send letters to the Council, or show up at the meeting, and ask the Council to at least hold a referendum and permit the residents to make such important decisions.
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
