Sometimes people at city council meetings get antsy. If they come because they’re angered, concerned or enthused about a project or idea, they usually have to sit through a lot of boring agenda items before they get to “their” topic.

Once it’s talked about, they’re gone. And, unless it gets brought up again, they rarely return to a meeting.
It would be nice, I think, if a run-of-the-mill city council meeting motivated people to show up. And motivated them to stay from beginning to end.

I attend and report on almost every La Crescent, Minn., city council meeting, and at almost every one, there’s something discussed — money spent, projects proposed or explained — that is of value to residents.

But where are they?

They’re there to support funding for the library. They’re there to oppose sidewalk installation. They’re there to oppose power lines. But they’re almost never there for the entire meeting.

Why is it so important? That’s what I asked one La Crescent resident who is at every city council meeting.

The entire thing.

His name is David Hanifl, a retired Burlington Railroad locomotive engineer and safety representative, and he can always be found in the chamber.

“I’ve always been interested in attempting to see that city government is being responsible,” Hanifl said. “That there’s oversight of spending and costs.”

Council meetings are not open forums, but in La Crescent, the council will often entertain questions from the floor.

And even when you can’t speak during the meetings you learn a lot.

Come when they approve the budget, and you’ll get a detailed document showing all the money the city takes in and how it spends it. Including salaries.

Every time someone in city government gets a raise, you can find out how much it is. You can learn things about ordinances that might affect your taxes. Or the radius of your cul-de-sac.

And, when it’s all over, you can hang around and ask the mayor, city administrator, city attorney or council members questions.

But you have to go. And you have to keep going. Because the more you do, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you become engaged and ask questions. The more questions you ask, the more answers you get.

And, yes, you’ll get to talk about libraries, sidewalks and power lines, too.

The more you talk, the more you’ll hear the sound of your own voice — and the more your voice will be heard by others, too.

When he’s not at a city council meeting, Ryan Stotts can be reached at (608) 791-8446 or ryan.stotts@lee.net.

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