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Politics & Government

Speaking Up At Key Meetings Could Influence Government Decisions

Oakmont and Plum school and borough officials say public comments at meetings matter.

Local officials say resident input matters when it comes to dealing with issues.

Hot topics have led to well-populated borough council and school board meetings filled with comments—as well as some complaints—from residents.

While school board and borough officials agree it’s never too late to give suggestions or use the public comment section of meetings to talk about issues, some say speaking up at certain points along the decision-making process might be more influential to the governing body’s course of action.

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Voting meetings, such as borough council and school board meetings, do offer residents the opportunity to argue against or give suggestions regarding contemplative issues, but locals don’t have to wait until that last minute to sway officials.

Most of the investigation and discussion takes place at the committee level, said Plum School Board member Andrew Drake, who also is the chairman of the board's finance committee.

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“By the time you get to the voting meeting, you’ve already discussed everything,” he said.

Before talking to the school board or borough council directly about issues—personal or all-inclusive in impact, specific or broad in scope—residents might want to contact the administrative office to figure out whether there is a committee, board, commission or other group that focuses on such matters.

At general council or school board meetings, the borough or district might be alerted to current problems affecting locals or be presented with an idea to make the borough or school district better.

If so, the governing body charges committees or boards with investigating the proposal or issue. The committee then makes recommendations to the governing body with possible solutions on how the idea could work or how the problem could be solved.

“Citizens need to attend the committee meetings to discuss issues and be engaged,” Drake said.

The Plum Borough School Board has 10 committees—athletics, safety and security, finance, education, food service and nutrition, policy, facilities, personnel, transportation and technology and communications. These committees are chaired by school board members.

Riverview School Board, Oakmont Council, Plum Council and Verona Council also have committees chaired by officials.

When approaching a committee with insight to an issue the school district it is mulling over, Drake said residents should be sure to approach the appropriate committee. For example, the chances of the athletics chair attending a food services meeting is highly unlikely, he said.

If unsure where to go with suggestions or comments concerning school district issues, residents can contact the superintendent’s office or a board member to learn which committee would be handling the issue, Drake said.

For information regarding borough issues, contact the borough offices.

When voicing concerns of either a zoning ordinance amendment or development proposal, Oakmont Borough Council Vice President Nancy Ride said approaching the planning commission is the best option. By doing so, ideas will be taken into consideration and will “be part of the fact-finding” as the commission investigates prior to its final recommendation to council, she said.

If residents really want to sway a development proposal recommendation, Greg Bachy, Plum Assistant Borough Manager and former planning director, said they should speak at both the planning commission and the council meeting.

Public hearings usually are conducted with an ordinance amendment, Bachy said. Such are the best opportunity to discuss deliberative matters, he said. If there is no public hearing on the issue, residents should attend the council meeting.

For school district and borough budget concerns, attend finance meetings.

When approaching the borough council, residents either can discuss matters at the council work session or the regular council meeting. There are advantages to attending both meetings, Ride said.

“The work session is a better time to have a dialogue with council,” Ride said.

Waiting until voting meetings to offer insight is risky as far as impacting the course of action, Drake said, because many times, board members come to the meetings knowing how they will vote on an issue.

There have been times, however, when Drake said he didn’t know how he would vote until listening to the public comment.

Comments about community issues aren't limited to meetings.

Plum residents can express opinions by going to the borough website, emailing or calling a borough official or visiting the borough office, Bachy said. Every borough official has an email and personal voicemail, he said.

“If someone says they couldn’t get through to someone, they haven’t tried very hard,” he said.

Ride suggests giving ideas and comments to council in writing.

“It’s an opportunity for that person making the presentation to say exactly what they want to say,” she said. "Every council member reads the written comments."

Residents also can get directly involved and join the committees, Ride said.

Ride, Bachy and Drake agree that public comment is important. It keeps the governing bodies in tune with general conception.

“Whether I agree with them is a different issue, but I want to hear everybody’s comments,” Drake said.

Those making public comments should be respectful of others' viewpoints, Drake said. Locals should also be mindful that the committees do have obligations to complete during the allotted meeting time, he added.

Speaking Guidelines

When speaking at meetings, residents can make a public comment on both meeting agenda and non-agenda items.

For those making a public comment at a Plum Borough School Board meeting, district policy allows each speaker five minutes to talk.

At Plum Council meetings, residents are given the opportunity to speak up at work sessions. At regular voting meetings, There's opportunity for public comment twice—at the beginning of the meeting for agenda items and right before adjournment for non-agenda items.

To speak at Oakmont Council meetings, call the borough office to be scheduled for public comment during the meeting. Otherwise, speakers must wait until the end of the meeting to talk.

Riverview School Board acknowledges visitors at its work session and twice—at the beginning and end—at the regular voting meeting.

Verona Council also holds public comment at both its workshop and regular voting meetings. Visitors are asked to limit their comments to five minutes.

Websites

For more information, check borough and school district websites:

Plum Borough School District

Riverview School District

Oakmont Borough

Verona Borough

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