Keeping Johnston informed: Resolution 2016-27

To the Editor:

This is to inform the citizens and taxpayers of Johnston of an amendment to Town Council Rules 2015-2017 term that was passed at a special meeting on Sept. 26, 2016. They are only going to allow six topics per meeting and three minutes of discussion per topic. They also want to make sure that the paper work that needs to be filled out to get on the agenda is very specific on what you want to talk about. They will then make a decision on whether you will be on the agenda or if they will direct you to a department head.

Over the past year I have seen more and more citizens take an active role in the town by getting on the agenda to speak to the Town Council about something that is going on in the town. For months citizens have gotten up to speak about the Citizens Bank campus on Greenville Avenue and the town’s attempt to make the Oak Swamp Reservoir private to only those who live on the town owned Reservoir. The turnout for these two issues has had many residents fill out paperwork and get up to speak.

The changes being made and enforcing the amended Town Council Rules will eliminate your opportunity to speak. I will be filling out the paper work to try and get on the Oct. 11, 2016 agenda to address this in front of the council. I am a believer that if, as a citizen or taxpayer, you have something you would like to address the Town Council about you should have the opportunity to do so.

As an example, I have personally been trying to get the Town Council to help me try and get to the bottom of a possible police investigation of missing money. What I have been able to get is the chief of police coming to a meeting to question what my agenda was with my persistent questions. As a taxpayer in Johnston, when I see a news report about missing money and an employee resigning that makes wonder why no one else is questioning this. The deputy chief, in the news report, made it clear that they can’t do anything without a complaint but at the Town Council meeting the chief of police said that there never was a complaint and that just made me think, why would the deputy chief of police inform anyone of a possible pending investigation if no one ever complained about it?

Can I be the only one in the town of Johnston that sees something wrong with this. This is an election year and you need to be made aware of this when casting your vote for council since they are supposed to be representing the peoples wishes and not their own.

The entire Town Council signed Resolution 2016-27 and with this change it looks to me that they are all trying to make it extremely difficult to speak by allowing only what they want to come in front of the council. I hope to see more people come to the Oct. 11 meeting or at least contact your councilperson and express your feelings about the change. You never know when you might have something in your neighborhood you want to talk about and might not be able to.

Tammy Cardillo

Johnston