01/15/2008: "EDITORIAL"

Training Is Always A Good Idea
The recent oversight of the FAC (Ferry Advisory Committee) to advertise a meeting (see story below) is but another example of why the County Council needs to pay greater attention to their obligations to give full support to the committees they appoint to advised them.

This is not the first time that one of the many county advisory groups have failed to follow proper procedure. There have even been cases where the public has been denied the right to attend and observe meetings that are required to be open to the public.

While the ultimate responsibility for following the rules rests with the committees, the Council must share some of the blame, since it is they who appoint them, but then send them off with no training or instructions; and individual committee members are not even given a copy of the rules, regulations and policies that govern their participation.

Councilman Ranker used the recent FAC illegal meeting as an opportunity to once again acknowledged that the Council needs to hold training sessions for the groups -something that some members of the public have pointed out for years that needs to be done- to educate them on their responsibilities.

The Council asked Gaylord if he and County Administrator Pete Rose could set up a yearly training class for all of the committees, and both indicated that it was already being discussed, and would be done.

A step in the right direction.