A useful civic gesture
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ne of the harsh realities of being an institutional voice for positive change in the Top of Utah is that this editorial page spends a share of its time criticizing politicians. It's almost always necessary, but the truth of the matter is, we wish they did more worth praising.
A few weeks back, we weighed in on the Syracuse City Council's decision to strip Mayor Fred Panucci of his CEO title, and elevate the city administrator to the position of city manager. As expected, the council members who voted for that change expressed some concern with our opinion -- they felt they were justified in taking the action.
And while we agreed to disagree on that particular matter, an odd thing subsequently happened: Councilmen Daniel L. Hammon and Phillip Orton, after visiting with the editorial page editor one recent morning, decided to take a bit of our advice. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Syracuse City Council chambers, Hammon and Orton, along with their council colleagues Lurlen Knight and Dean Steel, will host a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation for interested residents.
According to an e-mail sent to us by Orton, the presentation will focus on the City Council's attempts to comply with state law: the forms of government allowed, clarifying duties and powers, and an explanation of changes that have been made. If they stick to that narrow agenda, and both the council members and those residents in attendance leave the current personality conflicts out of the discussion, it should be a useful experience for all involved.
As we noted in a Sunday editorial about outdated city ordinances, cities would do well to review their municipal codes to make sure they are in compliance with state law and are clear about the powers and duties accorded various city officials. We will reserve judgment on the specifics of the Syracuse situation for a later date, but are for now encouraged that four City Council members are eager to educate their constituents about the conflicts they discovered in their own ordinances.
We hope Syracuse residents will take the time to attend this brief meeting, and learn a bit more about city governance.
