By KEVIN HOLSAPPLE
Los Alamos

Councilors – Please take action to support the establishment of an MRA Commission that will evaluate MRA proposals in the light of day, operate in a manner that is transparent to the public, and make recommendations on proposals prior to the County Council about funding them.

In my experience, the County staff is inexperienced in the kinds of proposals that may come forth, is not committed to true transparency or public participation, and lacks a good grasp of local business community priorities.

The Council seems to lack the bandwidth to conduct in-depth evaluation of proposals and lacks sufficient processes to allow for meaningful public participation in local government. Continuing the status quo of staff making decisions and presenting them for a rubber stamp by the Council will continue to degrade citizen trust and confidence in our local government.

The transparency approach of our local government seems geared toward meeting minimum legal requirements rather than providing a true picture of what is going on. The opportunities for public participation through commenting at Council meetings are abysmal. My observation is that important questions raised in public comments are ignored, and that the inputs rarely affect the decisions made.

If you are interested in true transparency and building trust with citizens who are paying attention, approving an MRA Commission and filling it with people who can think independently would be a good step forward.