It’s possible to have too much public input

KEN R. MILLER; Tacoma

Published: 05/08/08 1:00 am

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First the good news. As Ryan Mello and Victoria Woodards explain (Viewpoint, 5-4), Metro Parks works hard to hear from citizens. Not one but two different citizen groups are discussing new revenue opportunities. And the commissioners – citizens we elect to represent us – have the final say.

So how can listening be bad? Hint: tick tock.

Metro Parks heard the risk of a 2009 budget shortfall back in 2006. By the time new revenue opportunities are analyzed, vetted in public hearings and perhaps approved by the commission, we’ll be deep into 2009. Any new revenue will flow even later.

That’s the problem with all that input: It takes time. Metro Parks has 10 citizen committees offering advice; the City of Tacoma has 21 citizen committees, boards and commissions (and another 15 neighborhood and business district councils). Pierce County – ready for this? – has 47 citizen groups. In some cases elected officials delegate authority to these citizens; mostly the groups just give advice.

It’s great to get input, but we can have too much. For Metro Parks, time is short. We may actually lose park programs because of too much citizen advice.

Local government has two choices: Listen faster or take more flak for tough decisions. Either way, the clock is relentless. It doesn’t listen at all. (Miller is an appointed commissioner of the Tacoma Housing Authority.)

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