Grassroots of Tarboro

Unfortunately, I feel I have come out on the short side of having my comments quoted at the Thurdsday night meeting. I don't recall using the phrase "That's just the way it has always been done", I recal saying "that is the way it is supposed to work", at least from my interpretation. Betty seemed surprised that there would be a recommendation from the manager to the council regarding the town manager's position on requests from the citizens. I would consider the town staff not to be doing their jobs if they gave no opinion or made no recommendation on the topics going before the council. The comparison I gave at the meeting was that in a corporate environment the president, executives, management and staff would "run" the business and make recommendations to the board of directors for their approval or denial. The board of directors would not logically be bringing forth topics and making decisions independent from any input form the management and staff that they have placed in the positions of responsiblity fo running the town government.
I also recommended that Betty go to the town hall to find out what the recommendation of the town manager would be prior to the Monday pm meeting.
I hope more people will get involved in these types of situations and let the council know if and when they disagree with the recommendations of the town managers and with the decisions of the town council. Regarding the last line above, in addition to asking regarding the councilman "when was the last time he spoke with you regarding issues requiring his vote", I would also ask of the citizens when was the last time you spoke directly to a councilman to express your thoughts about something effecting Tarboro?
Go Betty!

I'm sorry Charles, I thought the brief conversation we had was a topic worth discussing and I deliberately did not mention your name in case you would prefer anonymity. I never intended for you to be on the short side of the conversation, I just wanted to "throw it out there" for further discussion.
When first being introduced to "how things are done" in Tarboro by listening to long-time citizens explaining how they see things and telling me their opinions on what is good and not so good. It became apparent that many citizens are under the impression that Sam Noble makes the town decisions or at least greatly influences them. It also became apparent that the people felt that, despite the fact that they didn't like it, they had little power to affect change.
Three years ago, I had no governmental interest or understanding. I didn't even know what form of government operated Tarboro, but now that Tarboro is my home, I do want to help things to improve here and have found myself researching and attending town meetings and getting involved.
When you mentioned the importance of getting Sam Noble's recommendation, it just reminded me of the complaints that people voice to me regarding the town manager "having too much power", and "making all of the decisions". Whether or not that is true, the mere fact that citizens think that makes it an issue that needs to be addressed. I can not be the only one who has heard this opinion expressed. If they are expressing it to me, are they also expressing it to their councilman?
I agree that if Mr Noble is "managing" the town, his opinion may at times be invaluable to the decision-making process, but we must be careful to keep in mind that the government should first be representing the wishes of the people. For this to be possible, the people should be seeking out their council representative and expressing their opinions and desires and concerns to him.
Again, I apologize Charles if I misinterpreted or misrepresented what you were telling me. I think it is important that we share these ideas and I appreciate your opinion.