We Should Be Seen… But Not Heard!

The expression “children should be seen and not heard” is an old English proverb. It wasn’t just a saying. They meant it. Children could be present but should not speak, particularly when they are around adults because children are naive and ignorant of adult matters.

My, how times haven’t changed. It sounds like Governor Cox might think citizens, cities, city councils should be seen but not heard. Are we too naive and ignorant of adult matters? Maybe we really need the Legislature to figure out everything for us. Maybe we’re just not capable.

The St. George News reported last week that Governor Cox told them, “We’re going to take a little more authority over land use” from the cities. We’ve already seen the state take over some decisions cities have traditionally dealt with (see my Harmonious Baloneyous article). It sounds like they enjoyed the taste of that and are hungry for more.

The Governor rationalizes this move, saying the Legislature is trying to take some of the pressure off local leaders by making it less politically harmful to add needed housing and density to a city. According to the Governor, “We are changing some laws to make it easier for those approvals to go through and harder for them to be to be overturned.”

Wow! Really! Those pesky residents and city councils are getting in the way. So annoying.

Isn’t this like saying city councils should be protected from their own residents whenever tough decisions are on the line? Is it that we can’t be trusted to make the right decisions, only the Legislature is smart enough to do that? Or is it that we’re afraid to make the right decisions because they might upset residents?

Or is it simply a smart strategy to move the decision-making hundreds of miles away? That way elected officials don’t need to be pestered by citizens showing up at meetings to express their own ideas about issues.

Makes sense. After all, it’s going to be difficult for an angry group of Ivins citizens to walk 304 miles to the State Capitol with a pitchfork in one hand and a flaming torch in the other. Especially in winter when the Legislature is in session.

Maybe the Governor and the Legislature need to be reminded why cities and city councils exist. The Utah League of Cities & Towns Powers & Duties Handbook for Utah Municipal Officials states, “Local government allows people to have more direct access to decision makers and a “closer” avenue to influence decisions…”

The Handbook also says, “The ability to approach a city official and to have issues considered in short order is a significant benefit of local government.” Those seem like pretty compelling reasons to keep decision-making local.

Moving decisions farther from their source, from the community to the state Legislature, defeats some of the reasons local government exists. City councils need to deal with issues face-to-face with residents. It’s all about being up close and personal. It’s about communication, accessibility, and accountability.

And, as the Powers & Duties Handbook says, it’s about each community deciding how to develop and preserve their own sense of community. To drive that point home, the Handbook adds, “One role of local officials is to make that place special.”

Outsourcing to the state Legislature is simply wrong. Our mayor has been vocal about that. But it looks like we need a louder voice if we want to be heard.