Letter to the Editor: Disappointed By Public Comment Limitations

The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by Debbie O'Neill, a Bloomingdale resident.

Dear Editor,

To say I was disheartened and disappointed with the turn of events at meeting would be a gross understatement.  

Since, shockingly, the motion to amend the bylaws banning the public from engaging the council in dialog passed, my question to you now is, what plan do you have for providing the public with an opportunity to dialog with you? Are you going to have monthly town hall meetings in which the public may come before you and have open, unlimited dialog, should they choose to do so, since this will no longer be allowed during the town council meetings?

Just for the record, Mayor Dunleavy, I was proud of you last night– you passionately represented (or tried to) the interest of those you serve. Thank you for that; I respect and admire you. I sincerely hope that Councilwomen Huntley, Pituch and Shortman will follow your shining example of leadership and begin putting the needs of the community they serve over their petty, bitter need to grind their ax. And I wish we could put an end to the constant references as to what past administrations have done. We need to be moving forward and we cannot do that when some of you are forever trying to bash prior mayors and council members.

A very obvious example of that is this issue with the contracts. There is clearly no real value to the community to pursue this, as Mayor Dunleavy very professionally and eloquently pointed out. Yet, Councilwomen Huntley, Pituch and Shortman have a pathetic need to use this issue to try to discredit a prior administration. If by pursuing this witch hunt you are only adding a financial burden in the form of litigation costs to the borough and not gaining anything by it, then please help me understand why you continue to push the issue? I would much rather see the time you wasted arguing this issue, Councilwoman Huntley, given back to the public dialog.

In a last-ditch effort to appeal to Councilwomen Huntley, Shortman, and Pituch, I would ask you to (independently and separately) think long and hard about why you ran for office. Think about whether you truly wish to serve the community or your own agendas. Because what I have been seeing concerns me greatly about your motives. I am sure you are all capable of serving the community in a fair, impartial, and intelligent manner. Please begin to do so. Please stop your political machinations –they serve no one, and frankly, they discredit you and our town.

Thank you for your attention. Please provide me with feedback regarding my question regarding a monthly Town Hall meeting, etc. Perhaps it is something that can be added to an upcoming meeting agenda.

Debbie O’Neill