CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS GET NEW POLICY; PANELISTS TO REMAIN UNBIASED AT MEETINGS.Byline: Sylvia Sylvia may refer to:
Responding to criticism that City Council members are exerting undue influence on local Neighborhood Councils Neighborhood councils are governmental or non-governmental bodies composed of local people who handle neighborhood problems. They can be found in many cities throughout the world. , the city has adopted a new policy on how council members are to interact with the advisory groups. The new rules require that members state their objectivity on issues whenever addressing a topic before the advisory panel, but some council members said they already approach their liaison roles with an unbiased stance and have been careful to indicate that they were not speaking as elected officials. ``Everyone, including myself, whenever I attend a Neighborhood Council meeting, I'm I'm Contraction of I am. Our Living Language Speakers of some scattered varieties of American English sometimes use I'm instead of I've or I have in present perfect constructions, as in speaking as Bill Davis For the artist, animator, creative director, see . For the baseball player, see .
Nancy Garcia, chairwoman of Neighborhood Council 3, said she hopes those council members who choose to attend meetings heed the new policy and conduct themselves accordingly. ``I think everyone is entitled en·ti·tle tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: to their own opinion,'' she said. ``But when you've been elected to office, then you should be more aware of speaking on behalf of those you represent than on your own behalf.'' At issue is whether City Council members should be allowed to comment on issues that will later be brought to the full council. Each City Council member is assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. to one of the four Neighborhood Councils as liaisons, but members are not required to attend meetings. Some residents have said it is inappropriate for City Council members to comment because it could indicate a bias toward a certain point of view. And a council member speaking under his authority as an elected official might influence the way the discussion proceeds. The policy change approved by the City Council on Monday night states that the council member must provide a disclaimer (networking) disclaimer - Statement ritually appended to many Usenet postings (sometimes automatically, by the posting software) reiterating the fact (which should be obvious, but is easily forgotten) that the article reflects its author's opinions and not necessarily those of the before making statements. The member must inform the panel that his or her remarks are ``presented solely as factual information, clarification or current opinion, and do not imply that the council member has made any firm decision,'' regarding a vote on the matter. Davis said the issue grew out of recent Neighborhood Council meetings during which council members debated information being presented by citizen advocates during a contentious discussion over land use. ``People were going to Neighborhood Councils with information that council members knew was misinterpreted information, misinformed information,'' he said. ``I think these groups got challenged a couple of times (by council members), and they weren't happy about it.'' |
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