No one likes being told what to do whether it be a student being nagged about homework or a government being told how it should spend tax money.
So congratulations are in order for the new Terrace city council for taking the first steps to involve local citizens in what goes on at city hall.
The more citizens are informed about what’s going on and the more they are involved in decision making the better those decisions will be and the better the chance at continued wise use of tax money.
Exactly how the council is going to accomplish greater citizen involvement remains to be seen and the challenges are many.
One of the first challenges is converting the natural desire to complain and make quick observations to something more concrete.
Consider the application for a liquor licence by the developers of the work camp at the city’s Skeena Industrial Development Park.
There were numerous social media comments from acceptance to condemnation when the application was first published.
But when the application came up for discussion prior to the Jan. 12 council meeting, nary a soul was there to speak either for it, against it or to simply ask questions.
While social media may have a role to play in citizen involvement, getting people, somehow, face to face with council members is clearly a work in progress.