I am writing to express my concern about the apparent lack of regard for citizens, budget concerns that the city council displayed at Tuesday night’s (July 22) council meeting. Many citizens attended the meeting. In fact, so many that some were standing out in the hallway. It should have been clear to the council that a majority was there to voice concerns over staff reductions in the Public Works Department and other budget cuts. It was difficult to determine when those in the audience had a change to address the council. The council did hand out an agenda, but it was not easy to ascertain where to voice concern over the budget. There was a resolution amending the 2003 budget, but no specifics on the budget were mentioned and approval of this amendment took less than thirty seconds. I believe most of those in attendance thought that discussion on the budget would take place when they came to the section on "Council Requests – General Discussion." Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Once the council finished reporting on the agreements between the city of Luverne and Sioux Valley Hospital, a motion was made to adjourn and the meeting ended abruptly. So abruptly that I didn’t even realize they had adjourned. I will acknowledge that we most likely weren’t allowed to speak because our requests would have come too late to be put on the agenda. This is due in part to the fact that the city council meetings must follow some order and set of rules. I think the city council needs to be mindful of that fact. That, along with the large public turnout for the meeting, should have prompted the council to find out what was on the minds of the citizens in attendance. Is the council that afraid of listening to concerns that we, the public, have on staff reduction and other budget cuts that they are proposing? I thought the council was elected to listen to our concerns. Apparently, I was wrong. Sadly, I suppose that the only way that they will listen is with my vote. Unfortunately, for some city employees, that is and will be too late.Troy ThoneLuverne, Minn.
