Hamilton County commissioners should have spent more than 20 minutes Thursday debating whether to allow people to speak at commission meetings, or perhaps have even tabled the matter until a clear and detailed set of rules could be determined. But allowing residents to have their say, albeit briefly, over various issues is the right thing to do.
Commissioners voted 7-2 to give residents the right to speak for or against agenda items before the commissioners vote -- instead of at the end of meetings, after members have voted.
If, as Commissioner Warren Mackey suggested, members do their homework, then they won't be swayed by what individuals say. But, if they listen with open minds as they should, they occasionally might hear something they hadn't considered or an opinion that changes their minds.
Commissioner Greg Beck, the same commissioner who suggested earlier this year that "the Sunshine Law stinks," grumbled that the new rule would be an excuse for residents to "badger" and "grandstand" at meetings.
He said in 11 years on the commission he's "been badgered a lot." Surely, he didn't expect otherwise, though. Did he?
Participatory government has been and always will be messy. It's not just declaring April 6 to be John Doe Day in the county or using outsized scissors to cut the ribbon on Brenda's Big Boy Pants Shop.
Commissioners know when they run for their seats they'll have disagreements among themselves, with the public and with the media. They're often working full-time hours for a part-time job with part-time pay. They'll likely get calls at home in the middle of dinner and on their cellphones just as they get ready to step into a movie.
But a specific issue that comes before the commission may be the only time in one resident's life that implores him or her to get off the couch and have his or her say. That citizen deserves the opportunity.
New rules call for pro and con sides of an issue to get 10 minutes apiece, with individuals limited to three minutes each. That seems a small price to pay for representative government. And, because it is a representative government, if the situation becomes unworkable, commissioners can always vote to change it.