Letters: Thomson meeting time change smells funny

It has come to my attention that the Thomson Township board of supervisors recently changed the time of regular board meetings from its long-established 6:30 p.m. to a much earlier 5 p.m.

This will make it very difficult for many working folks to attend without having to take off from work early — costing them precious time and money. This move certainly smells to me of trying to restrict citizen participation.

I would strongly suggest to the board that they reconsider, and go back to the 6:30 time slot for their regular meetings.

And, for the record, it also appears that the board has again violated its own rules which require board items for discussion be scheduled on the agenda by the end of the day on the Tuesday preceding the meeting. The time change was not on the agenda at all — according to the published information for that Jan. 19 meeting; yet, it was in the minutes for Jan. 19 as published for the Feb. 2 meeting approval.

Also, the dial-up audio from those meetings is of absolutely terrible quality — cannot hear half of what’s being said from the speakerphone as used in the middle of the podium tables. Neither do many of the supervisors, staff, nor citizen speakers use the microphones as provided. I have personally suggested several times previously that all use the available microphone system, and that that system be tied in with the telephone and video systems (technically easy, these days); audio, recordings, and dial-in listening would then be sharp and crisp.

John Bergman, Thomson Township