Right way to run a meeting

7/14/2008 3:32 AM

This newspaper has a record of being quick to editorialize when elected officials shut out the public when making important decisions.

So we owe it to Hanover Township supervisors to salute them for how they include the public in their meetings, no matter how routine a decision may be.

Supervisors Chairman Donald Winkler, in keeping with Robert's Rules of Order, asks for a first and then a second on each motion before opening the agenda items for discussion.

This is the way it's done in most municipalities, but these discussions almost always are limited to board members. Not in Hanover.

Winkler opens each motion to the entire floor, even if there are 60 residents in the audience. The taxpayers raise their hands and are called on individually to be heard before any official action is taken by the supervisors.

While this order of business makes for a long meeting, the residents can't compain that their concerns aren't being heard at town hall.

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