Good Intentions; Bad Execution

Before I continue, let me first say that I'm not suggesting that the Bedford City Council purposefully intended to keep the public in the dark about the juvenile daytime curfew ordinance. In fact, I believe that the Council never considered the issue of a curfew to be of much consequence. The school district came to them asking for help in the form of a juvenile daytime curfew, and the Council reached out to help them by enacting it immediately.

I don't believe there was any malice or ill will intended toward the citizens of Bedford.

While the Council may have intended to offer the school district expedient help by voting quickly on the issue, their good intentions were lost on many citizens who felt that the decision was too hasty; the Council did not consider their particular viewpoints beforehand, and did not ask for substantiation from the school district to justify the need for a daytime curfew ordinance.

The beauty of public debate is that it brings together people from all sides of an issue so that input is received from every angle. A public hearing is a valuable tool that public officials can use to help them approach an issue from various viewpoints. It facilitates good decision-making, and lets the citizens know that their opinions matter.

The Council failed to ask for public input, and, therefore, had no idea that there might have been citizens who were strongly opposed to the idea of a daytime curfew ordinance.

Though the council's intentions to help the school district were good, their execution of those intentions by not getting all the facts was seriously flawed.

The Council did not expect the outcry that followed; nor was it prepared.