Just Like a Dance

Have you ever sat through a meeting, be it a business meeting or one of the government or even your church, and wondered why the talking continues when the substance of the meeting has long since ended? Last week was a week of many meetings and little action, which boils down to a waste of time. Don’t get met wrong. Work Sessions are necessary to iron out the details and they are an important part of a functional governing process when they are used for their intended purpose. Conversely, when the meetings become little more than an opportunity for a few to hear themselves talk while the multitudes sit and watch the clock, it may be time to rethink the meeting structure.

Beyond the battle to stay alert and functional, long, pointless time spent together adds to the very likely possibility that someone is going to say something snotty and what functionality is actually left in the meeting goes out the door. And then there are those that would take the opportunity to use Work Session time to lecture and press their point, even going so far as to rake up a tab with, say, an attorney to keep the cattle in the fence. Not an unusual tactic but just because it is common place doesn’t mean that it is a good use of tax payer dollars.

Now, just in case some are wondering if I am picking on the School Board or the County Commission, let me clarify. I am speaking of the County Commission and the School Board. The County Commission holds a Work Session every month and it does not serve to keep the voting meetings shorter or keep the same questions from being asked in the voting meeting. My best guess is that the time on camera is directly related to the amount and fervor of discussion with a few Commissioners. Not so with the School Board. Theirs is more related to being out of practice of actually discussing issues before they are voted on, as they have just reinstated Work Sessions. In their case, they need more time, not less, to ask questions. But, they need to stay on task and ask follow up questions if the answers don’t appear to jive just right. In the case of the County Commission, less is more. In the case of the School Board, more to the point.

I suppose that you could liken the School Board Work Session to a Middle School dance. It was a little awkward, the chaperon keep close tabs on the action and nobody really was in step with each other. The County Commission Work Session was like a college dance, with a few attention seekers looking for the big score and others hanging back looking for the exit. And then there is that one guy who just wants to fight. He doesn’t care who he fights, just as long as he can come out swinging. Most in attendance leave with a headache and a vow to never do that again. Ah, on to voting meetings where at least there is action, instead of reaction and retraction. Well, usually.