Lunchtime meeting = unfair scheduling

If you've read this site before today, you know that Monday, the Harrison Mayor and Council will have a special meeting Monday afternoon at 12:15. While we understand there are sometimes emergent situations that require odd scheduling, this meeting's scheduled start time is unfair to residents of the town who work and who might otherwise want to attend the meeting.

And this meeting is not just an ordinary meeting, either. The mayor and council are expected to vote to expand the town's redevelopment zone to include several more streets. So the stakes at this meeting are extremely high.

We believe the mayor and council have done a great disservice to the people of Harrison by scheduling this meeting for 12:15 p.m. There have been numerous instances where some who sit on the council have accused this administration of proffering an administration that doesn't appear to be transparent.

And scheduling a meeting in the middle of the day certainly supports that accusation.

We're not suggesting this is actually the case, but when there are instances of accusations that paint the administration's openness in a poor light, scheduling a meeting around noon certainly doesn't help.

It is our sincere hope this rare meeting is a one-of-its-kind. The mayor and council should not schedule any more daytime meetings — for any reasons — unless there is a matter of life and death to be attended to.

Otherwise, it's perfectly fair game for administration opponents to cry foul about transparency.

And without question, that would hardly be a matter of grandstanding.