I agree in principle to your comments on the subject. However, I believe that accountability and transparency of the council are of paramount importance if they are to gain the community’s confidence.

I commend each and every one of the councillors – past, present and those in the future – for standing up and performing the onerous task of a councillor.

However, these are the men and women who have stood up and told us why we should elect them to do the job. Some are doing the job well and some have disappointed.

I imagine that people do not attend council meetings for several reasons. Perhaps it is because of the overcrowding. Perhaps it is due to the lack of amenities. Perhaps it is from the tedium of some councillors often asking a question for which the answer is contained within the business papers. Maybe some do not see any value or purpose in being a mute audience. Thirty minutes of question time before a meeting is a start, but it is not enough. Let’s hope they don’t get asked any difficult or complicated questions in that time.

It would be a good situation indeed if residents of the Upper Lachlan Shire directed their communications and discussions to the council, but sadly, a lot of that “discussion” falls on deaf ears.

I have not participated in nor visited these online discussions you mention, but I would say that non-attendance at council meetings does not negate a valid argument. Keyboard warriors or not, the council and staff should realise their every move is being watched.

Manny Rivera, Crookwell