A very contentious issue, the City of Farmington Hills’ new Master Plan, has sparked a very cool idea.
Michael Von Steeg, who spoke during a marathon Planning Commission meeting a few weeks ago, suggesetd in a post-hearing letter to city officials that the Hills create a blog on its Web site. My first reaction was, “Oh, they’ll never do that in a million years.” Blogs are anonymous. Blogs would allow people to submit 5,000-word essays on every agenda item. Blogs can be labor intensive if you’re moderating comments, which I assume would be necessary to weed out the obscenities and avoid being named in a libel lawsuit.
Not to mention what people would say about elected officials and city employees, given the cover of electronic anonymity.
However, I hope they also consider this: A controlled, well-kept blog would create a connection with city residents that would allow them to comment, ask questions, register complaints and present their public testimony in written fashion. It would also allow residents to interact with one another. Blogs can be moderated, so that people who insist on abusing the privilege (posting on a blog is not a constitutionally guaranteed freedom) could be weeded out.
Seems like a brilliant idea to me. But I could be a little biased.
–Joni Hubred-Golden
Michigan Woman Blogger
