Tax Committee Moves to Council Chambers

The Municipal Tax Review Committee has hit the big time, at least as far public meetings in Piedmont are concerned. After repeated requests from interested citizens, the committee voted 5-3 Wednesday to convene in City Council chambers for its remaining meetings so that the proceedings can be broadcast and archived by .

The nine-member committee, which is tasked with making recommendations to City Council regarding the municipal services tax, has been meeting around the U-shaped table in the Police Department's Emergency Operations Center, but that room is not wired for television. Attendance of the July 13 meeting by a couple reporters and about a dozen members of the public was enough to leave some leaning against the wall or sitting on the floor.

City Administrator Geoff Grote estimated that broadcasting the remaining meetings from chambers would add up to a few hundred dollars worth of KCOM staff time.

"The price of transparency is certainly not a couple of hundred dollars," said committee member Ryan Gilbert, who voted in favor of the move.

Committee member Bill Hosler voted against the switch, worried that more public comment would distract the group from its analysis of the city's finances.

"The more time we dedicate to public [comment] and dialogue without analysis, I honestly don't know what's going to go into a report … I'm concerned it's opinion," Hosler said.

In previous incarnations of the committee, there have always been opportunities for public comment, but no one has ever showed up. Concerns over the handling of the Piedmont Hills utility undergrounding project, the  and the possibility that the could add more expenses to the city's books have brought more attention to the deliberations this year.

The committee's final three meetings are scheduled for Aug. 3, 17, and 31 from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.