Question: Public Meeting Essay Instructions

Part I: • Summarize the meeting you attended, adding the time, date and type of meeting. No need to list the members of the city council, Board of Supervisors, etc. Just tell me what you observed. (Although I do like to know who your mayor is.)

• It may help to ask yourself a few questions - What did I find interesting? Informative? Surprising? Not what I had expected? Who was in attendance? Was the public allowed to participate? Did you participate by asking questions or commenting on the proceedings?
(Not all public meetings are interesting, they can, in fact be boring. What was your take on the meeting itself?)

• Describe the experience and let me know if you went alone or with a guest and whether the meeting was the topic of discussion afterward between the two of you.

• If those conducting the meeting were elected officials, did it seem as if they were engaged, and sincere? Would you vote for any or all of these members in the next election?

Part II: • Before you attend the meeting, take some time and make the effort to find out what the important local issues are in your home town. If the city's meeting you attend is in your home town, fine, but regardless, read local papers, do some research, look on your city's website, phone a city council member and just ask - what are the two or three top problems the city wrestles with currently?

• Were any of those issues you found addressed in the meeting you attended? If you attended a meeting outside of your home town: Were your home town problems similar or different from those addressed at the meeting you attended?