It seems like in many ways, after they were elected last May, the Amarillo City Council made changes just to boast about making changes. Board appointments are one of the things that were changed.
Under the previous City Council, vacancies on boards would be filled as necessary, with applicants who had been waiting years for appointments moving to the top of the list. Today, under changes enacted during this City Council’s tenure, all vacancies are now filled at the same time in the fall, with applications expiring yearly for those who have applied.
I’m not so sure I see what benefit this change has yielded for Amarilloans at-large.
From what I have seen recently, deaths or resignations of board members now leave seats on important municipal boards vacant for months at a time. And, because applications expire now, qualified individuals who asked previous City Councils for appointment are now ignored by this City Council, unless they chose to begin at the back of the line.
This honestly does not make sense to me. I’m sure there was a reason this change was enacted, but it seems to have just over-complicated things at City Hall. Board seats now sit vacant for months, possibly because a political statement was sought to be made.
These changes do not make sense. Possibly this change will be corrected at some point in the near future. If not, Amarillo citizens will be receiving a major disservice.
-Thomas Warren III, Editor-in-Chief
