THE THREE SHORT rows of folding chairs for the public were not full, but this was the highest attendance I had seen at a city council meeting. I was curious how the mayor and council members would respond this time. Community members had showed up to support a couple fighting what they felt was an unfair $20,000 building code violation fine.
After some preamble, the floor opened for public comment. A handful of residents of the small midwestern city where I live came to the podium for their allotted three minutes. “We’ve lost the adult in the room,” one woman said. “I implore the council to consider the human aspects,” a man said. He asked if the building board of appeals would be seated to review this case.
The mayor blinked, expression unchanged, “We can’t comment, and your time is up.”
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