Commentary: Staying Informed is Every Citizen's Right and Responsibility

Last night's Fernley City Council special session was an exhibition of the woefully uninformed. As the council met for final approval of the new ordinance regulating residential and commercial trash services, the public hearing turned in to a parade of the inattentive who took the opportunity to berate the council for not informing them of the impending move to mandatory trash service.
The 20 or so residents who spoke their minds to the council all had a similar gripe: why hadn't the council and city done a better job of informing the public about this move to compulsory trash service? That, despite the fact that the discussion and debate about a new waste franchise agreement has been on numerous council agendas and the subject of various newspaper articles since last June or July.
It would appear that these somnambulating citizens also took a siesta in civics class as well. Their input and subsequent dressing-down of the City Council was well-intentioned and within their rights, albeit three to four months too late.
In this day and age of information overload, it's very tempting to tune out, turn off and otherwise bury your head in the sand. But citizens have an obligation and responsibility to stay informed.
The City Council, in this particular case, made every reasonable effort to make the public aware of changes coming up in the waste franchise agreements. Why these folks didn't get the word until TrashPros delivered a trash container to their curb remains the big question that can only be answered by these individuals.
Comments at last night's meeting likened the City of Fernley to dictatorial regimes like Cuba and North Korea. Some even went so far as to threaten to leave the city and move away over the issue. These people were clearly livid because they didn't get the word about changes coming in the city's trash service.
Unfortunately, their ire was misdirected. Instead of wagging their fingers at the City Council for not informing them, these residents need only look in the mirror to find the guilty party. Being an informed citizen does take some modicum of effort.
Council agendas are routinely posted online and at city hall in advance of meetings. Local newspapers, although paring staffs and cutting distribution in this economic tumult, make an effort to cover stories that impact the public.
With information so readily available from a variety of sources, the idea that the City Council should spoon feed the populace is not only naive, but dangerous. When addressing the added burden of the fees for trash service, one resident posed the question, "What's next?"
What's next, indeed. Every citizen must exercise their right to stay informed and keep an eye on elected officials at all levels of government. If we, the people, fail to do so then we can't complain when we get blind-sided by what's coming next.