Letter: City playing games with parking question

To the community,

Is the City Council just silly? It appears so on the subject of parking meters. First, the council created a ballot resolution for the June election that if it passes, would for the most part kill the city’s parking meter program. The vote was 5-0. So the resolution will be on the ballot.

Bill Crawford

The on Feb. 27, the council voted to place on the ballot an argument that urges voters to vote no on the city’s ballot resolution. In other words, the City Council wants to keep its parking meters.

The end game is a tricky one. By acting as it did, the council passed the buck to the voters. And that is OK with me. Regardless of the fate of the city’s ballot measure, whether it’s voted up or down, the political calculation is the council will claim it supports the democratic process. Pretty slick game. A can’t lose game the council must think. But what has been the cost in time and money?

And if the city’s resolution passes, something the council doesn’t want, will the council see it as a vote of no confidence, rethink how to govern and stop playing silly games?

Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe