Public comment

Last week, the Jackson Board of Aldermen decided comments for the city's public hearings no longer will be accepted in the form of e-mail.

Comments either must be delivered in person or by letter.

The city has only received one e-mail comment in its history but passed the ordinance clarifying its policy on public comments because of the supposed difficulty of verifying the authenticity of e-mail.

The concern on Jackson's part might be the potential for a barrage of e-mail to be received on a particular issue. Such a campaign could be orchestrated by a single individual in possession of others' e-mail addresses.

Cape Girardeau does allow e-mailed comments to become part of the record in public hearings. Scott City does not, arguing that public hearings were meant for taking comments in person.

If the e-mails are distributed to council members beforehand, the difficulty in allowing them to become public record is difficult to understand. Each one does not have to be read into the public record. Verification can be accomplished simply by requiring the sender to provide an address and phone number -- just like a letter.

Cities ought to do what they can to increase public comment rather than restrict it.