Letter: Hilton Head Town Council should have listened to the people

Hilton Head residents have a wealth of knowledge and experience that they tried to share with Town Council on the proposed contract with the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.

The result of all this effort by residents to have a better contract was a vote by Town Council, by split decision, to accept the contract as written. As I sat there, I thought surely the council would delay the vote until a review of the suggestions and recommendations by the speakers were discussed and thought about. Not so. Some of the council members were willing to do so, including Mayor David Bennett, but others apparently did not think the input from the residents worthwhile for review.

Indeed, the most outrageous statement made after the vote was by Councilman John McCann. He said that his vote for the contract was because of the quality of people at the chamber. Town Council was not voting on the quality of people at the chamber, but on a contract between the town and the chamber that would serve as a protection for the town and its taxpayers and as a guideline for future relationship with the chamber.

Yes, the quality of people at the chamber is excellent, but this is not what was being considered. Deciding not to review the suggestions of the residents by Councilman McCann was wrong. He apparently forgot who is representing: the citizens who pay the taxes and not the directors of the Chamber of Commerce.

Charles F. Lenzinger

Hilton Head Island

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Letter: Hilton Head Town Council should have listened to the people."