The Sign Ordinance: Something To Think About

The sign ordinance has been, hands down, the political story in Albany this year.  So far, I’ve seen editorial comments from both local publications and WALB.  I’m not sure if WFXL has gone the editorial route or not as of yet.  With all the voices being heard, you’d think there would be drastic differences in approach, but you would actually be surprised.

WALB was probably the most supportive of the sign ordinance, but still pointed out the silliness of how Code Enforcement officers will knock on your door for having an overstuffed couch on your porch, but APD has been unable to get rid of the criminals milling about the neighborhood.  They even jokingly suggest violating the code enforcement laws in an effort to attract enough attention so that APD wouldn’t even be necessary.  Having lived in a fairly high crime neighborhood for a while, that sounds like a heck of plan.

Between the television station, two newspapers, and this blog, you have to really do something unusual to have us all agree that there’s problems with the sign ordinance.  Well, that’s where we’re at right now.

So far, I’ve talked to no one who is happy with the sign ordinance or how it’s enforced, all believing that some serious revamping is needed, and quickly.  I agree.  While I personally dislike any form of sign ordinance because it’s an assault on individual liberty, I accept that I may well be in the minority.  With that in mind, I was willing to offer my own thoughts on revamps for the ordinance.  I honestly have no idea if any of the City Commission have read it or not.  Commissioner Langstaff is the most active on the blog, but he was out of the country and frankly I have no idea if he’s back or not.  I’m fairly sure that he’ll read the post, though who knows if it’ll actually be adopted.  It’s not Commissioner Langstaff’s fault if it’s not either, so don’t think this is all on him.

This town’s government is running over us in so many ways that it would be comical if this weren’t my home.  It’s a town I spent years dispising because of the backwards nature of so much of the people in government.  However, I found that most places I lived had similar problems.  The sign ordinance is a symptom of those problems. 

Local governments are going to have the biggest impact on your day to day lives.  There’s no way around that, so we must accept it.  However, we’ve come to equate this fact with the idea that local government should impact our lives in many and varied ways, and not just with things like the sign ordinance.  People want supposed “junk” cars removed from their neighbor’s yards because it offended their sensibilities, despite the fact that those cars are someone’s property, just as that house is.  People want the government to get involved in issues that no government should truly be involved in.  But maybe that’s changing?

Today, people are up in arms about the sign ordinance.  Through this blog, I’ve found a lot of people who are becoming sick of the City of Albany government.  However, I ask these people to not just sit there and be mad.  It’s now time to do more than just complain.  Anyone can do that.  It’s time to start talking to your friends and neighbors.  Talk to your commissioners and see if they are part of the problem or the solution.  If they’re part of the problem, it’s time to start getting rid of them.  If they’re part of the solution, then work to make sure they stay there. 

And when you talk to them?  Don’t do it in a public venue if at all possible like, say, this blog.  Talk to them personally and off the record.  Remember that elected officials are politicians.  They have to tip toe around feelings to get things done on commissions, but their inner most thoughts could mirror yours perfectly.  Just don’t tell them what you think first.  Ask them questions and find out what they’ve got going on inside their heads.

We, the citizens of Albany, have to make our local government answerable to us.  Failure to do so is how we got a sign ordinance like this.  Failure to do so is how we end up with $6 million in bonds being tried for the downtown.  We have failed so far, but we can change it. 

We must change it.