Editorial: This is the way government should operate

At the Sept. 20 regular meeting of the Belleville City Council, Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Marcotte said he was pleased with the action by the city that followed through on a resident’s request for golf carts on Belleville streets.
The council voted unanimously to have an ordinance written in order to try the golf cart idea for a year. Then it would be reviewed to see how the whole thing worked out.
Marcotte said that is the way government should work, with elected officials seriously listening to the ideas of the residents and then investigating and following through on the suggestions.
Jeremiah Beebe of Church Street sat in the front row at the meeting as the council discussed the idea he brought to them last June. He didn’t need to encourage them because they were already interested in the proposal. He brought some supporters, just in case he needed them. He didn’t.
Beebe submitted a detailed proposal in June with some sample ordinances from other communities with golf carts and even a copy of the state law regarding golf carts on the streets. He was extremely thorough and that helped a lot.
“Mr. Beebe had an idea and there was a lot of work behind that proposal,” Marcotte said. “It’s a model for communities. Governments are here to make the communities what their residents want to see.”
Nicely said.