Glens Falls resident urges renewed town halls with county supervisors

Ben Christel, a resident of the 5th Ward, used the public-comment period at the Jan. 13 Glens Falls City Common Council meeting to urge the council to continue a tradition of joint town-hall or informational meetings with county supervisors and to cultivate citizen interest in serving.

Christel said he 'really enjoyed coming to the swearing and ceremony' and described a history of coordination between city council members and county supervisors, noting that such meetings have been useful for public information and engagement. He offered to introduce council members to county contacts and to help convene the events if the council wants to restart the practice.

Christel described past committee schedules and said the work is important civic service. He noted compensation practices for one county board he described — 'We're paid $20 an hour for essentially 5 hours of work each year on 1 day' — as part of explaining the modest time commitment involved in such roles. He said he remains willing to 'hand over the keys' to someone else interested in serving and encouraged the council to offer opportunities to citizens.

Why it matters: Intergovernmental town halls can help residents understand overlapping services and provide a public forum for coordination between municipal and county officials. Christel framed his remarks as an offer to assist rather than a formal request that the council adopt a specific program.

Next steps: The council acknowledged the comment and invited any additional public speakers; no vote or formal direction on joint town halls was recorded at the meeting.