Reasons?
Here's a reason. " I don't want it."
Not trying to pick a fight with you RC, but this is NOT going to be an effective tool for getting the powers that be in your county to see the light.
People complain ad infinitum to government officials about everything from the number of stop signs, school buses, to stadium projects.
Those who come prepared with a fact based case and an attitude of "I want to HELP work with you" are more likely to get what they ultimately want.
Those who just shout talking points, well, sound like the rest of the hot air pieces on the AM (and now FM) radio dial and are dismissed accordingly.
If you want to be effective, you want to be these folks' ally, not the enemy. Alienating ourselves as radio hobbyists WILL bring more of the dreaded "E" word as much as unauthorized online streaming and recording already do.
That's how democracy works. If you don't want something, you don't need all kids of good reasons, facts, figures or evidence.
Oh, we are a democracy? Wasn't aware of this. Last I checked, we have elected representatives, and THEY make the decisions regarding what THEY need/want. But I may be wrong. It sure appears that way though.
Those bubbas were elected to represent the people who voted for them and if they aren't going to do that, it's time to vote for someone who will.
No argument there, but convincing the voters to agree with you about a problem they don't think is a problem is the road you have ahead.
Most people (and ask your neighbors how they feel about the issue) could CARE LESS that they cannot listen to the po-po on a scanner, cellphone, etc. They watch mass media and the media tells them that "terrorists and criminals use scanners to stay one step ahead of the good guys" and "new upgrades will make the folks answering our 911 calls safer, response times quicker, and lives will be saved."
It's hard to counter this with anything but facts that this may not be true, and you have to convince not just the commish, but people on Main Street to be on board with you.
Most people do not understand how this stuff works, and don't care to learn either. They are programmed to listen to a panel of pundits on CNN tell them that something is "good" or "bad" and with attention spans of most folks lasting about 5 minutes, they will not be responsive to anything else.
When you come up with a good plan of getting people to CARE enough (outside of the small niche radio hobby community) let me know, I'll be on board with going to meetings. I've been there, done that many times over in my county.
Heck it's a hard enough time getting folks within the radio community to agree on anything alone, let alone your neighbors. :wink: