Raleigh Mayor Responds To Criticism Of City Council

Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker said the politics played on the current city council are different than the what the previous council did.

"The council tone is friendler, more concilatory," Meeker said.

However, the current Raleigh City Council has only met six times and some watchers think council members are the masters of indecision.

"It does appear early on that no one wants to take the bull by the horns and lead in any particular decision," former City Councilman Kieran Shanahan said.

When citizens recently expressed outrage over a plan to charge a fee to people with

burglar alarms

, councilors backed down even though they said something must be done about the high number of false alarms.

A task force recommended the city switch from twice-a-week backyard

trash pickup

to a weekly curbside system, but this week, the council voted against the plan even though the plan would save millions.

Meeker said it is a different kind of council because there is more going on in the city of Raleigh than in years past such as the construction of a new convention center to how to handle trash pickup.

"We don't always get decisions done quickly or really done effectively. That will change over time," Meeker said. "This council has to figure out how to work together and be more effective as we go forward."

The council swore in three new members in December. They replaced three longtime councilmen.