In many ways, Wilmington is far ahead of the curve when it comes to public information. In addition to posting meetings, hearings, minutes, and announcements in all the usual places, Wilmington maintains a constantly updated website that is a treasure trove of information on every aspect of town government. And, if that’s not enough, anyone can subscribe to the town’s biweekly e-mail, which has all of the latest municipal news and information.

For the past several months, Wilmington has been working toward a goal of “process improvement” in response to criticism raised during the debate over the pergola in the town’s Bank Park. The town has received a number of suggestions from the public, most of which boil down to a call for improvements in transparency, public accessibility, and communication.

At Friday night’s hearing on a proposed new town plan, we saw a prime example of how a breakdown in at least one of those areas, communication, can stifle the process. While we’re sure the hearing was duly warned and posted in all the customary places – including the town’s website and e-mail – there appears to have been no effort to inform the public about the plan before the hearing.

And there was no informational presentation at the hearing.

Yet commission members expected the public to offer their input and discuss their planning concerns. The result was predictable: With little information forthcoming from the planning commission, there was little information forthcoming from the public.

It was a perfect example of the general breakdown in communication that frustrated those on both sides of the pergola debate. We know planning commissioners worked very hard to bring the new town plan to completion. And we know Wilmington residents care deeply about their community and want to play an active role in self-governance. What we don’t know is, why weren’t people discussing the new town plan for weeks before the hearing?

In this age of instant communication, why can’t we communicate?