The proposal ruffled a lot of feathers.
Some said It was a fowl idea.
It did not solve the question of which can first—the chicken or the egg.
But it did rule out foxes in Bossier City chicken houses, at least the legal chicken houses.
And the Council did not “chicken out” on discussing what became a controversial issue.
Yesterday the Bossier City Council voted 5-2 to defeat the proposed ordinance to allow backyard chickens in Bossier City.
When the ordinance was first introduced the new council members—Debra Ross, Clif Smith, Joel Girouard, Craton Cochran—asked for input from their constituents on the chicken proposal. They received substantial input that led all of them, along with Vince Maggio, to defeat the measure.
This was the first split vote for this new council that took office on July 1 of this year. To the credit of the entire Council, the controversial issue was handled in a civil, non-accusatory fashion that often-dominated meetings of the past council.
Hats off to all seven of these elected representatives.
And while the Bossier Council debated chickens yesterday afternoon, the Shreveport City Council had a three hour emergency meeting to review recent violence in downtown Shreveport. The contrast between the matters debated at both council meetings is a testament to the differences between the two cities.