OPINION

Is Wyomissing “flooding the zone”?

A crowded agenda is no substitute for answers

By Adrian Jadic · November 10, 2026

Berkshire Mall’s redevelopment, the Atonement split and Council’s authorization to destroy historic financial records have all demanded residents’ attention this fall. Tonight, November 10, the mall’s redevelopment overlay faces a possible vote at the same meeting where Council will consider advertising a budget and tax proposal with four additional mills. ^{[1][3][4][11]}

The mall’s future deserves serious public debate. The still-unexplained decision to stop an engineering review makes this timing especially troubling.

Who stopped the mall review?

On August 31, I filed a Right-to-Know request for the mall’s zoning records. The Borough’s October 8 response disclosed earlier work: engineers had logged zoning-review time on July 31 and August 3. It also included a September 21 email in which engineer Nick Perilli said his office had been instructed not to complete the concept-plan review. No formal review letter was issued. ^[8][12][15]

The Borough withheld other records. I appealed to Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records on October 16. The Borough’s November 6 appeal response still did not identify who stopped the review or why. ^[12][15]

Who stopped the review, and why? Council is asking residents to assess new redevelopment rules while leaving that earlier decision unexplained. An unfinished review should not become forgotten business simply because the budget now demands everyone’s attention. County planners also raised questions about the proposed ordinance’s boundaries, requirements and safeguards in their October 16 review. ^[10]

Another crowded agenda

Tonight’s agenda also includes two landscaping ordinances. Budget adoption is scheduled for December 15; tonight’s budget step is advertisement, not final adoption. Our tax calculator shows what four additional mills would mean for your property. ^[3][4]

We have faced this overlap before. On December 9, 2025, dozens of residents attended a meeting covering a proposed 1.25-mill tax increase, Atonement rezoning, administrative bonuses and salary increases. The previous Council rejected that budget proposal but approved the rezoning, bonuses and 4% raises. All those high-stakes decisions were packed into one meeting. A reduced one-mill tax increase was adopted later that month. ^[5]

Seventeen committee meetings canceled

Through November 10, 17 scheduled meetings of four standing committees were canceled this year: seven Economic Development, five Finance, three Fire and Police, and two Infrastructure. All four committees’ scheduled August and September meetings were canceled. All five Finance meetings from July through November were canceled. ^[16]

Finance discussed moving to 6 p.m. in April; its May and June meetings remained at 8 a.m. Council has held evening budget sessions, but that does not erase the loss of those scheduled committee opportunities. ^[6][16][17]

Earlier budget drafts were available, but the current 37-page budget message is dated November 9—the day before tonight’s meeting. Residents need time to examine the latest figures. The posted public-comment policy also discourages questions and requires the chair’s permission for answers. ^[7][17]

Tonight’s agenda pairs each land-use hearing with a possible vote, but does not explain how residents can speak during those hearings. The separate agenda-comment period comes afterward. Council should make participation clear before the hearings begin. ^[3][7]

What “flooding the zone” means

“Flooding the zone” means overwhelming attention with a rapid stream of actions and controversies. Steve Bannon promoted hitting the media with several actions a day so it could not recover. Trump also attacked critical outlets such as CNN as “fake news.” Overload and attacks on credibility can work together: make scrutiny harder, then encourage the public to dismiss those doing it. ^[9][13]

Is this better communication?

At the November 3 budget meeting, Chris Valente defended communications spending and said he believed engaging and informing residents was why many Council members had been elected. ^[14]

Hiring a communications consultant does not, by itself, fulfill that promise. Engagement requires meetings residents can attend, documents early enough to study, and clear answers to requests for spending cuts. Council should explain which proposals it accepted, which it rejected and why.

Follower counts cannot tell us whether Council has answered residents’ questions. The test is whether they have the information, access and answers to influence decisions before the votes. That should be the top priority.

The documents do not establish that this crowding is deliberate. Whatever the reason for the timing, unanswered questions should not be swept aside. Council owes residents answers before important decisions, and more time where those answers are still missing.

Residents will live with these decisions long after tonight. They deserve more than five-minute turns at a microphone.