What they objected to most, however, was that the planning process was torn right from under their noses. These are but two examples. There are countless more. The point to be made is that, under the present system, the voters have no real power except the power to protest, more or less. There is no final recourse to any decision made by Council between elections.
Accountability is only marginal.
Only poorly informed persons, would argue that this is true democracy. On truly crucial issues, the voters are effectively excluded from having any say. With a referendum process, as proposed by the Citizens Task Force for Direct Democracy, the outcome of important community issues might be different or it might not. It would, however, give the public the power of veto if necessary. More important, it would provide them an opportunity of sharing civic responsibility.