There might be an interesting back story developing once the Amarillo City Council commences its new meeting time at City Hall.

The council says it will start meeting at 6 p.m. each Tuesday to give residents a better chance to attend the meetings. They do, after all, deal with the public’s business.

The back story deals with some of the yammering we’ve heard over a period of time about the so-called “secrecy” that shrouds City Council business. Some of the critics of the downtown revival project, for instance, contend — wrongly, in my view — that too much of it was pre-determined in secret.

Other gripes have concerned the work sessions that precede the official open City Council meetings, where council members actually vote on issues under consideration.

Well, with the new after-hours meeting time, there will be plenty of interest from residents who have been unable to attend the council meeting when they took place at 3 p.m. So, logic would seem to dictate that the City Council chamber spectator seats will have more people in them to listen to council members discuss and act on public matters … correct?

If the interest holds up, then perhaps there might be some credence given to the gripes about a lack of “public involvement.”

If it doesn’t sustain itself and the public doesn’t flock to the third floor Council Chambers meeting room each Tuesday evening, does that suggest that all the grumbling about secrecy was coming from a highly vocal minority of malcontents?

Let’s watch for how this plays out.