Every so often at a Portsmouth Town Council meeting, a familiar complaint rises from the audience: “We never hear about these things until it’s too late.”

The frustration is understandable. Major proposals — particularly those involving development — can feel sudden and disruptive when they finally reach public attention. But the notion that such projects appear out of nowhere doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Take the latest example: a proposed affordable housing development at Sprague Street and East Main Road. Some residents spoke as though the plan had only just surfaced. In reality, it has been moving through the public process for months. The planning board reviewed it. Legal notices were published. This paper reported on it more than once, including preview coverage well before any votes were taken. Letters to the editor offered additional perspectives.

This pattern is not new. Similar concerns were raised about other high-profile proposals in recent years — from commercial developments to renewable energy projects. Each time, the claim is the same: the public was caught off guard.

Yet in each case, the information was available.

That does not mean the system is perfect. Far from it. Municipal processes can be difficult to navigate, and key details are often buried in meeting agendas, technical documents and legal notices that are not exactly designed for casual reading. Important information can feel inaccessible, even when it is technically public.

But “inaccessible” is not the same as “hidden.”

The town posts meeting agendas and documents online. The state maintains its own public records portal. Local newspapers report on significant proposals and publish required notices. Opportunities for public comment are built into the process, often well before final decisions are made.

In other words, the system depends — at least in part — on public participation.

It is human nature to pay closer attention when an issue becomes immediate or personal. A development down the street or a project affecting daily routines tends to command more urgency than an agenda item posted weeks earlier. By the time many residents engage, however, a proposal may already be well underway.

That disconnect can create the impression of secrecy, even when none exists.

If there is a lesson here, it is not that residents are wrong to feel frustrated. Rather, it is that staying informed requires some initiative. Monitoring local government is not always convenient, and it rarely arrives in a neatly packaged format. It involves checking agendas, following coverage and occasionally digging through material that is less than engaging.

Still, the information is there.

Public processes work best when they are both transparent and actively observed. Officials have a responsibility to communicate clearly and broadly. Residents, in turn, have a role in paying attention before decisions reach the final stage.

Otherwise, the cycle will continue: a project advances through public channels, largely unnoticed, until the moment it becomes impossible to ignore — and the familiar refrain echoes once again.