Silence, they say, is golden, but that’s not always the case. For some, their opinions being heard are priceless. And for Poulsbo residents with something to say about the proposed Gaines annexation, it’s finally pay day.

At Wednesday night’s Poulsbo City Council meeting, a date was finally set for a public hearing on the annexation: at 7:15 p.m. May 5 at City Hall. Citizens who were abruptly shut down last April can speak their minds.

Some 50 people who turned out at what was supposed to be a public hearing on the Gaines annexation — which involves 30.82 acres between Liberty Road and Marelaine Lane — were ushered away when the then-council decided to put both annexations on “pause.”

Public outcry ensued, and rightfully so.

Then-Mayor Kathryn Quade said the annexations were put off so the city could get some functional planning in, to see where the annexations would fit in the grand scheme of things. It was as though the annexations had taken the council by surprise. Surely that was not the case.

Councilwoman Linda Barry-Mariast, the lone dissenting vote, protested putting off the annexations: “I think it’s really important that government acts with predictability,” she said. “I feel like what we did tonight really changed those rules and I have a problem with that.”

We agree that it was unconscionable to put off the discussion for the last year, forcing residents involved in the process to essentially put their lives on “pause.” It’s certainly time to press “play” and give these residents some closure.