Photo by adamsjp2010.

There’s a lot of frustration with the District’s government these days, most of which has to do with inside baseball — whether that’s bills being pushed through without public vetting, shady hiring practices, or the misappropriation of supposedly independent trust funds. But at least a good number of the city’s Councilmembers remain freely accessible to their constituents, unlike a growing number of congressional Republicans.

Politico reports that several members of Congress are apparently attempting to avoid angry constituents on their recess by appearing only at events requiring paid admission:

Two more members of Congress are refusing to hold free, open town hall meetings for constituents during the August recess and instead appearing only at paid events, POLITICO has learned.

Neither Reps. Lou Barletta (R-Penn.) nor Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) held or have scheduled town halls, but Barletta appeared last week at a $30-per-plate “CEO to CEO” forum and Ellmers is scheduled to speak at a federal employees’ forum that is charging a $13 admission fee.

Barletta and Ellmers join Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), who POLITICO reported Tuesday are all appearing at pay-per-view functions while eschewing town hall meetings open to all.

Now, don’t get me wrong — I am plenty sure that if there was a way for some Councilmembers to conceivably do this without the public burning down the Wilson Building, they probably would.