I can’t speak for the other guy but I suspect the reason some people think like that is the only times the club ever seems to mention City Matters in any communication to the fans is when they are pushing through something that they know won’t be universally approved of.
One example I can think of, but there’s been a few, is when they announced some away tickets were being reserved for 18-24 year olds regardless of points. They made a point of saying something like…As agreed with your City Matters reps. That can read a bit like…. Hey, don’t blame us if you don’t like it, it’s the fans reps who wanted it.
I’m sure there’s a whole heap of other stuff that is done behind closed doors that might quietly make a difference without us really noticing but it does come across, to me at least, that the club use City Matters as a bit of a patsy to take the heat off them on occasions.