We had a great conversation with neighbors, friends and community leaders from South Austin last weekend. The Town Hall started with a 20-minute presentation by Bill of his ideas to improve public participation and to open our government to increased accountability.
Then a thoughtful and engaging discussion ensued, with participants reflecting on some of Bill’s ideas and offering up other approaches. David Kobierowski did an excellent job facilitating the dialogue and helped everyone’s voice get heard.
What follows are the ideas we discussed, posted here to encourage continued conversation about the new direction for city hall. Soon we will have our meetings notes and additional comments to post so that we can build an understanding of what’s needed and how to get it done.
Rebuilding Public Participation Make Public Engagement a Core Principle – Many feel that they aren’t part of decisions or that their neighborhoods pressing concerns aren’t being heard. Current participation is often too little, too late. Successful cities recognize that meaningful public engagement is the key to understanding and solving problems. Developing standard city policies to enable public participation as well as expanding the use of technology are key steps toward a solution. I will create a citizen driven commission to improve public participation throughout city government, making it more reliable, respectful and responsive.
Empower Participation in the Budget Process – In this difficult economy, it’s critically important to ensure that city services and the budget are responsive to every neighborhood. Other cities have worked to address this problem by proactively including residents in the budget process. I will bring the best practices in public budget deliberation to Austin.
Knowledge Should Serve the City – As a member of the UT faculty, I understand that the institutions of higher learning in Austin are a tremendous untapped resource. Through research, consulting, and internships we can harness the knowledge and creativity of the university community. I will actively work to involve the university community in finding solutions to the problems facing our city.
Improve Accountability at City Hall – Austin’s seven-person council faces a difficult task representing 700,000 people spread over 300 square miles. I believe that other forms of representation such as single- member districts would improve accountability and would help ensure that all communities across the city have a voice. It is also important to consider other alternatives to improving representation such as “double-member districts” or other options. Any transition to a new, more accountable system must be done with wide community support.
Embrace Diversity as Strength – Almost 50% of Austinites are members of ethnic/racial minorities. As our city grows, we should embrace the diversity, cultural enrichment and strength that comes from every resident. Each person regardless of their background should feel confident that city services are available and there to serve them. We must expand the city’s diversity training and focus on improving the ways we communicate on websites, in documents, in meetings, Channel 6 or everyday contact to reach all Austinites.
Strengthening Neighborhoods Ensure Basic Services are Met Across Every Neighborhood – Too often some neighborhoods have to wait to receive their share of the city’s basic services. We need a system that assures neighborhood service needs are planned for and a process that works with neighborhoods to generate a realistic and reliable schedule to implement that plan. I will work with the city’s service departments and neighborhood leaders to develop that system so that all voices are heard and equally considered.
Develop Neighborhood Indicators – Measuring existing conditions by neighborhood would help identify problems and opportunities to improve city service delivery. By updating these on a regular basis, they could help neighborhoods and the city better understand the conditions in their area and show how different decisions could address their problems. Good examples exist across the country which measure land use, service delivery, transportation, and the environment and other things.
Strengthen Code Enforcement – Enforcing City health and safety codes are central to protecting the quality of life in our neighborhoods. I will support the recent efforts to strengthen code enforcement and make it consistent across the community with an emphasis on neighborhood training and improving enforcement.
Bring Back the Neighborhood Academy – Described as a place “where the city learns from its citizens”, Austin’s Neighborhood Academy operated for several years. The program helped residents learn how to organize their neighborhood, develop neighborhood plans, and work with other stakeholders, including developers and the city, to understand the Land Development Code and zoning. I believe bringing back the Academy would help reduce conflicts strengthening neighborhoods and supporting planning.
Create a City-Funded Neighborhood Match Program – An Austin neighborhood match program would provide cash grants and services to neighborhoods and community organizations for small neighborhood based improvement projects. Successful for years in other cities, it’s a good way to leverage city support with community participation to improve the community in a down economy. The Neighborhood Match would be in cash, volunteer labor, or donated services or materials that would equal the city support.
Opening Government: Proactively Involve and Inform - My commitment to open government goes beyond reacting to citizen requests. I believe it is the role of council members to actively involve and inform Austinites of issues affecting them. This means letting you know what I’m doing by making my calendar open and public, and removing the buffers many citizens find between them and their public leaders by holding open office hours on a regular basis.
Full and Timely Information – I’m committed to working to make necessary information available early enough that it can be used to improve decision-making at the city. Making meetings work better by respecting the public’s time and being accessible for all residents regardless of their language, culture or disability is also a priority. Creating a public long-range council agenda would help residents better prepare to play a fuller role in city decisions.
Focus on Technology But Remember Accessibility For the Entire Community – Technology offers solutions and new ways to connect Austinites, however, because of the Digital Divide, it can’t be our only solution. Many in the community have little or no access to computers or don’t possess the skills to take advantage of web-based city services. The city must be committed to being to open and accountable to all its residents.
[...] to everyone for taking time out of your Saturday morning to attend our first community town hall. The conversation was excellent, and we plan to host more of these town halls across Austin to [...]
[...] to everyone who came to our community town hall last Saturday at Will Hampton Library. We had a great discussion, and we look forward to incorporating [...]
As promised, here are our unedited notes from the town hall meeting last week. There are some great ideas noted below and we look forward to reading your comments and continuing the dialogue.
Notes from Public Participation Town Hall
Will Hampton Library, 5125 Convict Hill Road
February 21, 2009 10:00am
________________________________________
Public Participation
1. Inconsistent communications with public interest groups
a. Lack of faith in system and participants
i. IDEA: Make webcams available at public libraries for residents to participate in council
meetings
b. Deliberate gaming of participation process
i. IDEA: Council should consistently employ rules of order on dais
ii. IDEA: Neighborhood consultations should be completed before permits issued
iii. IDEA: Neighborhoods notified once developers start lobbying staff on any issue
2. Lack of connection between city and residents
a. No active outreach to residents
i. IDEA: Push information from city’s main sources (rather than relying on residents to
simply find it on the website)
ii. IDEA: Change policies and organizational culture with regard to neighborhood and
resident outreach
b. Broad spectrum of stakeholders not engaged
i. IDEA: Provide access to “back-up” information to residents provided at board &
commission and council meetings
Neighborhoods
1. Neighborhood associations need to reach out more actively to residents
2. How to ensure proper implementation of policy
a. Board and Commissions underutilized for receiving of resident input
b. PIO ineffectively delivers information to neighborhoods and residents
c. Incumbent council members less responsive to residents’ needs than 1st term members
3. Council unaware of policy impact on neighborhood sustainability
a. Gentrification driving affordability out of reach
i. IDEA: Develop neighborhood indicators:
1. return on property tax by neighborhood
2. metrics from 1979 comprehensive plan
3. 311 data
4. Traffic data
5. School attendance
ii. IDEA: Cap on property tax for residents 65+ years of age
iii. IDEA: Need benchmarks and independent audit
b. Small businesses lack direct city servicing
4. Social services should plan to solve problems within 2 generations
i. IDEA: Think of Austin NOT as a liberal city but rather as an empowering city
Open Government
1. Local government proceedings should not always be conducted at city hall
2. Electronic voting is secretive and unverifiable
i. IDEA: Publicly finance elections
3. Difficulty of non-technological solutions to improving transparency
i. IDEA: Use billboards on roadsides to publicize government action (include website info)
ii. IDEA: Develop an economic analysis unit to review investment opportunities and ongoing
performance measurement of current investments
iii. IDEA: More public forums, use different formats (e.g., charettes)
Expectations, Trust and Follow-through
1. Concern expressed how Bill Spelman will make good on opening government
i. IDEA: Discussion forum available online at billspelman.org
ii. IDEA: Announce intentions and pledge platform
iii. IDEA: Continue neighborhood town halls after campaign concludes
Other Topics of Interest Discussed
1. Community gardens
2. The Oak Hill “Y” as opportunity for featured gateway to hill country
3. Limit staff ability to make “site corrections” without resident input
4. Recruit new people and expertise to board and commissions
5. Need to improve roadway to Oak Hill
a. William Cannon @ 290 needs trees and beautification
6. Ensure new comprehensive plan includes protection of water resources
7. Protect Williamson Creek from future development
8. Develop plain language communications from city
9. Council meeting schedule should be reliable and on a weekly basis (ie., no last minute cancelling
of meetings forcing 12-14 hour long meetings the next week)
10. Implementation of city services should match the rhetoric of the policy directive
11. Reinstate the office of dispute resolution
12. Encourage city residency for City of Austin employees
We had a great conversation with neighbors, friends and community leaders from South Austin last weekend. The Town Hall started with a 20-minute presentation by Bill of his ideas to improve public participation and to open our government to increased accountability.
Then a thoughtful and engaging discussion ensued, with participants reflecting on some of Bill’s ideas and offering up other approaches. David Kobierowski did an excellent job facilitating the dialogue and helped everyone’s voice get heard.
What follows are the ideas we discussed, posted here to encourage continued conversation about the new direction for city hall. Soon we will have our meetings notes and additional comments to post so that we can build an understanding of what’s needed and how to get it done.
Rebuilding Public Participation
Make Public Engagement a Core Principle – Many feel that they aren’t part of decisions or that their neighborhoods pressing concerns aren’t being heard. Current participation is often too little, too late. Successful cities recognize that meaningful public engagement is the key to understanding and solving problems. Developing standard city policies to enable public participation as well as expanding the use of technology are key steps toward a solution. I will create a citizen driven commission to improve public participation throughout city government, making it more reliable, respectful and responsive.
Empower Participation in the Budget Process – In this difficult economy, it’s critically important to ensure that city services and the budget are responsive to every neighborhood. Other cities have worked to address this problem by proactively including residents in the budget process. I will bring the best practices in public budget deliberation to Austin.
Knowledge Should Serve the City – As a member of the UT faculty, I understand that the institutions of higher learning in Austin are a tremendous untapped resource. Through research, consulting, and internships we can harness the knowledge and creativity of the university community. I will actively work to involve the university community in finding solutions to the problems facing our city.
Improve Accountability at City Hall – Austin’s seven-person council faces a difficult task representing 700,000 people spread over 300 square miles. I believe that other forms of representation such as single- member districts would improve accountability and would help ensure that all communities across the city have a voice. It is also important to consider other alternatives to improving representation such as “double-member districts” or other options. Any transition to a new, more accountable system must be done with wide community support.
Embrace Diversity as Strength – Almost 50% of Austinites are members of ethnic/racial minorities. As our city grows, we should embrace the diversity, cultural enrichment and strength that comes from every resident. Each person regardless of their background should feel confident that city services are available and there to serve them. We must expand the city’s diversity training and focus on improving the ways we communicate on websites, in documents, in meetings, Channel 6 or everyday contact to reach all Austinites.
Strengthening Neighborhoods
Ensure Basic Services are Met Across Every Neighborhood – Too often some neighborhoods have to wait to receive their share of the city’s basic services. We need a system that assures neighborhood service needs are planned for and a process that works with neighborhoods to generate a realistic and reliable schedule to implement that plan. I will work with the city’s service departments and neighborhood leaders to develop that system so that all voices are heard and equally considered.
Develop Neighborhood Indicators – Measuring existing conditions by neighborhood would help identify problems and opportunities to improve city service delivery. By updating these on a regular basis, they could help neighborhoods and the city better understand the conditions in their area and show how different decisions could address their problems. Good examples exist across the country which measure land use, service delivery, transportation, and the environment and other things.
Strengthen Code Enforcement – Enforcing City health and safety codes are central to protecting the quality of life in our neighborhoods. I will support the recent efforts to strengthen code enforcement and make it consistent across the community with an emphasis on neighborhood training and improving enforcement.
Bring Back the Neighborhood Academy – Described as a place “where the city learns from its citizens”, Austin’s Neighborhood Academy operated for several years. The program helped residents learn how to organize their neighborhood, develop neighborhood plans, and work with other stakeholders, including developers and the city, to understand the Land Development Code and zoning. I believe bringing back the Academy would help reduce conflicts strengthening neighborhoods and supporting planning.
Create a City-Funded Neighborhood Match Program – An Austin neighborhood match program would provide cash grants and services to neighborhoods and community organizations for small neighborhood based improvement projects. Successful for years in other cities, it’s a good way to leverage city support with community participation to improve the community in a down economy. The Neighborhood Match would be in cash, volunteer labor, or donated services or materials that would equal the city support.
Opening Government:
Proactively Involve and Inform - My commitment to open government goes beyond reacting to citizen requests. I believe it is the role of council members to actively involve and inform Austinites of issues affecting them. This means letting you know what I’m doing by making my calendar open and public, and removing the buffers many citizens find between them and their public leaders by holding open office hours on a regular basis.
Full and Timely Information – I’m committed to working to make necessary information available early enough that it can be used to improve decision-making at the city. Making meetings work better by respecting the public’s time and being accessible for all residents regardless of their language, culture or disability is also a priority. Creating a public long-range council agenda would help residents better prepare to play a fuller role in city decisions.
Focus on Technology But Remember Accessibility For the Entire Community – Technology offers solutions and new ways to connect Austinites, however, because of the Digital Divide, it can’t be our only solution. Many in the community have little or no access to computers or don’t possess the skills to take advantage of web-based city services. The city must be committed to being to open and accountable to all its residents.
[...] to everyone for taking time out of your Saturday morning to attend our first community town hall. The conversation was excellent, and we plan to host more of these town halls across Austin to [...]
[...] to everyone who came to our community town hall last Saturday at Will Hampton Library. We had a great discussion, and we look forward to incorporating [...]
As promised, here are our unedited notes from the town hall meeting last week. There are some great ideas noted below and we look forward to reading your comments and continuing the dialogue.
Notes from Public Participation Town Hall
Will Hampton Library, 5125 Convict Hill Road
February 21, 2009 10:00am
________________________________________
Public Participation
1. Inconsistent communications with public interest groups
a. Lack of faith in system and participants
i. IDEA: Make webcams available at public libraries for residents to participate in council
meetings
b. Deliberate gaming of participation process
i. IDEA: Council should consistently employ rules of order on dais
ii. IDEA: Neighborhood consultations should be completed before permits issued
iii. IDEA: Neighborhoods notified once developers start lobbying staff on any issue
2. Lack of connection between city and residents
a. No active outreach to residents
i. IDEA: Push information from city’s main sources (rather than relying on residents to
simply find it on the website)
ii. IDEA: Change policies and organizational culture with regard to neighborhood and
resident outreach
b. Broad spectrum of stakeholders not engaged
i. IDEA: Provide access to “back-up” information to residents provided at board &
commission and council meetings
Neighborhoods
1. Neighborhood associations need to reach out more actively to residents
2. How to ensure proper implementation of policy
a. Board and Commissions underutilized for receiving of resident input
b. PIO ineffectively delivers information to neighborhoods and residents
c. Incumbent council members less responsive to residents’ needs than 1st term members
3. Council unaware of policy impact on neighborhood sustainability
a. Gentrification driving affordability out of reach
i. IDEA: Develop neighborhood indicators:
1. return on property tax by neighborhood
2. metrics from 1979 comprehensive plan
3. 311 data
4. Traffic data
5. School attendance
ii. IDEA: Cap on property tax for residents 65+ years of age
iii. IDEA: Need benchmarks and independent audit
b. Small businesses lack direct city servicing
4. Social services should plan to solve problems within 2 generations
i. IDEA: Think of Austin NOT as a liberal city but rather as an empowering city
Open Government
1. Local government proceedings should not always be conducted at city hall
2. Electronic voting is secretive and unverifiable
i. IDEA: Publicly finance elections
3. Difficulty of non-technological solutions to improving transparency
i. IDEA: Use billboards on roadsides to publicize government action (include website info)
ii. IDEA: Develop an economic analysis unit to review investment opportunities and ongoing
performance measurement of current investments
iii. IDEA: More public forums, use different formats (e.g., charettes)
Expectations, Trust and Follow-through
1. Concern expressed how Bill Spelman will make good on opening government
i. IDEA: Discussion forum available online at billspelman.org
ii. IDEA: Announce intentions and pledge platform
iii. IDEA: Continue neighborhood town halls after campaign concludes
Other Topics of Interest Discussed
1. Community gardens
2. The Oak Hill “Y” as opportunity for featured gateway to hill country
3. Limit staff ability to make “site corrections” without resident input
4. Recruit new people and expertise to board and commissions
5. Need to improve roadway to Oak Hill
a. William Cannon @ 290 needs trees and beautification
6. Ensure new comprehensive plan includes protection of water resources
7. Protect Williamson Creek from future development
8. Develop plain language communications from city
9. Council meeting schedule should be reliable and on a weekly basis (ie., no last minute cancelling
of meetings forcing 12-14 hour long meetings the next week)
10. Implementation of city services should match the rhetoric of the policy directive
11. Reinstate the office of dispute resolution
12. Encourage city residency for City of Austin employees