Based on your feedback at house party and town hall events over the last few months, we’re introducing our first major policy proposal. We’ll follow up over the next few weeks with more policy ideas as well.
As Bill has said throughout this campaign, meaningful citizen participation in government decision making is crucial to making our city work for all the people of our community. Thank you for taking the time to offer your feedback.
Rebuild Public Participation
Make Public Engagement a Core Principle. Many feel that they aren’t part of decisions or that their neighborhood’s 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.
Focus on feedback. When the public is consulted, it’s presumably because community ideas and concerns can improve the quality of city services. But too often the city doesn’t close the loop, explaining how public input did (or did not) change the city’s decisions. Everyone who participates in city decision making has a right to know whether and how their participation made a difference.
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 a 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 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.
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Strengthen Neighborhoods
Ensure basic services are delivered in 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 neighborhoods get their fair share.
Develop neighborhood indicators. Measuring existing conditions in each neighborhood would help identify problems and opportunities to improve city service delivery. To ensure applicability, we should update the measures on a regular basis and make them the primary basis for service delivery decision making. Cities around the country have provided good examples of ways to measure both current conditions and levels of city services.
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 matching program. An Austin neighborhood matching 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’s share could be in cash, volunteer labor, or donated services or materials that would equal the city support.
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Open 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.
Provide 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. We also need to make meetings work better, by respecting the public’s time and being accessible to all residents regardless of their language, culture or disability. Creating a public long-range council agenda would help residents better prepare to play a fuller role in city decisions.
Focus on technology but ensure accessibility for all. Technology offers solutions and new ways to connect many Austinites. But 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.
[...] Notes – 1st Town Hall • Notes – 2nd Town [...]