How Active Are You

[jamespowers]

Attending a local BZA meeting last night made me wonder how many people are actually aware of what goes on behind the curtain of local government. The question comes to mind---How active are you locally?
This isn't about specific issues or politics but about participation in a process. You know what they say: you can't complain if you don't get involved in what is happening around you.
My grandparents did and in the Golden Era it was likely more common to get involved. I just wonder how common it is now.

Regards,

J

 

[Samsa]

I am most certainly not active in local government. When I was younger I was forced to attend some of the meetings for some merit badge or other, but that was it for me. I remember them being pretty petty and uninformative. Out here they are televised, and it's mind numbing to watch more than a few minutes. Then again, I live in a rather wealthy suburban community where the biggest squabbles involve whether or not to build a gazebo in the park.

Does this mean politics are back?

 

[jamespowers]

I am most certainly not active in local government. When I was younger I was forced to attend some of the meetings for some merit badge or other, but that was it for me. I remember them being pretty petty and uninformative. Out here they are televised, and it's mind numbing to watch more than a few minutes. Then again, I live in a rather wealthy suburban community where the biggest squabbles involve whether or not to build a gazebo in the park.

Does this mean politics are back?

No, politics aren't back. Participation is what I was interested in.
I understand the forced to thing though. I was as well when I was in school. It can get contentious and boring talking about the same thing for 2 1/2 hours and arguing over a slash versus an and. :eusa_doh:

Regards,

J

 

[LizzieMaine]

I covered municipal government for many years when I was in radio, and I noticed something interesting about the way local governments tended to operate: they'd stack the first part of the agenda with the most mind-numbing, tedious matters and by doing so would discourage any but the hardiest and most determined souls from sticking around thru the whole meeting. The really significant issues would always be put at the end of the agenda, by which time most people had either left or fallen asleep. I, of course, stayed to the bitter end -- got a lot of good stories that way.

Nowadays, though, I have to admit I never go to City Council meetings. I do vote -- always, every election -- but I sat thru so many of those meetings for so long when I had to that I just can't bear to do it anymore...

 

[jamespowers]

I covered municipal government for many years when I was in radio, and I noticed something interesting about the way local governments tended to operate: they'd stack the first part of the agenda with the most mind-numbing, tedious matters and by doing so would discourage any but the hardiest and most determined souls from sticking around thru the whole meeting. The really significant issues would always be put at the end of the agenda, by which time most people had either left or fallen asleep. I, of course, stayed to the bitter end -- got a lot of good stories that way.

Nowadays, though, I have to admit I never go to City Council meetings. I do vote -- always, every election -- but I sat thru so many of those meetings for so long when I had to that I just can't bear to do it anymore...

lol lol lol You know, nothing has changed since you last covered a meeting and even geography didn't make a difference.

 

[CharlieH.]

Being as good as invisible in just about every concievable walk of society, I seldom participate in anything. Really...

 

[Harry Pierpont]

Country life

We live in a very small town, we don't have any city government. We go by county rules, etc. But myself and my two boys are on the volunteer/ paid-on-call fire department. That's as close as we get to local government.

 

[Lincsong]

The people that are on Planning Commissions, Board of Zoning Adjustments, etc. are just hack buddies of those who appoint them. You could pull three guys off of a chicken coop building crew and get a more intelligent conversation concerning; construction, landscape asthetics, and zoning issue.:rage:

 

[PastimeSteve]

I've been involved in municipal government public relations for nearly 15 years, so by profession, I'm heavily involved. I can say this, local governments are only as strong and effective as the citizens behind them.

Common complaints in cities -- from economic development to growth to crime to traffic congestion -- could be addressed more efficiently if more taxpayers got involved in public meetings, commissions, etc. Unfortunately, I've seen little motivation from people to take time out to get involved in a constructive manner. And, if they do, it's often too late and emotions have taken over civil discourse.

I guess it's easier to complain, and I'm often just as guilty as anyone, probably because it's part of the job to be around it all the time.

I do disagree with the comment that local council-appointed commissions are stacked with "hacks." I've known a lot of these people over the years and I admire the time they take out of their jobs and away from their families to give back. They are often the most direct and responsive linkage to the taxpayer. Sure, there are a few hacks, but I'd like to think it's not common.

Steve

 

[Lincsong]

You need to come on down to probably the longest running political machine in California; San Leandro. Still run behind the scenes by 93 year old Jack Maltester and all his cronies and hacks. The members of the Boards and Commissions spend most of their time trying to act like their titles are meaningful, but all they do is impede progress, economic development and continue to perpetuate crime, lawlessness and high taxes.

 

[panamag8or]

I don't go to meetings, but I do watch the replays on the local government channel, when I come across one.

I am also applying for one of the vacant spots on the county historic commission.

 

[Twitch]

Lincsong I sure can tell you're a Californian too. I've always found it amazing that the legislators in Sacramento are perpetually at odds with every governor from any party on all issues. Where else does a whole state operate without a budget for up to 30-60 days while the childish legislators have hissy fits and won't pass it to spite the governor?lol

 

[GoldLeaf]

I covered municipal government for many years when I was in radio, and I noticed something interesting about the way local governments tended to operate: they'd stack the first part of the agenda with the most mind-numbing, tedious matters and by doing so would discourage any but the hardiest and most determined souls from sticking around thru the whole meeting. The really significant issues would always be put at the end of the agenda, by which time most people had either left or fallen asleep. I, of course, stayed to the bitter end -- got a lot of good stories that way.

Nowadays, though, I have to admit I never go to City Council meetings. I do vote -- always, every election -- but I sat thru so many of those meetings for so long when I had to that I just can't bear to do it anymore...

lol Too funny, Lizzie. We are the opposite here. We put the important stuff first, because we have so much public participation that often the end of the agendas get cut off. Meetings often go to 10 or 11 at night. So, since I am planning staff, if I want my item to actually get considered by the Board of Commissioners or the Planning Board, I try to get it on early

Our boards here are highly educated, one is the Dean of the UNC Law School and several are professors in related fields to the boards they sit on. Here, the boards are a bit prestigious, so folks want to be on them to feel ... what ever it is they are seeking. The problem with these highly educated people on our boards is that they end up debating everything. :eusa_doh: And they want tons of information about everything, and studies. Lot of studies. And commissions to study the effects on ground water if a gnat sneezes. lol

 

[MagistrateChris]

Well, if you look at the photo, you can see I'm kind of involved in government functions...lol lol lol

Beyond my day job, I do a lot with my city's parks and recreation department, Scouting, and a few other organizations.

 

[Big Man]

We live in a very small town, we don't have any city government. We go by county rules, etc. But myself and my two boys are on the volunteer/ paid-on-call fire department. That's as close as we get to local government.

I knew there was something I liked about you. I've been in our local volunteer fire/rescue department for almost 30 years. Our department is governed by a Board of Directors (I'm on that, too). The BoD oversees the budget and are the elected representatives of the people in the fire district. This is government at its best - people making decisions through their elected representatives. Because we're relatively small (our district covers about 50 square miles), the actions of the elected board members can be seen easily by the people of the fire district.

This thread comes at an interesting time, as I will be going before our County Commissioners tomorrow night to state our department's/board's/community's displeasure in the Commissioners cutting our fire budget without any discussion. It's a long story, but in short the people of the district voted to levy a fire tax upon themselves. In my memory, the County Commission has never put their hands into the fire tax. We now have a bunch of Commissioners who want to "cut taxes", so they are cutting the fire tax. This sounds good, but it's a tax that the County never receives, only the fire department. So, by "cutting the fire tax" the Commissioners can look good to the people and not have to do anything that actually will impact the county budget.

sometimes politics, especially small town politics, is full of dirty rotten scoundrels. This is why it is important to be involved.

 

[jamespowers]

sometimes politics, especially small town politics, is full of dirty rotten scoundrels. This is why it is important to be involved.

You can say that again---10 times.

 

[SpitfireXIV]

i was very involved in local politics a few years back, when major decisions about developments, and a major road widening were being being considered.

it involved long and tedious board meetings; some went until 1 AM at times! we formed a PAC (political action committee) and wrote newsletters and went door to door having petitions signed, etc... the board at the time was a bunch of lackeys that didn't have (in our estimation) their constituents' best interests in mind, judging by the decisions they were making. so, we got them voted out... it was a very close run thing, but we got good people on the village board! it wasn't a pretty fight; people opposing the incumbents found their houses and cars vandalized! :rage:

fast-forward 5 years later: a road was widened, without making it a super-highway, nor condemning homes on boths sides, and so far, any new developments have had minimal impact on the schools, but bring in some serious revenues.

now board meetings are primarily about aesthetics (colour of roofs, etc for new businesses) and things of that caliber. so, i can kick back and watch from a distance how things go in town... it's nice to be in our little town again

but, i have my little black book of all the officials' numbers in town, so they better beware!

 

[Lincsong]

Lincsong I sure can tell you're a Californian too. I've always found it amazing that the legislators in Sacramento are perpetually at odds with every governor from any party on all issues. Where else does a whole state operate without a budget for up to 30-60 days while the childish legislators have hissy fits and won't pass it to spite the governor?lol

Well, if we were paid $170,000 a year for doing nothing substantive, we too may get a bloated ego and believe that all society should worship at our feet. The sad part of it is, say in this burg, we have to place at least 5000 fliers on people's doors and hope we can motivate 300 people to call in protest. On the Assembly and Senate level, it would take at least 100,000 fliers on doors to get these hacks to move in the correct direction.:rage:

 

[jamespowers]

Well, if we were paid $170,000 a year for doing nothing substantive, we too may get a bloated ego and believe that all society should worship at our feet. The sad part of it is, say in this burg, we have to place at least 5000 fliers on people's doors and hope we can motivate 300 people to call in protest. On the Assembly and Senate level, it would take at least 100,000 fliers on doors to get these hacks to move in the correct direction.:rage:

And let us tell you, that is a lot of shoe leather.
$170,000 a year plus bribes and being on the take. Where do I sign up? :eusa_doh:

Regards,

J

 

[Lincsong]

I knew there was something I liked about you. I've been in our local volunteer fire/rescue department for almost 30 years. Our department is governed by a Board of Directors (I'm on that, too). The BoD oversees the budget and are the elected representatives of the people in the fire district. This is government at its best - people making decisions through their elected representatives. Because we're relatively small (our district covers about 50 square miles), the actions of the elected board members can be seen easily by the people of the fire district.

This thread comes at an interesting time, as I will be going before our County Commissioners tomorrow night to state our department's/board's/community's displeasure in the Commissioners cutting our fire budget without any discussion. It's a long story, but in short the people of the district voted to levy a fire tax upon themselves. In my memory, the County Commission has never put their hands into the fire tax. We now have a bunch of Commissioners who want to "cut taxes", so they are cutting the fire tax. This sounds good, but it's a tax that the County never receives, only the fire department. So, by "cutting the fire tax" the Commissioners can look good to the people and not have to do anything that actually will impact the county budget.

sometimes politics, especially small town politics, is full of dirty rotten scoundrels. This is why it is important to be involved.

Fascinating story. Over here there is a part of the County that has a "Fire Protection District" which is supposed to cover that area. However, they hire firemen from a neighboring city to man their department and the city sends the Fire District a bill.[huh] What's the use of this?????:rage: