Opinion: Time to improve community participation
By Scott Valentine
I recently wrote an article that highlighted a need for greater community involvement in city issues and I specifically cited the younger generation as being too busy and apathetic to get involved, and the older generation for not appreciating the value of new ideas and welcoming change. I applaud all of you who are doing your part to create positive improvements for our community regardless of age or qualifications. Of course everyone realizes I oversimplified my comments for effect. I’m not age-ist. I am trying to illustrate that change on all sides, and on all accounts is necessary.
Scott Valentine
I openly welcome praise and criticism of my last article (or even this one). My intent is to incite action from those who feel they are underrepresented, be it our youth, members of our Latino community, or even those in our progressive older population who are tired of being lumped in with the people who are fine leaving our town the way it is. The barrage of emails and phones calls I received all had a common theme: People said, “You’re right, I recognize we have a problem, what next, and how do I get more involved?” Excellent. Where do we begin?
I’m not claiming to have all the answers, but here are just a few suggestions:
Move City Council meetings to nights. If Sacramento can conduct all of their council business from 6 to 9pm, why can’t we? This would hopefully accomplish three things: 1) it would force city staff and council to be more efficient with their time (yes, we could all benefit from that), 2) it would allow a vastly different demographic to run for City Council at the next election, and 3) it would allow people the opportunity to participate in city issues after work, thereby increasing the likelihood of public involvement and community guided decision-making. Of course I understand that we live in a town where a lot of people work at night and we wouldn’t be satisfying all groups. We also run the risk of people not showing up anyways, no matter what time it is … it’s Tahoe, people are recreating and working three jobs and will most likely be too tired to care at the end of the day … but it might be worth a shot.
Paid positions. If you want even a more radical approach, maybe we should think about paying our council. We are a small town with a small budget and this might not be feasible, but if this was someone’s full-time job instead of a volunteer position we might be able to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time. It would also open the doors for a different pool of applicants when election time rolls around. Someone who is trying to raise a family while holding down multiple jobs might see this as a way to live their Tahoe lifestyle and make positive contributions to the community at the same time. Could it also lead to abuse of taxpayer funds … maybe … you’d have to weigh the options.
Get informed. If we seriously want to create community improvements that are based upon public involvement and input, information dissemination is probably the most important part of the equation. We need a “one-stop-shop” for all of our favorite Tahoe issues. Posting on the city website or on Lake Tahoe News is not enough. There needs to be a site where you can instantly see a community calendar of events and important meetings that are happening regionwide. Ideally, it would be a place where you could log in, select the issues that are most important to you, and be instantly emailed/Tweeted/Facebooked about upcoming events. It would be great if the information came to you and was catered to your interests. TahoeFuture.org can help keep you informed. It was initially created to provide information on the TRPA Regional Plan Update and it has since been adapted to serve community needs and provide information on Tahoe issues. Hopefully, we will soon see some survey based functions so that our decision-makers can use the same site to see how the public feels about particular issues, thereby guiding them on how they should vote and create policy. Get informed. Get involved. Visit TahoeFuture.org.
Contact your representatives. I was recently appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission and I hope to get your input so that we can guide the development of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Help improve our quality of life, increase connectivity, and build a greater sense of community through our recreation facilities and events. Guide this master plan so that it reflects your future desires. I look forward to hearing from you so that we can better serve the needs of our residents and our visitors. valentine@ltcc.edu
Contact the city. If you have other great ideas on how to inspire or improve community participation (or you would like to get involved yourself), you can always contact our City Council or the city manager directly. They actually listen. We live in a small town. A lot is possible if you put forth the effort.
Change is a product of your involvement. Well focused complaints are OK, positive action is even better. Show you are proud of where you live and you are ready to do something about it. Shovel the sidewalk in front of your business, go to a public meeting, write an informed letter to Council, pick up the trash or the dog poop on your favorite trail, fix your dilapidated sign, tell a tourist where the best restaurants are, volunteer with TAMBA to build some mountain bike jumps, or show Chris Brackett that you are ready to take him on in the next Christmas light competition. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you are unqualified or inexperienced. You are capable of effecting positive change on a variety of levels. Our town is waiting.
Scott Valentine is the head of the Earth Science Department at Lake Tahoe Community College.
Yes – some common sense, focused ideas instead of the usual grumbling we so often see. The only idea I question here is the full time paid council position – I can see the more powerful interests managing to stack the Council even further that way. But there should be some partial, smaller payment for the time spent.
I hope this starts the ball rolling. There is no panacea, but it starts with attitude and initiative. Keep it up, Scott. I like it when people put their money where their mouth is. Are you listening City Manager and Council members?
Years ago the Council always had their meetings at night and had a lot of people that came and voiced their concerns, but many times the meetings ran late and there was to much local participation so they started meeting during the day when the people were at work and then they had no people show up and they could do as they pleased. and now we have a poorly run City, going down the drain.
If it was put to a vote of the people when they wanted the Council meetings, it would be at night.
I also agree with Not Born on the Bayou
Very well written article, Thank you Scott
Scott, Congratulations on getting on a city commission. You are actually doing something and not just talking about it. That is so refreshing.
Now do some homework. Council meetings were at night and they were no better attended. Do you think people will drive at night in a snowstorm, leave dinner with their families who they didn’t see all day or extend their day? Then there is city staff who must be paid OT because they can’t work a flex shift because the rest of the public expects them to be available during normal business hours. And there are still all of the other meetings council go to that are during the day. Being on council is more than two meetings a month.
Where will the money come from to pay council more than $400/plus health benefits each month? And what will they do to earn that pay? And would you really stop your career for at least four years to be on the council?
You included your work email. The community college. Does your boss know you are doing personal work on company time? Because as a taxpayer — the one paying your salary and your ultimate boss — I have a huge problem with this. So, now your ethics are questionable.
Community calendars only work if people contribute to them. If you want to be notified only of events that interest you, sign up with those organizations. LTN also has a revamped calendar you might want to check out.
Scott, I wish you good luck. But not only do we need people with passion, we need experience, people with history, and those who aren’t in City Politics 101, like you clearly are based on your two columns.
Been a lot of progress on the little things such as snow removal on sidewalks, community involvement on mtn. Bike trails, ect… Still a long way to go to be at a much better level. If you don’t drive, look at what sidewalks/pathways are not at an acceptable level, and ask yourself, why is it like this? Trout creek to the Y is scheduled for sidewalk work this summer if I remember correctly. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” John F. Kennedy(hopefully I got that right).
According to at least 1 person who has been a council member, being on the city council is a 20-40 hour a week experience.
Info – Don’t feel so conflicted. Tax dollars pay my salary, but we are highly encouraged at the Community College to do public outreach and community service. Not only am I spending time on the Parks and Rec Commission, but I also do work for the Tahoe Bikal Institute, Explore Tahoe, and the US Forest Service among others for no additional compensation. That’s what being on salary means. I suppose I could be off skiing with the same amount of time I spend on these outside activities…and some people would question those ethics…but being able to check my work email 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world allows me to be highly efficient with my time so that I can work a 40+ hour a week job, represent the public on a commission, attend public meetings, and give back to the community all at my own discretion so long as it does not conflict with with my other college duties. Don’t feel bad about what your tax money is being spent on. A lot of it ends up back in the community we all care about.
I hate to tell you Scott, our elected officials and city manager do listen if the citizen’s thoughts happened to coincide. Otherwise forget it. Check out the VRO and how the ordinary bloke got no say so, not to mention the millions of dollars in uncollected TOT and extreme lack of enforcement of the ordinance provisions. Remember also, the brilliant idea to turn our city into one huge RDA or no preformance bond on the “hole in the ground.” These were monster failings and the same people are in charge.
When you become a member of the power structure watch how fast your views change. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Don’t forget it. And you are not above it.
Let’s hear some real specifics and how you will pay for them. Maybe raise TOT and room tax to 12% and then really attempt to collect it. Just spent 16% on room tax in Orange County.
Scott, has the cat got your typing hand? Waiting for your uplifting response to the nonsense I wrote above.