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General City Hall News Other pages in this Folder |
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General City Hall News Other pages in this Folder |
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City Hall Out-of-touch? Opposition or support for this or that decision made by this or that city panel, like the DDA, LCC, ZBA, Ice Arena . . . Praise or criticism for this or that named official, elected or appointed . . . Arguments about downtown itself. Any chance of real revival? . . . The desirability or not for new construction . . . The "do we need any more bars" debate, of course . . . The effects of personality conflicts on CITCOM . . . Arts, Beats & Eats . . . Complaints against "whining retailers" . . . The pros and cons of professional offices at street level . . . The size of the Central Business District. The conversations were brief, even fragmented, but table-hopping that night offered a liberal education about the mood of a definite cross-section of the community -- doctors, lawyers, Indian chiefs. If there was a common thread as the eaters and drinkers agreed and disagreed it was that, as a whole, the city commission is out of touch with the community. There were chuckles of derision about "These people think they have the pulse of the residents by counting the number of pro and con emails they receive" rebutted by, "Yeah, but they'll pass a new law because one or two people complain about something." Male and female, seniors and young people, homemakers, manual workers, creative types complained that they never see their rulers (my word) at public events or civic gatherings, of which there are dozens each month in Royal Oak. Several of the conversations hit the same note: "Everybody on the Commission except Ellison and Rasor is retired. What the hell do they do in their spare time." Corrective comments like "Poulton is also a working lawyer "and "Andrzejak has not declared he's retired" and "Capello is out there, too" momentarily shifted the disappointment and anger to Drinkwine and Semchena. It would be mistaken for readers to conclude that there was nothing but bitching on Mardi Gras night. Many, most, of the public officials being lambasted are liked, even admired, as individuals. It is the execution of their official duties that is being challenged. It would be equally mistaken not to understand there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with our leaders' performance which cannot be blamed entirely on our and their concern about current economic problems. And it doesn't help that a couple of commissioners occasionally display disrespect for a couple of Public Comment speakers, admittedly gadflies, who usually have thoughtful remarks to offer. We and they can expect that the Mardi Gras night dialogue will continue for some time. Related: Transparency Committee is a bad idea I have for years encouraged transparency in government and activist Bill Shaw, who suggests that Royal Oak needs a Transparency Committee, is a colleague. I know such a committee won't work, but dialogue about transparency, too, will continue. -- FJV: 22 Feb 10 On a lighter note
Do city Goal-setting Sessions accomplish much?
I have the report of the 2006 goal-setting session attended by many of the same elected and appointed officials as those who participated this year. That report includes the Vision Statement and Mission Statement which were modified this year. There are statements like "Learn to balance the General Fund budget without transfers from Enterprise funds." and "Reach decision regarding redevelopment of City assets." and "Review the current direction of the DDA and focus efforts on meeting today's needs." Seventy-five bulleted items are listed under seven or eight headings like "Values & Guiding Principles" and "2011 Desired Outcomes." Under the latter, we have "The Commission looked to the year 2011 and identified various headlines they would like to see published about the City of Royal Oak within the next five years." Among those desired headlines: "Royal Oak has need for more schools." and "City continues to be destination for visiting/living." and "Respect the needs of all residents, businesses and visitors, all viewpoints, and the diverse needs of our community." A few of the bulleted items could easily be converted to measurable objectives, but far too many of them are simply wish-thoughts. That, I know, sounds like a blanket indictment of goal-setting sessions. Is there a better use of those many hours, too many of which are unavoidably spent writing and editing the words which will appear in the report? Yes. Hold a couple of 6-hour Working Sessions a
year. Examples:
In all of this, do not confuse urgency with importance. For one reason or another, a relatively unimportant matter may need a quick decision; that's urgency. You address the issue, make the decision, then move on to the slower-paced deliberations required of an important matter. -- FJV: 08 Feb 10Pluses and minuses
of Town Halls Asked to vote yes or no on whether the state government should provide "the seven core functions of government," the audience used their remote TV-like clicker to vote --
Some attendees identified themselves as from Troy, Pontiac, or other cities; I have seen two or three of the attendees at other similar gatherings -- lobbying especially re education in their comments. After Donigan introduced each topic, Cherry read a paragraph or two, also provided on handout material, describing the concept. He opened and closed the "ballot box "after the projected screen-counter showed that everyone voted who wished to. The count was most often in the high-40s. Vertical bar-graphs showed the yes-no result. Comments and questions were handled effectively by Donigan and Cherry, both of whom displayed a grasp of real-world context beyond partisan rhetoric. An important minus of this type of town hall is that the descriptions of the topics are such that we were being asked to vote for or against motherhood and apple pie. Although Cherry repeatedly reminded us that the purpose of the gathering was to learn whether or not we think the government should address these broad concepts of service, audience reaction immediately and almost completely focused on specifics. Sure, we're all for Education. But several comments -- probably from those who had voted no -- showed a wide range of differences about such concerns as where the money should be directed, the difference between and the relative importance of education and training, reducing the number of school districts in Michigan from the current 544. Another minus of this type of community conversation is that one need conduct no more than a dozen or so before citizen-input begins to circle, to become repetitive. That being so, it is easy to suspect that continuing to ask the same questions of thousands more is a public relations ploy, not a search for further input. The pluses? Citizens get to hear sincerely held opinions very different from their own. . . . Voters get to interact with their elected officials -- not just the presenters but also local and regional officials who attend . . . . Before and after the program, people who attend this type of gathering have conversations beyond normal small talk, more focused on local civic/political matters. This night, for example, wife Muriel and I had or overheard exchanges about the performance of our city commission -- as a whole and as individuals; the pluses and minuses of suggestions about conducting an ethics investigation; whether this or that possible candidate deserves serious consideration; about the relationship between City Hall and the School District; how seriously to take the complaints of those citizens who find Royal Oak' s lively downtown a minus, rather than a plus. Some would complain that drawing only 50 or so people to such meetings is a waste of time and money and an unwise abuse of elected officials who have more important things to do. The positive counter-argument is that the kind of people who do attend are by nature "multipliers." Their families, friends, and colleagues, most of whom admit to "not really paying attention" to civic/political developments, take their leads re public matters from those who devoted two hours of their evening to listening to Donigan and Cherry. Lt. Governor Cherry encourages voters to reach out to him: 517.373.6800 . . . ltgovcherry@michigan.gov. The meeting was held in the Gathering Place of Royal Oak Middle School. -- 04 Aug 09Royal Oak extends City Hall counter hours Royal Oak, Mich. - Effective August 3, on a trial basis, City Hall and all counters will be open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. to noon on Friday. Employees will work on Friday until 4:30 p.m. but the building will not be open to the public after noon. This change will allow counter hours to be extended to 38 hours per week instead of the current 32 hours, even though City Hall will close 30 minutes earlier every day. The counters were closed part of the day because with fewer and fewer employees departments were unable to adequately staff them. By reducing the unpaid lunch time of City Hall employees and closing the building 30 minutes earlier, we can extend counter hours,” said City Manager Donald Johnson. We believe this will better serve the public and continue to provide a productive work environment for employees. We also expect to see some savings in utility costs and with an old building like this, it could be more than expected.” Current City Hall hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., however most counters are only open Monday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.; and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Individuals who wish to make tax and water bill payments and are unable to reach City Hall by 4:30 p.m. are encouraged to use the drop box to the right of the main entrance of City Hall at 211 Williams Street, and place payment in a sealed envelope with the appropriate payment stub and address it to “Treasurer.” The new City Hall and counter hours will be evaluated by the City Commission in February 2010.
Paige comes to us from the City of Ferndale where she had 20 years of experience as Ferndale’s Senior Coordinator. She brings to Royal Oak a wealth of knowledge and experience in Senior Programming, Facility Management, C.D.B.G. funding, SMART Transportation, and the understanding of seniors needs. In her short time here, Paige and her staff have begun aggressively marketing daytime programs including Tim’s Kitchen where seniors can get a delicious lunch for $3.00. One of her short term goals is to offer more fitness and health programs including WALK MICHIGAN, WII BOWLING and a Hawaiian Luau. Residents of Royal Oak can visit Paige at the Mahany/ Meininger Senior Community Center or call 248-246-3900. -- Tod Gazetti, Recreation Director. -- 08 Apr 09 |
