Response to Vincent Murray's email

My response to Vincent Murray's email.

Mr Murray:

Thank you for your detailed letter in response to my earlier email to the Town Council and Mr Alfred. My email was not about how the town currently supports participation -- I have a fairly good knowledge of this -- but how the town's administration manages its day to day activities. What tools and what processes does it use to do this. How does the Planning Department or the Parks and Recreation Department track what it has to do, who is doing it, what are the documents needed and the documents produced, etc. Having a better understanding of the tools and processes will make any suggestions or recommendations I have as to how to increase public awareness informed and, I very much hope, beneficial.

I understand that my concept of civic participation is different than is generally seen. For me, participation starts with awareness. For example, a townsman might ask "Why is there a concrete mixing truck sitting at the end of my driveway?". An online neighborhood (geo-location) search of the town's records would show the building permits in the area. Within this list of building permits the townsman would have an answer to the question. This is re-actionary awareness. There is also pro-actionary awareness where, for example, the same townsman would register interest in any town activity with his neighborhood: This would include, building permits, planning applications, zoning change applications, maintenance to town water lines, maintenance to town sewer lines, burn permits, etc. The full wealth of what can be done (and done at little monetary cost) is only hinted at here.

To this end, I am less interested in (open) meetings and more interested in (open) records.

So much of citizen awareness is either 1) after the fact or 2) far too late in the process to substantively change. Replacing the Financial Town Meeting with the new budget process addresses point 2. I want to address point 1. How can we make citizens aware as soon as possible of administrative activities in which they have an interest? During the planning of the new budget process I questioned how the administration was going to get the people to attend when attendance at any public meeting except the FTM was negligible. Without attendance the new budget process is less inclusive and participatory than the FTM.

I know that this can be achieved and that now is a good time to take the first steps. A first step is analysis. This should be a joint analysis by citizens and administrators but I know that this would require a more formal approach. At this time I am just looking to help give better shape to my concept of citizen awareness that is compelling enough to motivate the council (and the school committee) to include in their its goals (and support in the budget) enabling the first steps.

I would very much like to sit down with you rather than continue the conversation via email. When are you available next week to meet?

-- Andrew