5. Please address the role of citizens in government in the City of Frederick, including: a. Your view of the role of NACs and funding for NACs; NAC is a vital resource linking the voice of each NAC area and its citizens to the City, the Mayor, Aldermen, and the various City of Frederick departments, including the FPD. NAC scheduled meetings provide information about transportation changes such as bridge work, road closings, signal changes, etc. by City representatives. Police reports for each NAC area give a good indication where police resources and efforts should be concentrated within the City. NAC meetings give a venue to each and every citizen to voice their concerns about zoning issues, crime, etc. There is no other format that can provide the link of partnership between citizens and Frederick City officials to work together for an improved, strong City of Frederick. Funding for NAC should be on a case by case basis, as requested by each NAC neighborhood. That was the original intent of the City, and should remain that way. b. Your view of the role of commissions and boards, and the weight that the mayor and aldermen should give findings and recommendations by these commissions and boards; Commissions and boards are extremely important because they are comprised of dedicated citizens that want the best for Frederick City. Their recommendations should carry weight with the Mayor and Board of Aldermen because, generally, each board and commission is comprised of a broad array of citizens. Whether professionals, business, or residential, each provides a different point of view, and a consensus is built to provide solutions and answers to issues confronting the City. b. Strategies to increase citizen involvement. To assist the Mayor and Alderman in making sound decisions for the City, citizen involvement is vital to NAC, but NAC organizers are also the key to success. NAC organizers know their neighborhood and have the tools to reach out to citizens if there are issues of immediacy that needed to be addressed. NAC organizers also have the contacts to alert elected officials when there are urgent problems. For these reasons, the selection and appointment of NAC organizers made by the Mayor are important. If the right organizers are appointed for each NAC area, I wouldn’t sweat the attendance numbers at the NAC meetings. The important thing is that the NAC framework is in place, and that citizens know that they have a point of contact. If a problem arises, increased attendance at NAC meetings will follow. That is can be substantiated by the minutes of NAC meetings. The one NAC area where increased citizen attendance would be a really positive sign would be in the Golden Mile area because of the magnitude of the problems to be dealt with. The Golden Mile Alliance does a great job with outreach to the Hispanic community through events and forums. NAC in that area should maximize its outreach to connect with a growing constituency in the City.
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 01:54:32 +0000
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