Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-16-08 workshop agenda — reading text

multiple jurisdictions is a longstanding challenge that is becoming ever more critical —and perplexing —as metropolitan areas continue to sprawl farther from the urban core. Previous model charters have addressed this only as a matter of intergovernmental relations. The eighth edition seeks to promote the value of regional integration through a number of new provisions. City governments are encouraged to find ways to cooperate and enter into agreements with each other; the city manager has the responsibility to " encourage and provide staff support for regional and intergovernmental cooperation" and to include in the capital program " a commentary on how the plan addresses the sustainability of the community and the region of which it is a part." 71  Finally, elected officials and administrators should take into account how the comprehensive plan and zoning and other land use ordinances relate to regional plans. In sum, the eighth edition of the Model City Charter seeks to promote the values of local self - governance, centralization, representative democracy, responsible professionalism —the bedrock values of reform —along with political leadership ( or executive democracy in mayor -council cities), representativeness, citizen participation, and regional integration. Each of these values is important and has adherents who might claim that one should be given precedence of the others. Over the course of its revision the Model City Charter has incorporated an expanding range of values and provided for balance among them. Political leadership by the mayor should not undermine representative democracy. Citizen participation should not undermine representative democracy and the responsibility of all elected officials for setting the course of government. Changes to strengthen political leadership and representativeness should not infringe on responsible professionalism. The smoothing out of the governmental process through centralization and clear assignment of authority should not preclude effective citizen participation and neither should citizen participation lead to a fragmentation of governmental authority. The effort to promote the integration of a single city with its urban region does not mean the abandonment of local self -governance. Indeed, increased cooperation can contribute to the redefinition of " local" and " self-governance" in a world of blurring boundaries. With a wider range of values to consider, the challenge of preventing contradictions among them increases, but the Model Charter offers guidance in doing so. The eighth edition is the current statement about what values are important in local government and how to promote them in a balanced, mutually reinforcing way. James H. Svara James H. Svara is Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at North Carolina State University and served as a member of the Model City Charter Revision Committee that developed the Eighth Edition. In mayor -council cities, the dominant value continued to be " executive democracy," i. e., a reliance on the elected chief executive to be the primary force in policy- making. 72  CITIZEN -BASED GOVERNMENT: A PROCESS TO ENGAGE CITIZENS IN CHARTER REVISION In simpler times, when it became apparent that the city charter needed attention, whether a quick maintenance check or a major overhaul, the mayor or city council would turn to the small group of steadfast civic leaders that had the time and inclination to take part in a charter commission. This group was pretty recognizable to the community. They were the acknowledged community leaders that willingly and regularly stepped into the public space to make decisions on. citizens' behalf. More recently, jurisdictions have begun to hold public meetings to apprise citizens of proposed Y changes developed by charter commissions. While some of these efforts genuinely seek citizen m feedback, more often they are perfunctory gatherings for telling citizens what has already been decided. However, the emerging challenges confronting our communities call into question the adequacy of these methods for revising city charters. The latest edition of the Model City Charter reflects the importance of citizen participation in the governance of communities, including involvement in the revision of a city' s charter. The increasing diversity of communities across the country, the impact of civic infrastructure on collective governance capacity, and the need for citizen education and buy -in for the charter reform process to be successful make citizen participation in charter revision essential. Diversity With our cities and towns becoming increasingly diverse, ensuring that government is of the people, by the people and for the people is becoming more problematic. Today, the challenge for many jurisdictions across the country is to reform government structure and practice in a manner that reflects the needs and aspirations of everyone in the community. This is best accomplished by involving as broad a cross -section of the people and perspectives in a community as possible. Civic Infrastructure Over the last several years, a growing body of research has documented a decline in citizen trust and participation in formal and informal political and governmental activities. To some, these findings indicate that citizens just don' t care about public life the way they used to. But a deeper and more plausible analysis is that citizens don' t believe that their participation in politics and government will result in significant changes. They don' t think they have any power within the system as currently configured and therefore opt to focus their energies elsewhere. Perfunctory town hall meetings that communicate to citizens an already developed set of ideas or policies exemplify the kind of approach that drives citizens away from public life. City leaders must develop methods for enhancing meaningful citizen involvement. Perhaps the most fundamental way to do this is to involve citizens in structuring the government that is closest to them. Citizen Education Many people simply don' t know how government works. They aren' t aware of the opportunities that are available to citizens to impact a policy or problem in their community or they don' t have the confidence to navigate what can appear to be a very complex system. Direct involvement in reforming government not only helps to create a governing structure that reflects citizens' needs, it also educates them about the manner in which government works and prepares the way for future participation. 73 Citizen Buy -In . There are countless examples in which well- conceived changes to a city charter make their way onto the ballot only to be rejected by the voters. In some cases this occurs because citizens simply don' t understand the need for or the potential impact of the change and therefore vote against it. , Another obstacle arises when a small but well- organized interest group mounts a campaign against a proposed revision. While their opinions may not accurately reflect the sensibility of most citizens, such groups can often develop and deliver a message that prevents passage of the proposed reform. In both cases, the missing element is a deeper understanding among citizens of the importance of the revision. It' s not enough to invest in radio and TV ads or rely on a few op -ed articles to inform people about the issue. The best chance of getting charter changes accepted is to involve many in the discussion, that reflect their ideas, and educate participants ,. people develop reforms throughout the process about the deeper impact of the proposed changes. In this manner, support for charter revisions is developed over the course of the revision process and the chances that special interest groups can derail the proposed reforms are held in check. In the following pages, a new model for revising a city charter is proposed. This model is based on the notion that citizens have both the right and the ability to be integrally involved in shaping the structure of their local government. Specific process steps for developing a citizen -owned charter revision effort are advanced and examples of successful reform efforts are detailed. Citizen Engagement in Charter Revision A credible citizen engagement process for charter revision contains three basic stages: an initiating stage, a citizen engagement stage, and an enactment stage. The initiating stage focuses on the design of the process for charter revision. It is usually driven by a steering committee and focuses on the process, not the content, of the charter revision. The citizen engagement stage brings together a diverse group of citizens to analyze the current charter and make recommendations for change. The As this enactment stage focuses on the formal electoral process used to pass charter revisions. process may differ in each community, it is not discussed in great detail here. Initiatin Stage This first step in designing a city charter reform process is to review the existing regulations governing charter revision. This should occur before the steering committee is formed because, in many instances, the mayor or council is required to appoint a commission to revise the charter. The process for selecting a commission should be designed to ensure significant citizen involvement. As in any community engagement effort, a citizen -based charter revision process will require a steering committee of 15 to 20 people that represents the diverse interests of the community. The composition of the steering committee should be guided by the need to represent three important perspectives. The committee should include both some of the traditional leaders of the community and some of the emerging voices. As the charter is the blueprint for the city government, it is important that the committee include key experts who possess practical knowledge about how local government functions. Citizen representation that reflects community diversity in terms of ethnic composition, gender, age, income level, and other key characteristics is also an essential component for ensuring a balanced deliberative process. 74  The steering committee is not responsible for developing the content of the proposed changes. Its charge is to facilitate the development of a credible citizen engagement process that will formulate recommendations for change. Specifically, this group will be responsible for the following tasks: Design the community engagement process. The steering committee is responsible for developing and refining a process that works best for their community. Considerations such as timeframe, local events, and customs will impact design of the citizen engagement stage. Recruit stakeholders to participate. In order to develop recommendations for change that reflect the ideas of many citizens, it is critical to invite people of various interests and perspectives to participate in the analysis of the existing charter. It is recommended