LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME NEW IDEAS!
LET'S GET MOVING (AND START ENJOYING OUR NEW EVENT CENTER!) - Life Is Full Of Choices And Sometimes You Don't Like Any Of Them.
Inaction over construction problems has deprived our people of the use of their new Event Center. Difficult choices lie ahead but that does not mean we can continue to do nothing. Let's decide what needs to be done and then do it! We cannot allow this great community asset to sit idle any longer.
A CITIZEN'S ROAD REPORT - A System For Fairly Prioritizing Road Maintenance.
Folks don't mind budget cuts if they trust they are not being asked to bear a disproportionate share of the sacrifice. By using an interactive web page, road users could blog about where they think their infrastructure is suffering and offer suggestions. If the concerns are made public, all users can compare road conditions. People would then know if their road was really worse than the other guy's. The county would be kept apprised of problems as they develop and could tell people specifically where their maintenance efforts are being spent, bringing transparency to the process.
TAKE THE MEETING TO THE PEOPLE! - Get The Commissioners Out To See The Problem And Hear The People.
Citizen participation and input is the key to good decision making. Commissioner meetings need not be confined to the courthouse! Instead, we can have the meetings where affected people live. For instance, if the issue concerns the Upton area, let's move the meeting to Upton. Bring the meeting to the people to increase commissioners' familiarity and boost citizen involvement!
MAKE COUNTY MEETINGS PART OF THE SCHOOL CIVICS CURRICULUM - Create Student Interest In Local Government.
Creating informed and engaged citizens was an original purpose of public education in the United States but today, only a third of Americans can name all three branches of government. What can we do? Let's cooperate with our educators to schedule discussion of interesting and appropriate agenda items at the schools! Without costing an additional dime, the commission can stimulate youth interest in self-government. Our children are our future!