It may be easy to fault the City Council for poor communication with its residents. After all, finding information on the City website is horrendously challenging, the councillors do not send out concise, informative newsletters, no regular communication system between Council and citizens exists. So the Council deserves criticism at this communication shortfall.
However, pointing the finger of blame solely at the Council is a big mistake. Residents also deserve blame for not being active recipients of information when it is offered in some way. The Mayor and some of the Councillors hold Town Halls, so poorly attended by the public, one can feel the frustration of the Mayor and Councillors at the poor attendance at these events. Calling it citizen apathy may be overstating it, but there is some validity to the application of that label to the citizens. Voter turnout numbers confirm citizen disinterest in municipal affairs. Of course, voters have other responsibilities in their lives but voting should be a planned priority and inexcusable for not voting given all the means by which a citizen can vote.
Voter turnout at town halls demonstrates the level of priority given to municipal affairs among the residents. Again, personal responsibilities can be planned and rescheduled for the hour or two needed for the Town Hall.
This Council – Community communication interaction is a two sided coin with both sides seriously at fault for its failure. Council can easily solve their end of the process. There are numerous easy and practical solutions to their communication inadequacies.
The other side of the coin, community disinterest is much more difficult to resolve. How does one prod citizenry into taking an interest how their City is governed? How do you persuade citizenry to become actively involved in policy development as offered by the City regularly? How do you convince residents that it is in their own best interest to take an hour and get involved in policy development in their own City?
The blame for poor communication between citizens and Council is two sided but the bulk of the blame falls on the residents more than the Council. Council has some communication processes in place, inferior as they may be but there is no excuse for the lack of active participation in municipal affairs for residents.
Drop the TV remote for an evening and get involved in your City government may be a justifiable clarion call to the City’s residents.
What do you think? [ Comments can be made in the REPLY BOX at the bottom of the post. ]
