July Roundtable - Community Engagement

As part of my ongoing series of roundtable discussions on issues important to the Second Ward, I will be hosting a forum on community engagement. It will be held on Tuesday, July 25th from 7-9pm at Brackett Park, 2728 39th Ave S.

In the months ahead the City Council will consider ways to improve citizen participation. At the same time, many neighborhood organizations are struggling to survive and the future of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program is in question. We will be discussing these and other important questions:

· How can we involve more people in City decisions?
· How can the City better support neighborhood organizations in their important work?
· How will citizen participation efforts and neighborhood groups be funded in the future?
· How can neighborhoods better support the work of City Hall?
· How can we all be more inclusive of those who too often go underrepresented in our meetings?

Here are some links to check out from the City and outside groups, with some good ideas and guidlines for Civic Participation:

Minneapolis Citizen Participation Program Guidlines
Center for Neighborhoods State of the Neighborhoods Address
Center for Neighborhoods Cultural Diversity and Inclusiveness ideas

And here's what a couple of other cities around the country are doing: see Los Angeles.

I hope to see you there on the 25th to discuss these and other ideas and issues regarding civic participation. After all, effective communication between local government and residents is essential to everything we hope to do together.