Yesterday I was too tired to blog, today I have a stomach ache.I have not been getting enough sleep or exercise in the past couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, my thoughts are on the remaining 10 City Council meetings in 2013. What will it take to get a little more civic engagement from Plainfielders? If you attend or watch the meetings on television regularly, you will see a mix of people making the same speech month after month along with others who have read the agenda packet and have specific concerns or comments for the elected officials who will be voting on resolutions and ordinances. It's a free country; both kinds of expression are allowed, but perhaps those focusing on the matters at hand have the edge in relevance.
You, the citizens, voted for those who sit in the council seats. Do you care which ones are paying attention and contributing constructively to the legislative process? Some do, while others ramble or seldom have anything to say. They are your representatives - you can call them to account.
There are council members who use blogs to inform constituents on important votes. All seven have their phone numbers and e-mail posted on the city web site. Each meeting also has a portion for general public comment. Have you ever raised a concern to your representatives? The council also held four Town Meetings, one in each ward, to hear from citizens. Did you attend?
Maybe you have contacted the administration about a problem. Or are you among those who say, "It's a waste of time" or "Nothing will happen." As a resident, it is in your best interest to learn more about City Hall and the departments and divisions relevant to your concern and then to pursue results. There are about 500 public employees who ultimately report to you, the citizen, through the channels of government.
The city web site might well be your first stop in learning about who is in charge of what. Take a look around. The City Clerk's office has a public computer where you can file public information requests or just become more familiar with the parts of government. If you go to City Hall to pay taxes, take an extra minute to go across the hall to visit the Clerk's office, where information is also posted on a bulletin board for the public.
The League of Women Voters used to publish "This Is Plainfield," about city government and other resources. The last one was published in 1982 and the closest thing to it now is the city web site. It is there for your use, so take a look, bookmark it, browse when you have time and check the posted schedules for meetings you may want to attend. Government is supposed to be a contact activity - become engaged!
--Bernice
Thank you, Bernice, for trying to get more people involved.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone realize that Tracy Brown attended NOT ONE budget meeting, and yet voted on how to spend YOUR money, obviously not understanding the process or what was happening. Do you care?
Does anyone in Wards 1 and 4 care that Vera Greaves consistently appears unprepared at council meetings, asking basic questions and obviously not taking the time before the meetings to get clarification on items of which she has no clue? Do you care?
Does anyone care that Bill Reid consistently votes how HE decides to vote, not taking into account his first ward constituents and what they want? Do you care?
Finally, to the people who complain but do nothing about anything - or those who make ONE call or send ONE email, get no results, throw up their hands and feel as though they have done their civic duty, I say shut up, and to quote Rebecca Williams - go sit down!
AMEN! Anonymous 12:12...
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have sent emails(never responded to), phone calls,(Oh, so and so is in a meeting, will call you back) (still waiting for the call. Apparently never got out of the meeting)Talked to the mayor, have tried to contact Eric Jackson and so on and so on. One gets tired after years, not weeks, years of pleading with city government only for it to fall on deaf ears by those condescending fools (I can't use the word to describe them in the blog). I cannot wait to leave this hellhole!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm in my 20s and I coincidentally added every meeting to my calendar for August. Shade Tree, Council, School board,Planning Commission, all of it. Time to get involved.
ReplyDeleteI could only walk to get to a Concil Meeting and i am afraid I would be mugged by the time I got to Watchung Ave Bridge. Thanks anyway for the encouragement. Better off walking to places outside of town actually.
ReplyDeleteTo 3:21PM - that does not mean that you should not email your council people, vote, make calls, and get on boards and commissions. You get the city and government you want, and it appears to me, that the people of this city don't want much.
ReplyDelete