Our Commitment: A Plan to Help You Stay Informed and Be Involved
Good government is open, participatory and collaborative. Information should be accessible, current, clear and relevant so you can judge for yourself whether we are doing a good job, and whether you can help us do a better job.
The pandemic presented challenges to all aspects of our lives, but the right to speak directly to your elected representatives in public forums should never be denied. Our community bond is stronger when your government listens to you, and empowers residents to contribute to our collective well-being.
Our Plan
Information – We commit to providing information on public business, such as plans and budgets, in an accessible and readable format in both digital and print.
This effort will likely require an overhaul of the Village website with an examination of how our departments collect and report information on their activities. Major projects deserve their own repository with a clear description of tracked objectives and progress.
For those who are not digitally active or native, John and Roger recommend sending a quarterly summary and outlook from each department and the board to each household, possibly using the water bill. If you have questions, contact information will be provided.
Idea Box – Residents concerns need to be heard. We commit to creating a digital idea box so you can publicly petition for action. Knowing a concern or idea has broad support helps us prioritize and address matters in a timely manner.
Ombud – An ombud investigates citizen concerns regarding administrative abuse or neglect which potentially violate a citizen’s rights. An unaddressed FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request might be a matter an ombud would investigate, for instance. The foremost goal is to help address the resident’s grievance, and the auxiliary benefit is the potential identification of systematic abuse or weakness. Findings can be used to improve service and accountability.
John and Roger believe an ombud can help protect the resident’s rights and improve your government’s service. We will look to the community to help assess whether this role is useful and needed, and if so, help establish mandates and solutions.
Volunteering – Our greatest resource in the community is YOU. Many of you already generously serve our village through empowered (Planning, Zoning) and advisory (Tree, Park, Police, Streetscape, Climate) committees, as well as in the Fire Department.
John and Roger will honor and promote volunteer service. We want all to know who is serving, and has served, and how their efforts have helped the community. Creating a community volunteer (digital) board will help you identify and apply to opportunities. Due consideration should be given to all applicants; John and Roger will work to assure diverse perspective and talent is selected, particularly when the committee addresses matters that affect the public broadly and directly, such as community policing and court mergers.