BIG RAPIDS — In an effort to promote more community engagement, the Big Rapids city commission established a committee to develop strategies for improving communication between public officials and residents.
Commissioner Jennifer Cochran, who sits on the committee, reiterated to the board that the overarching goals of the committee are to educate the public about city government and encourage and incentivize the public to get involved.
“To that end, the three areas we have decided to focus on is recruiting and retaining volunteers for various boards and commissions; ways for commissioners to be involved with the community; and building a framework for the sustained practice of goals one and two over time and across commissions so that we can incorporate these practices as part of city government going forward,” Cochran said.
City manager Mark Gifford told the board the committee has made some good progress and has identified five action steps that can be taken to improve community outreach.
One of the things discussed in the committee was the annual boards and commission dinner, he said.
“At one point in time, we did this every year and those that served on the boards and commissions could come and bring their significant other and have dinner,” Gifford said. “There would be some level of reporting on what the board or commission had accomplished over the year.
“It was an expensive event, and it raised the attention of the auditors who questioned whether it was a reasonable expense of tax dollars,” he continued. “We are looking at possibly reinstating that. We think there is a way we can do it and get it out of the auditor’s crosshairs.”
The committee suggested having an outdoor event at one of the parks and make it a more interactive setting, with comments from the mayor or city manager expressing appreciation for their work on behalf of the community.
“I think that is doable, and we plan to move forward on that, unless the board has a major concern,” Gifford said. “It won’t happen this year, the earliest we would be able to do it would be 2022.”
Another action step identified by the committee is for the mayor and the commissioners to be present at community events throughout the year.
“Chief (Danielle) Haynes suggested that it would be great if the mayor or commissioners could be present and visible at National Night Out that happens every year in August,” Gifford said. “The public safety folks do a great job of connecting with the community during the event. This is a part of the community that we may not usually connect with in other ways.”
Gifford said the committee is working with city staff to compile a list of community events that could be presented to the commissioners at the beginning of each year for them to sign up to attend.
“I think we do a pretty good job of this already,” Gifford said, “but I think there are other things we can do, and this will be a good way to do it.”
The committee has also continued to look at ways to connect with the public via Facebook and other platforms.
“We had a real snafu tonight in our efforts to get the word out about the commissioners meeting in a public format,” Gifford said. “We have done two Facebook Live events with no problems, but the one tonight was a significant problem.”
Early in the meeting, the presentation was disrupted with the intrusion of some unknown persons into the Facebook live feed. They were able to write graffiti on the slide presentation and talk over the speaker. The Facebook live feed was ultimately discontinued.
“We will be going back to meeting in person, as well, so I am working with FSU and our IT department to come up with some type of professional presentation that could be televised, possibly on our own YouTube channel,” Gifford said. “It could also be a Facebook event, though probably not live. We could also, potentially, be on the same channel that Ferris programs are on as a way to reach people.”
One other idea the committee is pursuing is to provide a stipend to community members that volunteer to serve on boards and commissions.
“We currently do not do that, and we have done some research to see if there is anything in the city charter or code that would prohibit our ability to do that,” Gifford said. “The library board is prohibited from getting any payment, but I don’t think there is anything that prohibits other boards from receiving a stipend or per diem for participating in meetings.”
In their research they have found that other townships and counties are doing it, he added.
“It recognizes the members time for being there, and it is not a big hit to the budget,” he said. “This would be only for meetings that they attend, and attendance would need to be recorded.”
City attorney Eric Williams said a code amendment would be necessary to allow a stipend, and he would work with the city staff to develop something to bring to the commission for consideration.
The committee will plan to make a more formal recommendation to the commission once everything is sorted out, Gifford said.
“These are the items that have come out of our committee meetings, which we plan to pursue unless there are members of the commission that feel we are headed down the wrong path,” Gifford said. “We would be happy to entertain any other ideas from the commissioners.”
Mayor Tom Hogenson added that elected officials and city employees need to be confident and positive in expressing the idea that working with the city to make sure that government is all that it can be is a positive good and something everyone should be considering when they have the opportunity.
“I think we are still searching for the right mechanism with which to convey this to people,” Hogenson said. “I think part of it is the spirit in which we want any communications or public outreach to be conducted with the idea of creating volunteerism where appropriated.”
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July 15, 2021 at 05:07PM
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Community engagement still a priority for city officials - The Pioneer
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