The New Lake Forest - Part 4

We’ve been spending the week talking about the agenda for 2018. Quite frankly we are taking on more this year than any Council ever took on in a year, much less a term, so we have set ourselves a daunting set of tasks. Let’s review-

Capital Improvement Programs

• Build the Civic/Senior Center/Performing Arts Center
• Upgrade 10 neighborhood parks
• Finish upgrading Veterans Park (Formerly Village Pond Park)

Operational Improvements

• Update the city’s General Plan
• Create a new mobile app for better communication
• Transition to district elections
• Create a local no-kill animal shelter

Regulatory Improvements

• Create ways to reduce or outlaw campaign contributions from special interests.
• Create code of ethics with independent oversight and real teeth (including an Ethics Committee)
• Pass an ordinance to “put lake forest first” in all spending

Involve More People in Government

• Traffic Commission
• Animal Welfare Committee
• Beautification Committee
• Mayor’s Business Council
• Mayor’s HOA Council
• Mayor’s Nonprofit Council
• Mayor’s Religious Council
• Mayor’s Leadership Council

Improve Government Process

• Formalize the replacement of Council members to insure the people’s will be done
• Change the process of appointing Commissioners and Committees to reduce the influence of gang-like voting.
• Rotate the Mayor position to insure that any elected official gets the chance to be Mayor.
• Remove the Mayor’s positon from politics.

To this long list we need to add reforming the way we do business. If you have a time machine and went back a decade or more and sat at a City Council meeting, it would look virtually the same. Times have changed, but not inside the City Hall. So here are some ways we can improve upon our meetings.

HOST

We have a dozen or more “regulars” who show up at most of our meetings, but at every meeting there are also newbies who come to City Hall for the first time. They wander around trying to figure out what to do. I’ve asked for a “host” or “greeter” who will meet people at the door and answer their questions. We have staff hanging around right now, so there is no new cost to do this.

TECHNOLOGY

I’ve asked the City to allow the 21st Century to intrude on our meetings. I want to see people able to skype in or tweet as part of our public comment section and in response to agenda items.

PRIORITY

The City Manager and the Mayor set the agenda, but it isn’t necessarily in any order that reflects public interest. Sometimes people wait for hours to get a chance to talk on an item. So I am proposing that at the start of the public portion of the meeting, the City Clerk announce what items have speakers, and what items have guests. At that point, the Mayor/Council can re-order the agenda so that items of high interest are heard first.

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Sometimes during meetings Council are talking about issues and it's difficult to people to follow along. I'm going to ask that a "Production Assistant" assist by taking the available material (reports, agenda language) and putting them up on the TV screens so that people can follow along better.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

When was the last time you heard the City Manager make a report? In the 3 years under City Manager Dunek I don’t recall a single report. Imagine that? We have a city of 85,000 people and an annual budget of $40,000,000+ and the City Manager has nothing to report!

There are many reasons for this. One reason is habit. The other reason is that by the time the City Manager report comes on the agenda, at the very end of the meeting, most people are brain dead and their biggest desire is to get the heck out of there.

I’m going to ask that the City Manager report come early in the meeting, right after the consent items, and that the report itself actually have some content. Each meeting I’m going to ask for an update on our major ongoing projects. Right now this includes

• Building the Civic/Senior Center/Performing Arts Center
• Upgrading 10 neighborhood parks
• Upgrading Veterans Park (Formerly Village Pond Park)
• Updating the city’s General Plan
• Creating a new mobile app for better communication
• Transitioning to district elections

I’m going to ask that the report be in writing and included in the agenda report so that we can share with everyone.

SUMMARY

As a City we will grow and prosper as more and more people become involved in government. One way to do this is to make our meetings more accessible and more productive.

It will take some time to implement all these changes, but I'd like to start ASAP. Of course I am only one vote on a Council of 5 people, so I'll need the support of my colleagues.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a mini town meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be Thursday Feb 15 at 7 pm at the Beach and Tennis Club.