Local governments have responsibility to engage with their citizens, citizens have the responsibility to reciprocate.

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LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ENGAGING CITIZENS AND
KEEPING AN EYE ON THE FUTURE
Clay Pearson, City Manager, City of Novi has i?een a long-standing resource for finding new
Throughout history, citizen engagement has and Improved ways for citizens to engage. But
taken shape in many different forms, from the who is going to do this work? John Nalbandian
New England town hall meetings to input at the (University of Kansas) has instructed for decades
ubiquitous Planning Commission public hearing, that, for public officials and professional
from revolutionary pamphleteering to Facebookl managers, leading the engagement of our citizens
Twitter, from formal service on some board or in the community is as important as management
commission to volunteering on an improvement of our public resources. Dr. Nalbandian, after
project. Simply put, citizens of a community are years of observations, research, and teaching,
"enga.g.ed" when they inform, direct or help make concludes that such engagement is what leads
a deCISion that affects the community in some to greater legitimacy and an enhanced ability to
way. be a part of long-lasting improvements. We in
local government can design the systems and
One of my favorite thinkers on the topic is Ed make the invitations to bring citizens into genuine
Everett, a California-area city management-guru- engagement.
turned-consultant. Ed posits that "the concept
of community building is at the very heart of the While these concepts are in some ways timeless,
City's values and vision:' He talks passionately the future for engagement is arguably more
about the need to view residents as citizens, challenging these days, for all sorts of reasons.
meaning that they are ultimately responsible First there is the unending cynicism of some
for their government, and not customers (mere of those whose job it is to get the most out of
purchasers of goods). Personally, I am keen on citizen input and involvement. I believe that such
that distinction and add that we can usually assumptions of general apathy (or worse) and
drop the 'taxpayer'label- taxpayers are found in incompetence are a convenient cop-out by those
Myanmar and North Korea, but do not have the who choose not to engage. We public managers
same responsibility and influence as citizens in the aren't going to get more air time from earsplitting
United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, Sweden, TV talking heads. We can only take the hedgehog
appro~ch (Good to G~eat, Jim Collins) and keep
or South Korea. Our own Novi Mayor David
Landry here in Novi talks about the differences plugging away, working towards desired and
between a mere city (a geographic construct) agreed-upon outcomes; building credibility all
versus a community (which describes both the along the way. Local government professionals
~re suc~essful when they are actively involved
people in it and how they engage with each other
In defining the issues, identifying solutions, and
for each other).
developing priorities for action and resources.
So how to move from city to community? It is not
automatic, even in representative democracies. The more pressing challenge is time. As the
In fact, with the right to engage in representative nc~is~ ~nd clutte~ and demands grow, sorting out
democracy comes the responsibility to make priorities to service becomes a more consuming
the most of the opportunity. The Alliance for ~ask, a~d efforts to get others engaged get
Innovation (and its forerunner Innovation Group) increasingly crowded out. But it's important
: The Ideas Quarterly Report. Winter 2010 10
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2. to remember that it's okay for engagement to
be simple, clear, and fast. We should not build
expectations of huge ongoing time commitments
that are going to scare off all but the most
dedicated (or those with something to gain
personally by the engagement). We must balance
between making things look easy, almost on
autopilot (well-run cities), and demanding that
citizens take part in their own local governments.
The City of Novi is constantly keeping an eye on
the future, seeking to engage citizens through a
variety of venues. We learn from many Alliance for
Innovation communities. Novi knows that when
citizens are engaged and part of the decision-
making process, everyone benefits. Our own
proactive approach to citizen engagement takes
many forms, but can be as simple as fan pages
on Facebook for the City, Parks, and Economic
Development. We layer our efforts to provide
something for everybody, sharing information
in op-ed pieces placed in local newspapers and
websites, seeking input on the City's budget
process, saying thank you to our volunteers with
spending some money on an annual dinner. We
stay transparent, sharing all supporting material
for City Council agenda items on the City's
website. We try to be interactive with hosting
quarterly Police and Fire Town hall Meetings
throughout the community in neighborhood
facilities.
Engaging citizens and sharing information about
all aspects of government operations has been
and will be a top priority for Novi officials. In Novi,
it's a team effort and the community belongs to
our citizens.

3. alliance FOR nnovaTion
T•• ",fo.mlng Lo, .. 1 Government
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