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A-4 .. one issue, and once that issue has been resolved, doing. This type of meeting angers citizens more than they disappear. not receiving any information at all. In short, citizens I + The recognition that citizen invoh'ement is appear to want sincerity from their local governments. cyclical. Pro\'ided that things are funning smoothly An interesting comment came from an elderh-' .. within the community, participants in both groups womJn in the Southeast. \Vhen asked why she, m~re said that the majority of citizens see no reason to than others in thc group. empathized with the efforts become im"oh-ed in the day-ta-eb}' affairs of their made by local government officials and employees in communities. her community, she remarked that her 37 years' 5. The desire for local government responsiveness. invoh.ement in the local school svstem had tauaht her . ' b P~lrticipants in the Southeast group stressed the that "these things take time" and that it \\.as impossible inconsistency of responsiveness from one local to satisfy everyone completely all the time. gO\.ernment department to another. One respondent Could there be a stronger case for empO\vcring . described how each department seemed to hm.c citizens to become invoked in community decision "its own personality:' making? 6. The characteristics of a responsive local . government. Following through on citizen requests A Review of Successful Local Government for action or information (even if the ans\ver is no), Programs for Citizen Empowerment taking time to listen, and treating citizens with Successful examples of citizen empowerment programs respect were listed as the essential characteristics are widespread. as illustrated by the descriptions of local I of a responsive local g~vernment. government programs reviewed by staff. Programs range from neighborhood service delivery (\\.hich involves In both groups, there appeared to be a correlation residents in local government decision making through . between citizen participation and involvement and a the development of citizen/government partnerships), citizen's knowledge of local government operations. to community-oriented public safety and governance, Citizens said they want more information about their to visioning projects in which citizens playa maior role local governments, but they wallt the illfonnation to be in determining the future of their communities. I honest, unbiased, and communicated in a format that A large number of these programs originate in differs from l-vhat they currently receive. Citizens seem communities operating under the council-manager to be suspicious of sanitized, sound-bite information form. As discussed by IC:-'IA"s Council-1\Ianager Pian .. that focuses only on positive points and fails to address Task Force in its '995 report, "A Look into Our Evolving tough issues. Profession," these programs provide excellent examples of how professional management I By emP01l'ering citi.:ens to become inrolved in local govemment fosters a partnership among the council, the manager, and the decision 11laking. and by educating elected officials about the community, an element essential to benefits of this t)pe of fJarticifJatioll, managers call get ill li'ont the continued VIability of the council- , manager form. Currently, ICi\I:\ is of the public parade. de.....eloping a clearinghouse of these programs (see box on page A-5). which I will be available in spring '996, Both groups thought their local governments should hold more meetings in the evening. \',.hen \vorking The Process Is Not Easy I citizens are a\'ailable. In the Northeast group, partici- pants observed that one of the primary reasons why The Harwood study suggests that many of the endemic younger people do not become more involved is that problems surrounding the relationship behveen citizens they cannot spend time in the daytime researching and their public officials go beyond the issues of respan- I community issues or attending meetings. siveness and simply educating individuals about the \vay Citizens also appear to want to move beyond basic in which their local governments \Vork. According to the public information to honest, hvo-way communication. research, they involve establishing a level of trust among I \Vhen invited to participate in cOl1lnHmity meetings, citizens. they want the assurance that their opinions will be heard One viable approach is to invoke citizens pro- and valued. Several participants remarked that "staged" actively in the process of community decision making. meetings, stich as i\Ieet-Yotlr-Local-Government-Official During an April 1995 meeting in \Vest Point, Ne\v York, I Day, often are perceived as public relations opportunities the officers of the Northeast state local aovernment b for a local government to tell citizens how \\.e11 it is management associations commented that ';the only .. .............................................................................................. ------- -- - ----~ ".- -_."."-~--_.~.. -- ... _....-.-~..__.y.....- --_.--'" ,___.. _.._.~..m__ ..."._.n""_.~ __..~.__ .~~~-I