Your Input, Your City, Your Town

'Your Input'

What is a city's obligations to its residents? Whatever it can afford I suppose within the demands of said residents. When the residents don't voice any opinion its obligations are whatever the elected officials decide. You can go to any city council meeting anywhere, anytime and generally find only a handful of folks (if that) watching the proceedings. Unless of course there's a controversy stewing. Everyone wants to know about the controversy and some are quite willing to express their views loudly and with great vigor even if they don't have any idea what they're talking about.

Take a city's long range plan for instance. If the city has one. This is the document that guides the next 5,10, 20 years of a city's growth and maintenance. Where will the new residential areas be? Shopping districts? What areas will maintenance of the infrastructure be a priority and what areas will be allowed to fall by the wayside. Where will we encourage growth and maintenance and where will we abandon the idea altogether?

Where will the city fathers direct the city's growth and development? Take a look at the long range plan. How was the long range plan developed? By the folks the city fathers charge with the task. How much involvement is there from the local folks who live next door? Probably not much and for the most part it's not too meaningful. Their input is in most cases merely a formality.


Of course experts who are experienced with this sort of thing are valuable for the project. But what do the people who actually live in the city want their city to be in the next 5, 10, 20 years? Often they are asked for their input at public meetings, sometimes they show up in droves sometimes they don't show up at all. Seldom do they keep track of such long range policies once they've been adopted. Often these plans are saluted and then placed on the shelf and not looked again for a long, long time.

Citizens seldom show up at the mundane month to month affairs at a city council meeting to see what the city faces on a daily basis. This is where the work of the city actually gets done. It's like seeing a nice batch of freshly cooked pork chops. Everyone grabs a fork and a plate in anticipation but no one wants to see how they got from the pig to the platter.


Look at your city. Do you see things that need fixed? Things that should have been done differently? How are you or were you involved? Things most likely won't be done to your satisfaction without your input. Plain and simple. Voicing an opinion and having a civil discussion about things that involve your city isn't much to ask.

We fought a War of Independence to be given these rights. Getting involved in the city that surrounds you, the city you call home, is not too much to ask.

Just ask any veteran. I dare you.