THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 29, 1996 TAG: 9604290029
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Tight budgets and increased demands from taxpayers aren't the only common problems facing most local governments across the nation.
Officials also are struggling to find the best formulas for involving more citizens in solving a wide range of community problems, from crime and neighborhood stability to economic development and global competition.
More than 500 such officials and community leaders gathered here Sunday to begin sharing such experiences and other challenges at a four-day annual conference on ``Transforming Local Government.''
``What we're recognizing is the old model of government employee as expert, as someone who can solve problems for communities is no longer the best model. For many of our most vexing problems in communities, what we need is the full participation of the entire community,'' said Ruth Ann Bramson, a consultant, teacher and a former assistant county manager of Hillsborough County, Fla.
Involving citizens in meaningful ways isn't easy. Public hearings and referendums, while valuable for some decisions, also can be subject to manipulation by special-interest groups and emotional appeals.
``How do we find out what our citizens really want and value?'' Randy Hildebrandt, assistant city manager of Newport News, asked a panel that included Chesapeake Mayor William E. Ward, Norfolk City Manager James B. Oliver Jr. and Hampton City Manager Robert J. O'Neill Jr.
Ward, Oliver and O'Neill talked about their endeavors to meet with more residents, conduct citizen surveys, organize focus groups and generally improve communication.
``I don't think we're good at it yet,'' Oliver acknowledged. ``We're groping.''
But just as important as trying new ways to hear the concerns of residents, O'Neill said, is ``trying to change the nature of the dialogue'' to encourage communities to help develop the solutions.
``In some cases in our neighborhood processes, you have to bring something to the table if you're going to take something away. So each neighborhood has to come to the table with an asset that they're going to devote to community problems,'' O'Neill said.
A good working relationship between local governments and citizens, various speakers and conferees said, has to endure turf battles, tough decisions about the levels of involvement, trade-offs over short-term gains for some people and the long-term best interests of the overall community.
Suzanne W. Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, set the parameters for good collaboration. They included acknowledging past difficulties, but also building trust by making a commitment to find common ground and solve current problems.
``Collaboration is about giving something, not getting something,'' Morse said. The notion, she said, is as American as an old-fashioned community barn raising or assembling a diverse array of musicians to play jazz.
Collaborative projects must be democratic and include a diverse membership, she advised.
``While collaboration means literally `to work together,' all too often the emphasis falls too heavily on `work' and not enough on `together.' For success and sustainability, the organizing principles must include both, and they must be clearly stated,'' Morse said.
The benefits, she said, aren't only in solving one immediate problem, but also in developing a long-lasting relationship that can address many other issues.
The recommendations rang true to officials from tiny communities and huge cities.
``Whether or not you're working at a neighborhood level with a thousand people or a metropolitan level of 4 million people, the principles are the same,'' said David F. Smydra, executive assistant to Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. ``If a neighborhood wants to address a problem, they do so successfully if they are able to put it in the context of how that problem extends beyond just them as a neighborhood.''
``It's in the self-interest'' of government officials ``and the people being served by government to always be looking at how they reach out to the other,'' Smydra added.
KEYWORDS: COMMUNITY CONVERSATION PUBLIC JOURNALISM by CNB