By Judy Nogg
With all the fractious and worrisome news awash in our nation and sometimes spilling into our local discourse, I thought you might like reading about a positive effort in Boulder.
A group of community members with very diverse positions on local issues, calling ourselves Dialogue Boulder, have been meeting since January to develop recommendations for the new City Council to better utilize boards and commissions, as well as to enhance the public engagement process for the benefit of the entire community, board/commission members, city staff and City Council.
My interest in Dialogue Boulder began as my term on the Housing Advisory Board (HAB) was ending. I had interpreted my membership on HAB as necessitating me to meet many people with diverse positions on housing issues.
I met, literally, hundreds of people and (in the days before COVID) had coffee or tea with at least 50. I liked everybody. I found that, to a person, everyone cared about Boulder. They all had great ideas. However, almost every single person was also 100% sure that their ideas were the only correct ideas.
I also met most Council members and many staff members. All of them were nice and hardworking, even if I didn’t agree with them on all issues.
And, yet, Council members are terribly busy, especially if they have outside employment in addition to their civic duties. Staff members are overworked and many feel overly criticized. Board/commission members too often either feel frustrated that nobody is listening or are resigned that few of their goals will be accomplished. And the public is often dismayed and upset. It is not a pretty picture — for anyone.
The problem is not the people, in my estimation. The problem is the process that sets all of these gears in motion.
So I was delighted when Dialogue Boulder formed. We began to meet (virtually) every other week for thoughtful and deliberative conversations about changes in our city’s public engagement process that might bring about more efficiency, effectiveness and inclusivity that would benefit everybody — Council, staff, board/commission members, and the public.
There were two ground rules. First, nobody could “bad mouth” any individual or discuss any specific project. Second, for any suggested change to become a recommendation, we had to reach full consensus.
During meeting after meeting, the group developed recommendations. Meanwhile, the steering committee of Dialogue Boulder and an occasional additional group member met with the city manager and almost all current Council members. Everyone was extremely supportive. Several Dialogue Boulder members also participated in meetings with staff members from the city’s communications department. Not only did Dialogue Boulder receive solid support, many Council and staff members proposed their own valid suggested recommendations. In fact, communications staff members already had been instituting a few similar recommendations.
Eventually, Dialogue Boulder distributed its draft of recommendations to as many board and commission members as they could reach. About 30% of those board/commission members responded with a 96.4% approval of the general concept and many suggestions of their own.
Finally, Dialogue Boulder sent an overview and the current draft recommendations to all 10 City Council candidates for their feedback. Amazingly, all 10 candidates support the general effort and each one responded with their own feedback. It is incredibly reassuring to know that, no matter which candidates are elected, Council will be supportive of increased utilization of boards/commissions and enhanced public engagement.
As soon as the new City Council members are seated, Dialogue Boulder will do its best to reach out to the public for feedback, continue to refine its recommendations and work with staff and Council members, ultimately presenting the recommendations to City Council for consideration at the January retreat.
If you would like to see the Overview and Recommendations, Comments from City Council candidates, or Dialogue Boulder’s Report on Responses from Board and Commission members, please email dialogueboulder@gmail.com.
Members of Dialogue Boulder, including myself, hope that there will be two outcomes — that our recommendations are adopted by the new City Council and that our efforts inspire others to realize (and act upon the notion) that people with diverse opinions can find common ground.
Judy Nogg lives in Boulder
"Opinion" - Google News
November 03, 2021 at 05:48AM
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Guest Opinion: Judy Nogg: ‘Dialogue Boulder’ hopes to inspire civility - Boulder Daily Camera
"Opinion" - Google News
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