opinion
When Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley signed the COVID-19 emergency order, he slammed the door shut on the people’s house. Citizens could not enter City Hall. If they had a comment for City Council, their public comment opportunity was gone. Instead, they could watch the meetings on cable TV or streaming on internet devices. They could send an email to the clerk of council.
Those extreme measures were probably justified at first, while people adjusted to the new normal. We have both empathy and sympathy for those whose lives have been disrupted. But what of the intervening nine weeks? Surely there are alternatives to shutting down the policy and principles of community engagement while the people’s house is physically locked. That’s what continuity of operations plans are for.
How’s the email solution working? On April 13 when the budget committee met to discuss spending-reduction strategies, among them cutting Neighborhood Support Program funding to zero for 13 community councils, we joined others in sending emails, describing how the cuts were arbitrary and unfair. We watched the meeting and there was not a mention of our emails or concerns! Nor were the emails presented for the official record! No passing grade for citizen involvement here.
The Kettering Foundation has been studying local democracy for 40 years to find out what it takes for local democracy to work. The most important finding: citizen involvement. Citizens who are engaged can make sound decisions about their future, and who are acting together with others in their community to address common problems are necessary to make democracy work. This is more than voting – it’s working with other citizens to help shape and implement public policy.
The conditions for citizen involvement? Kettering also reports that citizens need to:
- Have an understanding of an issue and how it might affect them;
- Feel they have a voice and a process for expressing themselves;
- Be connected with others who share their concerns.
What accommodations have been made to open citizen involvement so citizens have a process and voice for expressing themselves in the locked-down City Hall? Not many. Could leaders have done more? Darn right!
About COVID-19 responses, a researcher from the International City/County Management Association found that "local government officials have acted quickly (because)…the process of local government requires that citizens have input and participation in the deliberation and decision-making process. How have local governing bodies adapted to affording the public an opportunity to be engaged and participate in this new paradigm of local governing?" You could look at Boston, Detroit or up I-71 to Montgomery, Ohio for good results.
In the year 2020, there are so many technology solutions (e.g., Zoom) that it’s hard to believe none has been implemented for meetings. Council has, however, used video conferencing to remotely involve their members but not the citizens. Other cities have adapted quickly in response to the virus.
Cincinnati shut down public participation, a casualty of Covid-19 rules. While public safety is paramount, so is the ability of residents to exercise their free speech rights to address their elected official and their neighbors on the city’s business. It’s especially important as the city faces a major financial crisis and trust of our leaders has already been eroded by issues around tax abatements, TIF management, the FCC stadium and the new music venue on the Banks deal to name a few. The city must do better.
Peter Hames lives in Over-the-Rhine. Sue Wilke lives in Northside.
"Opinion" - Google News
May 31, 2020 at 06:16PM
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Opinion: Public participation at City Hall a casualty of virus - The Cincinnati Enquirer
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