There's only one problem with this plan that both Karen Collier and others are espousing. Almost one-fourth of the complaints I received as a cm and I consider 10 to have been a heavy constituent service ward, were folks who hadn't gotten a response or an appropriate action from city staff or departments when they called. So who polices the ombudsperson to make sure things get reponded to. You can vote the council member out of officer but staff has civil service protection.
Lisa McDonald East Harriet >From: Alan Shilepsky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents >Date: Sun, 07 Jul 2002 18:27:15 -0500 > >I think the Duffy Report suggestion that Cam mentions is a great idea. I >think the "personalized" approach that has developed with the >Councilperson being the primary access point and ombudsperson into City >Government is ripe for inconsistent and arbitrary service. > >I'd like to think that most problems could be solved by contacting a >department or citizen services office, without having to go to a >political/policy making person. > >Civil servants work for us, and we shouldn't have to get a Council Member >involved each time to remind them. > >Alan Shilepsky Downtown >for rule of law, not of men (or women) > > > >From: "Cameron A. Gordon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: "Cameron A. Gordon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents >Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2002 12:29:05 -0500 > >Some days, or weeks, ago there was an interesting thread about how City >Council offices respond to calls and needs from constituents. It was >pointed out that some parts of the city and some wards get many more calls >than others and that there might be some inconsistencies in needs and in >service. > >I think that one of the ideas that came out of the "Duffy Report" that is >worth looking into and would help address some of these concerns (as well >as others) is a call for an "Office of Constituent Services". > >In the course of working on the Mayor's Ethics Task this idea has come up >several times in discussions as a way to help ensure that all requests and >calls >are handled in fair and consistent ways. I think the idea has some merit. > >There even seems to be ways to do it that would not take any new resources, >but would take a willingness of Council Members and the Mayor to share >resources and >control. > >The most practical idea I have heard so far would be to take some of the >staff and resources now divided up among 13 Council Members and Mayor and >put them together to form an office of constituent service....although the >name could certainly be changed. > >I am curious if list members have any opinions on this. > >thanks in advance for your input, > >Cam > > > > >_______________________________________ >Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy >Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: >http://e-democracy.org/mpls _________________________________________________________________ Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
