Linda Higgins wrote: A lot of people keep advocating that the council get out of the business of constituent services, responding to constituents' complaints about long grass, etc. This is exactly the kind of constituent services and complaints that the newspaper and others want to go to some nameless, faceless entity within city hall to take care of, not go to the council.
Silly me, I like it when a council member (or legislator, for that matter) can answer questions about a constituent's problem. They are the face of city government. I like this idea. I can see it getting totally out of hand, however. Especially the first nice weekend of spring, when everyone goes outside and sees how much trash is in the streets, the alleys and their neighbors' yards. (And their own, too, to be honest.) The council offices are flooded with complaints at that time. Mark Anderson replies: Gee, I never heard about cutting constituent services from the council's duties, but I like the idea. Constituent services leave me cold. I understand the benefit of such services in theory, that they help people find their way through government services. But I wonder if in practice it just encourages whining and gives extra services to those that complain the most. I know that the noisy axle gets the grease, but do we need to institutionalize the practice? How much time does it take to deal with these issues, which might be better spent researching and thinking about the latest proposed ordinances? Constituent services also make it a lot easier for corruption to flourish. I sometimes wonder if there's a lot of low level corruption going on in several council members' offices. Even if there are no trading services for cash payments or free home repair such as was practiced by the two who were caught, I suspect there are campaign contributions given, political favors traded, and friends rewarded, all under the rubric of constituent services. I think that could be reduced, if not entirely eliminated, by requiring citizens to use Linda's dreaded nameless and faceless entity from city hall for their questions. Mark V Anderson Bancroft REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
