Mr. Johnson asked: "Five times since January, I have posted (see dates below) a challenge to the neighborhoods and their activists to make public on this List for each NRP project authorization: the date of the meeting, the number of residents voting, the number of residents in the neighborhood, and the amount of funds authorized." and.... "If the NRP experiment were such a resounding success in returning power to citizens, one would think that the NRP advocates would be amassing tables of statistics demonstrating that citizens really are participating in turnouts reasonably approximating elections, proving that citizens actually have taken power unto themselves."
Me: You can view the approved NRP Neighborhood Action Plans and spreadsheets for each neighborhood in Minneapolis at www.nrp.org. Within each strategy line there is a listing of the individual contracts that received funds from that strategy in addition to the name of the contracting party. NRP and the neighborhood offices maintain records regarding meeting minutes, copies of neighborhood notifications regarding the plan approval. Both offices also have this information regarding any major modifications to the plan that may have been made over time. The State Auditors verify that all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed on an annual basis. Sanctions are enforced if the issues highlighted in audit reports are not resolved. Thankfully, NRP has only had to to this a couple times. For the most part, the neighborhoods are very conscientious stewards of the public dollar. If there is a particular contract or strategy project you would like to get information about, you need only call your neighborhood association office or the NRP Neighborhood Specialist assigned to a particular neighborhood. I will be the first one to admit that NRP would love to increase participation beyond the 5,000+ volunteer base the program currently engages at the various meetings. The program continually explores ways to help neighborhoods increase participation. I will also say that you cannot look strictly at meeting attendance numbers to determine participation. We already know that some people do not have the time or inclination to attend a meeting. Some participate by completing surveys, phone interviews, attending focus groups, neighborhood association sponsored events or festivals, accessing the housing loan or grant programs, participating in a youth program, block club program, street scape program, art program, ESL program, Early Childhood Education program, block nurse program, library program, park program, school program, housing or commercial development program, etc. In fact, NRP has posters that show over 50 ways you can get involved in your neighborhood. They are free. If you would like one, you can pick it up at the NRP office. For all of its imperfections the NRP program still engages more citizens in this city than anything other program. Barb Lickness Whittier "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead 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
