Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
Back in town going through email after a fab vacation and this thread caught my eye... If the clarification hasn't been made yet, ward lines are based on population, not number of people of voting age. So chances are that a closer look at the demographics would show that there are more children in some of the wards that have lower voter turnout. Obviously this is not the sole reason for the discrepancy. Cara Letofsky Seward, for a few more weeks anyway... WizardMarks wrote: [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It looks like nearly twice as many people in Ward 13 than in Ward 8 bothered to choose a council member in the first place. And nearly three times than in Ward 6! Should Barret Lane be getting some extra staff? You can check my math at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/elections/resultsarchive.asp Such an elegant solution, so all-American. Identify a problem then funnel resources away from the issue to those who don't have the problem. Feel smug that you've kicked the bastards while they're down? WizardMarks, Central Janet Gendler Linden Hills -Original message- [Terrell] Seems like in virtually every elected body, everyone either gets the same amount of staff or same budget for staff. Although different wards or districts have different constituent needs, they all represent the same number of people. Giving some additional staff would allow more empire building and given that many elected office holders are eventually look to be elected to another office that isn't an especially good thing. ___ 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 ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
When calculating figures to describe voter turnout it is important to note the method used. As Cara points out, simply comparing the number of votes cast in each ward is not a very complete comparison. Typically voter turnout is calculated by dividing votes cast by the number of eligible voters in the ward or precinct. A better way would be to divide the number of votes cast by the number of registered voters. This would take into account areas where voter registration is low and give a more fair comparison of relative turnout. Conor Donnelly WaitePark W1 Cara Letofsky wrote: Back in town going through email after a fab vacation and this thread caught my eye... If the clarification hasn't been made yet, ward lines are based on population, not number of people of voting age. So chances are that a closer look at the demographics would show that there are more children in some of the wards that have lower voter turnout. Obviously this is not the sole reason for the discrepancy. Cara Letofsky Seward, for a few more weeks anyway... [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It looks like nearly twice as many people in Ward 13 than in Ward 8 bothered to choose a council member in the first place. And nearly three times than in Ward 6! Should Barret Lane be getting some extra staff? You can check my math at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/elections/resultsarchive.asp ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
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 servicealthough 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 worlds 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
Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
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 servicealthough 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
Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
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 servicealthough the name could certainly be changed. I am curious if list members have any opinions on this. thanks in advance for your input, Cam Cam Gordon Seward Neighborhood, Minneapolis, Ward 2 SD 59 (612) 332-6210, 296-0579, 339-2452 ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
You have touched on an important point. It is not just council members or their aides that receive constituent or should I say customer service calls. Many employees of the city receive them. I have heard time and again about the frustration about being transferred from person to person, department to department in order to reach the right place. I think McKensie addresses this in their reorg plan to some degree. I think there needs to be a department that is responsible for handling customer or constituent (I prefer customer) calls and OWNS the call until the person get a definitive answer. I think that is the theory behind combining all of us. We are supposed to be able to easily access the expert on any given issue more quickly and be able to give better service as a whole. 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 __ Do You Yahoo!? Sign up for SBC Yahoo! Dial - First Month Free http://sbc.yahoo.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
Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It looks like nearly twice as many people in Ward 13 than in Ward 8 bothered to choose a council member in the first place. And nearly three times than in Ward 6! Should Barret Lane be getting some extra staff? You can check my math at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/elections/resultsarchive.asp Such an elegant solution, so all-American. Identify a problem then funnel resources away from the issue to those who don't have the problem. Feel smug that you've kicked the bastards while they're down? WizardMarks, Central Janet Gendler Linden Hills -Original message- [Terrell] Seems like in virtually every elected body, everyone either gets the same amount of staff or same budget for staff. Although different wards or districts have different constituent needs, they all represent the same number of people. Giving some additional staff would allow more empire building and given that many elected office holders are eventually look to be elected to another office that isn't an especially good thing. ___ 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 ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
Are constituent complaints a reflection of a ward's needs? Just for fun, I looked at the election results for city council last fall. The turnout, by ward, in descending order: W-1310527 W-11 9024 W-12 8902 W-7 7739 W-9 6970 W-10 6854 W-1 6676 W-8 5621 W-4 5459 W-2 5115 W-5 4765 W-3 4386 W-6 3559 It looks like nearly twice as many people in Ward 13 than in Ward 8 bothered to choose a council member in the first place. And nearly three times than in Ward 6! Should Barret Lane be getting some extra staff? You can check my math at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/elections/resultsarchive.asp Janet Gendler Linden Hills -Original message- [Terrell] Seems like in virtually every elected body, everyone either gets the same amount of staff or same budget for staff. Although different wards or districts have different constituent needs, they all represent the same number of people. Giving some additional staff would allow more empire building and given that many elected office holders are eventually look to be elected to another office that isn't an especially good thing. ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
You will have to go a little further and correlate the number of people voting in a ward with constituents contacts to answer that question: Should Barret Lane be getting some extra staff? But, perhaps there is a correlation. The fewer voters that give a rip in a ward, the more calls a council member receives---because those that don't care enough to vote, don't care enough to be stewards of their neighborhood. Perhaps Council Member Zimmerman is deluged with calls! I have never contacted CM Zimmerman so I actually have no idea how he responds to a contact. Anyone with experience??? Terry Erickson Whittier Ward 6 - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2002 8:43 PM Subject: Re: [Mpls] Council Response to Constituents Are constituent complaints a reflection of a ward's needs? Just for fun, I looked at the election results for city council last fall. The turnout, by ward, in descending order: W-1310527 W-11 9024 W-12 8902 W-7 7739 W-9 6970 W-10 6854 W-1 6676 W-8 5621 W-4 5459 W-2 5115 W-5 4765 W-3 4386 W-6 3559 It looks like nearly twice as many people in Ward 13 than in Ward 8 bothered to choose a council member in the first place. And nearly three times than in Ward 6! Should Barret Lane be getting some extra staff? You can check my math at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/elections/resultsarchive.asp Janet Gendler Linden Hills ___ 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
[Mpls] Council Response to Constituents
-Original Message- From: WizardMarks Were I going to complain about the state of city hall, one complaint would be the failure to assign enough staff to distressed wards. The mood of the council at the time of the data collection mentioned above was that if one council got more staff, then everyone got more staff and where would they house them. [Terrell] Seems like in virtually every elected body, everyone either gets the same amount of staff or same budget for staff. Although different wards or districts have different constituent needs, they all represent the same number of people. Giving some additional staff would allow more empire building and given that many elected office holders are eventually look to be elected to another office that isn't an especially good thing. [Wizard] The city council is privileged to have some of the finest secretarial clerks in the city. I haven't seen a wage scale, a personnel manual, or anything tangible which shows me that the council appreciates those clerks. Flowers on secretary's day do not mean squat. [Terrell] Each Councilmember has 2 staff. Their secretary is a union civil service job. They get paid the negotiated wage scale. Their Council Aide is a political appointee but it also has a scale based on number of years experience in the job. All council aides with the same amount of council experience are paid the same amount. The good ones are all under paid given the amount of work they do. The bad ones shouldn't be there but the Councilmember can make the change as they see fit. Terrell Brown Loring Park terrell at terrellbrown dot org __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.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
