[Winona Online Democracy]
If Paul, Dwayne and others are serious about government streamlining I would suggest that WOD is not the place to actually do the work. We can toss around ideas, but any serious look at the functions of government needs better attention than this e-mail chat room. I would suggest a commission be appointed by the City, County, and Townships, with representatives of other agencies in the area (ISD 861, MnDOT, DNR, major businesses, etc.?), that they be given an explicit charge, some staff time and budget, and a time line to report back. I'd be fascinated to see what they find.
With the money saved from this consolidation and efficiency we could better fund our public schools, ECFE, and Winona State - education being the number one priority to keep us rolling in the good life. Phil Carlson, Mpls -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 9:36 AM To: Online Democracy Subject: [Winona] Consolidation of Government Dwayne, Roy, Phil & Others Would it be helpful to produce a list of functions or services that each government unit provides? Is the actual list or perceived list the same? Would the list allow us to identify where duplication may exists, perceptions or who actually does the work and in the broader perspective to identify common missions and those area's? Are those distinct rolls clearly perceived by the public as to who is the provider? (Schools, Cities and Townships, and Counties) Do we need to identify shared rolls in some areas that require a collective or coordinated process? Should state government be a fourth source and a distinct local service provider as well? If so when and what would that be? Could it be done in Excel as an attachment that could be developed on line? Is there a better way to provide a visual presentation and discussion on line? Paul Double Behalf Of Dwayne Voegeli Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 7:05 AM Kudos to Roy Nasstrom and Phil Carlson. Their posts are great examples of systems thinking and out-of-the-box thinking. I couldn't agree more. Sometimes you need to look at new solutions to old problems. Two years ago a large group of local elected bodies, non-profit agencies, private businesses, and other community leaders came together for a "Local Government Summit." Many follow up meetings took place to try to turn lofty ideas into concrete improvements. Ultimately, despite the time and energy of many people from diverse groups, the efforts sputtered because no City staff or City Council member came to the events. Over 11 weeks ago, the City Council was presented with a proposal to join the planning process for a "Local Land Planning Summit." The idea being to try to do just the kinds of things that seemed to have happened in St. Cloud, or something close to it. The City Council still has that ball in their court. I hope they decide to become actively and sincerely involved. There are ways to go about improving the way local elected bodies work together and to even possibly change the shape of local elected bodies. I did some research over a year and a half ago and there is a provision in state law for what is called a "Charter County." I would love to see some discussions and brain storming about taking the charter school approach and applying it to local elected bodies and see what we could possibly come up with. Then again, that assumes everyone is willing to work with others in an equal and open way. What if the deck is currently stacked to the benefit of one player and that player doesn't appear to want to "play well with others?" Petty past personal disagreements and turf battles are major road blocks to change. How can we get past them? Dwayne Voegeli Jan. 7, 2005 ------ > >[Winona Online Democracy] > >Roy Nasstrom wondered about consolidation of governments in Minnesota. There >are actually numerous examples around the state of such consolidation - >mostly it's city/county partnerships - and there are more contemplated all >the time. I know Ramsey County has done a lot, as well as some of the >counties in the Brainerd Lakes area. There are also the numerous school >districts that have consolidated over the years, making one large district >from two or more smaller districts. > >There is also the merger of cities, or the merger of a city and adjacent >township or townships. It's called "merger" when it's friendly, >"annexation" when it's not. The merger of St. Cloud and St. Cloud Township >is one of the larger recent examples (1997?). And more is on the way in the >St. Cloud area as it grows. > >When our planning firm was assisting the City of St. Cloud with its >comprehensive plan in 1992 we held community planning meetings and invited >lots of folks from business, area institutions, etc., including the adjacent >townships. We had an all-day Saturday gathering to discuss a common vision >for St. Cloud region. Several people said it was the first time that city >council members and town board members had sat in the same room together in >their memory. The plan recommended St. Cloud grow in an orderly, compact >way into the adjacent township. There was considerable anger, suspicion, >and acrimony at that suggestion. Five years later they merged amicably, >forming the boundaries of St. Cloud today. > >Phil Carlson, Mpls > >_______________________________________________ >This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy >All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. >No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. >To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit >http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona >Any problems or suggestions can be directed to >mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at > http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org > ------------ Dwayne Voegeli Winona County Commissioner (507) 453-9012 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 359 Pleasant Hill Dr. Winona, MN 55987 ------------ _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
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_______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
