City Council Meeting, March 8th — Public Comment
This is yet another City plan created without the prior detailed input of the people who will be most affected by it. In the Workshop I attended yesterday, I detected zero enthusiasm for the new structure (and lots of skepticism) from participants.
Rather than using the overly broad and vaguely aspirational Comprehensive Plan categories, I suggest the Boards be aligned with the City’s own staff organization. That would create a natural alignment of staff units to support their work.
It’s also worth noting that making the structure of these advisory bodies more hierarchical will likely stifle innovation, require more not less staff work, and throttle communication with Council even further. Recent management studies make clear the benefits in innovation, communication, and participation when organizations are flatter and lines of communication are more direct.
This process was not inclusive: the public and those affected only learned about it when a plan had already been formulated.