City communication is really quite good
November 10, 2009
By Administrator
Throughout the election season, we heard citizens and candidates say they wanted to see improved communication between the government and its citizens. We’re not sure what, exactly, needs to be improved.
Your city has an up-to-the minute Web site, City Council members have regular office hours for citizens to go in and chat, the city publishes and mails a newsletter, citizens can sign up for e-mail alerts and RSS feeds.
Before major policy discussion, the city sends out mailers to directly-impacted citizens. City Council meetings are televised live and rebroadcast.
We think the city may fast be approaching a point of diminishing returns in terms of communication.
They could invest in live streaming of meetings on the Internet, but how many people would actually watch them? In a 2008 city survey, only 2 percent depended on Channel 21 for its city news (Sammamish Review ranked number one.)
What is it that citizens want in terms of enhanced communications?
The problem may be two-fold. One, some citizens are simply lazy. For a representative democracy to work, citizens must actively be involved.
For example, the recent uproar about the city trying to push through new shoreline regulations just wasn’t so. It had been talked about and studied for two years before some citizens took note.
And then there are those who think that if their own opinion isn’t acted upon, then the city has poor communications.
Hey, that doesn’t mean you were not heard! It could be that your opinion is only a small piece of the megabytes of information a City Council member takes in.
Certainly, Sammamish is not perfect and communication between elected representatives and their constituents can always be better. Sammamish has acknowledged making mistakes about failing to notify certain homeowners of major projects. But they have strived to learn from those mistakes.
Citizens, take a look in the mirror. Are you part of the two-way street needed for communications to be effective?
Throughout the election season, we heard citizens and candidates say they wanted to see improved communication between the government and its citizens. We’re not sure what, exactly, needs to be improved.
Your city has an up-to-the minute Web site, City Council members have regular office hours for citizens to go in and chat, the city publishes and mails a newsletter, citizens can sign up for e-mail alerts and RSS feeds.
Before major policy discussion, the city sends out mailers to directly-impacted citizens. City Council meetings are televised live and rebroadcast.
We think the city may fast be approaching a point of diminishing returns in terms of communication.
They could invest in live streaming of meetings on the Internet, but how many people would actually watch them? In a 2008 city survey, only 2 percent depended on Channel 21 for its city news (Sammamish Review ranked number one.)
What is it that citizens want in terms of enhanced communications?
The problem may be two-fold. One, some citizens are simply lazy. For a representative democracy to work, citizens must actively be involved.
For example, the recent uproar about the city trying to push through new shoreline regulations just wasn’t so. It had been talked about and studied for two years before some citizens took note.
And then there are those who think that if their own opinion isn’t acted upon, then the city has poor communications.
Hey, that doesn’t mean you were not heard! It could be that your opinion is only a small piece of the megabytes of information a City Council member takes in.
Certainly, Sammamish is not perfect and communication between elected representatives and their constituents can always be better. Sammamish has acknowledged making mistakes about failing to notify certain homeowners of major projects. But they have strived to learn from those mistakes.
Citizens, take a look in the mirror. Are you part of the two-way street needed for communications to be effective?
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