Comments on: The League Observes Local Government http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/3367/ The people, issues, and events of Northfield, MN Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: kiffi summa http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/3367/comment-page-1/#comment-59723 kiffi summa Fri, 16 May 2008 03:15:25 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/archives/3367/#comment-59723 The issue of how independent the Boards and Commissions should be arose directly from the discussion of funding those groups; there were unfortunate terms used in the discussion such as "lockstep" and "cowboying" that I felt were extremely negative to the idea of volunteer citizen boards who are there to use their areas of expertise in advising the council. Larry: you are correct in saying that the ultimate authority lies with the council vote/ decision, and therefor the council (IMHO) should not worry about what initiatives the B&Cs want to present, as they (Council) will either support or deny support. All these separations are quite clearly made in the orientation manual for elected officials. In the ten years I've been attending council meetings , I have never before heard this come up as a area of concern. Perusing Commission minutes looking for perceived possible improprieties does not seem to be a wise use of a council person's time. I would agree with the Mayor and Arnie Nelson that the independence of these citizen Boards and Commissions is important to encourage, as a source of ideas which the council might wish to consider. Council and Staff have their hands full with the everyday needs of running the city, and could actually spend a lot more time on policy discussions. The citizen Bs&Cs have generally been considered to be a valuable resource. After all, having the aye or nay vote is pretty much the final word; why discourage thoughtful behavior? To do so sends the wrong message. There have been times when it has been very difficult to get enough people willing to volunteer for these important advisory positions. Let's not discourage public input, especially when the council can always choose to not accept it. Talking about controls, when you already have the ultimate power of the vote, is not a principle straight out of the "Age of Enlightenment". The issue of how independent the Boards and Commissions should be arose directly from the discussion of funding those groups; there were unfortunate terms used in the discussion such as “lockstep” and “cowboying” that I felt were extremely negative to the idea of volunteer citizen boards who are there to use their areas of expertise in advising the council.

Larry: you are correct in saying that the ultimate authority lies with the council vote/ decision, and therefor the council (IMHO) should not worry about what initiatives the B&Cs want to present, as they (Council) will either support or deny support.

All these separations are quite clearly made in the orientation manual for elected officials. In the ten years I’ve been attending council meetings , I have never before heard this come up as a area of concern.

Perusing Commission minutes looking for perceived possible improprieties does not seem to be a wise use of a council person’s time. I would agree with the Mayor and Arnie Nelson that the independence of these citizen Boards and Commissions is important to encourage, as a source of ideas which the council might wish to consider.

Council and Staff have their hands full with the everyday needs of running the city, and could actually spend a lot more time on policy discussions. The citizen Bs&Cs have generally been considered to be a valuable resource.

After all, having the aye or nay vote is pretty much the final word; why discourage thoughtful behavior? To do so sends the wrong message. There have been times when it has been very difficult to get enough people willing to volunteer for these important advisory positions. Let’s not discourage public input, especially when the council can always choose to not accept it.

Talking about controls, when you already have the ultimate power of the vote, is not a principle straight out of the “Age of Enlightenment”.

]]> By: Larry DeBoer http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/3367/comment-page-1/#comment-59714 Larry DeBoer Thu, 15 May 2008 22:34:54 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/archives/3367/#comment-59714 Good question Ross. It comes up every time controversial issues come before the boards and commissions, who are not elected, but supposedly have some citizen interest in the issue the commissions face. But, as always, it is the responsibility of the ELECTED OFFICIALS to represent the wishes of the voting citizens. As ELECTED Officials they are responsible for setting the agendas and providing priorities to the commissions. The Council's final decisions are the ultimate test of whether my vote for that Councilor will continue. In Northfield Government, we have a defined city limit and only those who live within the city are eligeable to vote on any issues the city faces. What I feel is happening in Northfield City Government is that anyone who comes before the Council and various Boards and Commissions with opinions and letters to the editor or various blogs on the internet are not required to state their voting jurisdication. When many of those non-voters-in-Northfield "stuff the ballot box" with opinions for the Boards and Commissions - and the Boards and Commissions begin to take the opinions as authentic Northfield majority feelings, then the City Council has to step in and make the correct decisions based on the feelings of the electorate. While the opinions of the townships, Dundas, Lonsdale, Webster, Union Lake and Dennison might be useful to the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce, they do not belong in the decision process for the Boards and Commissions - who also must be voting citizens of the Northfield City Limits. So, while the Boards and Commissions may offer some good suggestions to the Council, I want my elected Council to make decisions based on his or her electorate base. Good question Ross. It comes up every time controversial issues come before the boards and commissions, who are not elected, but supposedly have some citizen interest in the issue the commissions face. But, as always, it is the responsibility of the ELECTED OFFICIALS to represent the wishes of the voting citizens. As ELECTED Officials they are responsible for setting the agendas and providing priorities to the commissions. The Council’s final decisions are the ultimate test of whether my vote for that Councilor will continue.

In Northfield Government, we have a defined city limit and only those who live within the city are eligeable to vote on any issues the city faces. What I feel is happening in Northfield City Government is that anyone who comes before the Council and various Boards and Commissions with opinions and letters to the editor or various blogs on the internet are not required to state their voting jurisdication. When many of those non-voters-in-Northfield “stuff the ballot box” with opinions for the Boards and Commissions -- and the Boards and Commissions begin to take the opinions as authentic Northfield majority feelings, then the City Council has to step in and make the correct decisions based on the feelings of the electorate.

While the opinions of the townships, Dundas, Lonsdale, Webster, Union Lake and Dennison might be useful to the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce, they do not belong in the decision process for the Boards and Commissions -- who also must be voting citizens of the Northfield City Limits.

So, while the Boards and Commissions may offer some good suggestions to the Council, I want my elected Council to make decisions based on his or her electorate base.

]]> By: Tracy Davis http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/post/3367/comment-page-1/#comment-59709 Tracy Davis Thu, 15 May 2008 19:17:39 +0000 http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/archives/3367/#comment-59709 Thank you for the post, Ross. Here's the link to the <a href="http://lwvnorthfieldmn.org/reports/" rel="nofollow">LWV Observer reports</a> of meetings of the: * Northfield City Council * Northfield Planning Commission * Economic Development Authority * Northfield Hospital Board * Northfield School Board * Rice County Board of Commissioners Thank you for the post, Ross. Here’s the link to the LWV Observer reports of meetings of the:

* Northfield City Council
* Northfield Planning Commission
* Economic Development Authority
* Northfield Hospital Board
* Northfield School Board
* Rice County Board of Commissioners

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