Sorry – I didn’t do so well on the blogging, I got pneumonia instead . . . but I got out of the house today for the first day since last Friday and so I thought I try a blog as well . . .
I left the house to go to the two hour Board of Estimates discussion on the reorganization of the Planning and Development Department. This is a tough one for me. There are some good things in the reorganization proposal, but most of them can stand alone, without the “reorganization”. And I’m having a hard time understanding what the “reorganization” part of the proposal achieves.
In general, I got out of my sickbed to ask the following questions or raise concerns:
1. Where is the public process that was promised? Originally, the proposal for reorganization was supposed to go to all of the affected committees so that there would be ample input. Now, we are expected to vote on this and then there will be resolutions in the future that will implement portions of the proposal. When I tried to ask about this in more detail, we were interrupted by Ald. Bruer and I’m not sure the Mayor’s office got to adequately answer the process questions.
2. When they combine the Community and Economic Development Unit with the Office of Business Resources, CDBG Office, Office of Community Services and Senior Center under the Economic Development Director, and the Director is directed to “analyze these sections to find better ways of targeting and coordinating the City’s economic development resources” and “he/she may choose to combine or reorganize these sections or change the way they interact.” with “the end game will be a better-coordinated set of economic development tools, with a units mission and philosophy working twoard shared priorities” what is to happen to the non-economic development goals of the existing departments such as the CDBG office and Office of Community Services? (sorry, that was a horribly long sentence)
3. In all of the neighborhood services that are being proposed, where are the services that help neighborhood associations be effective? Where is the liaison relationship that will assist neighborhoods in working their way through the city bureaucracy? Where are the training and resources that help the neighborhood associations be more effective?
4. In asking what the “temporary One-Stop Shop” was going to be, we discovered that it is nothing more than some extra meetings set up with the developers as they propose projects.
5. I raised concerns that the new process to make conditional uses into permitted uses would lead to problems with neighborhoods if the process did not work with their monthly meeting schedules.
6. I raised concerns that the combination of the Community Services Commission, Community Development Block Grant Commission plus the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee and the Early Childhood Care and Education Board would be waaaaaaay too much of a workload for any alder or citizen volunteer.
These concerns and questions came from reading the Mayor’s memo and I have to admit I have not read the full 108-page report. In general, it looks like good progress is being made, but this doesn’t look like its ready for prime-time. There hasn’t been adequate time for public process and there certainly are alot of details missing. Perhaps we will learn more over the next month before we pass the budget, but I have a hard time seeing the council passing this in its current state.
