Survey: Michigan Officials Shun Citizen Input

Democracy Tree

Watchdog Commentary on All Three Branches of Government

 

Survey: Michigan Officials Shun Citizen Input

Posted on June 2, 2013 by admin

 

 

Are Michigan’s elected leaders open to citizen input? If the Republican-led legislature and the governor are any indication, the answer is a resounding “NO!”

Starting with the Emergency Manager law of 2011, and its equally evil successor, the tone was set on the topic of citizen input — Michigan was no longer a “government by the people” state. Close on the heels of the rough-shod rush to re-legislate the EM law in defiance of the sucessful referendum to repeal it, Michigan workers were next attacked with an unwanted Right-to-Work law, then a wolf hunt law was passed in the face of overwhelming lack of citizen support, and most recently we see these same petty lawmakers claiming they are so damned principled that they are willing to deny healthcare to the working poor. 

At eye-level on the door to my township hall is a decal that says “Citizen Driven” — it’s the first thing you see upon entering the building. It was placed there by the previous township supervisor, who was truly dedicated to a government by the people. He demonstrated his commitment to open democracy by forming citizen’s advisory committees to address key concerns in the community. Robust public input was a hallmark of his time in office. At times, the business community kicked and screamed when they didn’t automatically get their way through their routine bullying and intimidation, but our leaders understood they were there to serve those residents that elected them.

Our little community stood in stark contrast to what was happening across the state, as the residents of the cities of Flint, Pontiac, Benton Harbor and Detroit, and the school districts of Muskegon Heights, Highland Park and Detroit lost all say in their governance under the forced brutality of emergency management.
Yet, towns and cities don’t necessarily need an Emergency Manager to lose sight of the democratic process. At a recent Traverse City Council meeting, Mayor Estes threatened a citizen speaker with arrest, and then recessed the meeting to prevent her from further expressing her opinion. He claimed she was off-topic, but the video record begs to differ.

How prevalent is this kind of anti-input attitude? Much more so than one would think…

The Michigan Public Policy Institute just published their findings in part 2 of their research series on citizen involvement in government. The report is based on the results of a statewide survey of local government leaders taken in the Fall of 2012. Among the key findings are:

Most local leaders in Michigan believe citizens should provide input to the policy making process, though relatively few think citizens should be deeply involved. Overall, 17 %  of local leaders say citizens should simply stay informed about policy issues, while 64% say citizens should provide some input. Few see deeper roles for citizens, whether by identifying policy options from which officials would choose (7%), by recommending specific policy choices (9%), or actually making decisions on behalf of the local government (1%).

(Yes, that adds up to only 98 percent, because 2 percent of elected officials actually answered “don’t know”.)

In short, a whopping 81 percent believe in limited or no citizen input.

So, what then is the best way to be heard on local policy decisions? Besides standing-up at the public comment portion of a meeting, it is best to send both a snail-mail and an email to all elected officials. Request that your letter be included in their meeting’s agenda packet under “correspondence”. On the letter, list all recipients copied. Send a similar letter to the editor of your local paper expressing your policy concerns.

In policymaking matters, much like with voting, bitching rights are tied to your level of involvement.

Amy Kerr Hardin
In loving memory of our young friend Owen, whom at the age of 17, we lost unexpectedly last Friday. He is loved by so many, and missed by all. https://www.facebook.com/#!/OwenWilliamsonInLovingMemory?fref=ts