It's Time to Apply for a City Board or Commission Spot

With the end of December, many terms are expiring

One of the goals of this project has been to encourage more citizens to be involved in their local government, and one of the most productive ways to encourage that high level of citizen involvement has been through encouraging residents to apply to be on a citizen board or commission. These boards and commissions are a great way to get citizens involved in local democratic processes and have them play a role in the decision-making process within their community.

In addition, our community benefits from a strong core of committed individuals working to create a strong community culture. Often times, today’s board and committee member becomes tomorrow’s elected leader. These boards and commissions, when properly utilized, provide a great benefit for the entire community and for those willing to serve.

And with December being here, many terms are ending at the end of this month and there should be new opportunities for residents to step up and serve their community. But, the operative word there is should.

This community has learned the hard way that while our local government has all the trappings of a community that actively seeks and desires broad citizen participation, the reality is a far, far different story. While the city webpage has a “Board Interest Form” that can be accessed here, it is part of a broken process that isn’t designed to help encourage citizen participation.

How do we know this? Well, the Mayor has gone on the record saying her goal is not to enhance citizen participation in boards and commissions, but rather, to simply reappoint incumbent board members.

When some council members questioned the mayor about individuals that were applying to be on the board of the Community Improvement Corporation, she made her position crystal clear:

Council President Rozell: “Mayor, did we have any other input from citizens that expressed an intrest? Nobody expressed to be on the CIC?”

Mayor Oda: “No.”

Council Member Schilling: “I have a question. Madame mayor did the, um the five that are being reappointed to the board, are they, did they resubmit their application to do that?”

Mayor Oda: “Not a requirement.”

Council Member Schilling: “You don't require that? Okay so they just, you contacted them and they said, yeah we'd like to continue.”

Mayor Oda: “The process is we reach out to them to ask if they are interested in reappointment and if they are then we don't go any further with it.”

Through a public records request, this publication found that in fact, four individuals applied to be on the Community Improvement Corporation board; a man who lives on Long Street, a woman who lives on Surrey Road, a woman who lives on Branford Road and a man who lives on Lincoln Avenue. It’s unfortunate that the Mayor couldn’t be honest with City Council when she was asked a direct question.

But, the reality is that the way our board and appointment process works here in Troy is that our Mayor is happy to give out what is akin to a lifetime appointment; if you want to remain on the board or commission, that seat is yours. Sure, we have an online form that residents may fill out to express interest, but in the end, that holds no bearing on the appointment process.

This matters because at the end of this year, terms are expiring for one member of the city’s beleaguered Planning Commission, one member of the City’s Recreation Board, one member of the Income Tax Board of Review, one member of the City’s Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund Review Committee, three members of the Community Reinvestment Area Housing Council, one member of the Human Relations Commission and three members of the Board of the Community Improvement Corporation.

And growing new leadership within a community is an indicator of a strong community culture; it’s why programs like Leadership Troy, put on the by the Troy Chamber of Commerce, exist. It is certainly a sad state of affairs when our own elected officials have zero interest in growing and nurturing the next generation of leaders within our community.

This project is all about informing, involving and inspiring our citizens to take responsibility for their town and play a more active role in the civic affairs of the place they call home. And it is, within that spirit, I want to encourage you to fill out the city’s board and interest form.

Granted, you may not get chosen to serve, but you have at least show this community that you are willing to make your hometown a stronger community for the future. And, if you do decide to take the plunge and fill out the form, please let this publication know by dropping a line at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com. We would love to track how many people applied for the open spots outlined above.

What do you think?

Are you planning to apply? Do you have questions on what some of these boards do? Our paid subscribers are more than welcome to leave their ideas and insights in the comment thread!

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