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Date: 12/27/2022
SPRINGFIELD – The Working Group on Civic Engagement concluded its series of meetings by presenting their final recommendations for increasing civic engagement and government accessibility during a Dec. 20 press conference in the City Council chambers.
Background
Established in October, the Working Group on Civic Engagement was formed under the guidance of City Council President Jesse Lederman. Lederman viewed the working group’s creation as a crucial tool for increasing community input in local government.
“I believe that community and public participation should be at the heart of the work local government does every single day. We need more community voices at the table to solve our city’s greatest challenges and develop the next generation of leaders,” said Lederman in an October press conference.
The creation of the working group was one of Lederman’s first initiatives as City Council president. Lederman took over the role in June following Ward 5 City Councilor and Council President Marcus Williams’ resignation in May.
Lederman announced that the Working Group on Civic Engagement would be comprised of community volunteers from diverse backgrounds. Educators, medical professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders were among the 15 members officially selected.
The 15 members include Edward P. Boland Elementary School Principal Lisa Wilson Bakowski, pharmacist Dr. Patrice Caudle, Pastor Gumersindo “Manny” Gomez, Massachusetts Senior Action Council member Mable Lene Sharif and President and CEO of WAMF Consulting Ron Davis.
Additionally, the group features local residents Frank Ryan, Kareem Kibodya, Areliz Barbosa, Jasper Mccoy, Elizabeth Payne-Ghedi, Brenda Evans, Magdalena Gomez, Erica Swallow, Juan Falcon and Jada Francis-Fisher.
Lederman appointed Ward 5 City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce as the working group’s chairperson. In addition, City Clerk Gladys Oyola-Lopez and Focus Springfield Executive Director Stephen Cary were introduced as advisors for the volunteer group.
The Working Group on Civic Engagement gathered over several meetings to discuss a series of recommendations they would present by the end of 2022. The meetings included a Nov. 4 public forum that welcomed additional input from community members on ways to improve engagement with local government.
Click-Bruce shared that the working group’s meetings sparked productive conversation on meaningful changes in Springfield.
“It was excellent … We talked about getting our young folks more civically involved and also keeping our seniors abreast as to what’s going on,” said Click-Bruce in a November interview with Reminder Publishing.
Final recommendations
Lederman opened the Dec. 20 press conference by reflecting on the efforts achieved by the working group.
“They are an ambitious group of individuals who have laid out an ambitious set of recommendations,” said Lederman.
Click-Bruce considered the working group “a great group of individuals.”
“This is a dynamic group, very diverse … they were great to work with, and that’s what local government is about,” said Click-Bruce.
Members from the Working Group on Civic Engagement came to the podium to present their eight official recommendations. Each recommendation highlights specific problems and solutions while noting the next steps for implementing the changes.
Recommendation one
The first recommendation focused on the creation of a layman’s cover sheet with all new ordinance proposals and amendments. In her presentation of the recommendation, Swallow said that many in the public find legislative language to be inaccessible.
“Legislative language can be inaccessible or confusing, making engagement with local legislative proposals difficult for members of the public,” said Swallow.
With the creation of a layman’s cover sheet, Swallow and the working group inspire for the public to gain a better understanding of legislative proposals.
“The layman’s cover sheet would break down legislative proposals in plain, accessible language and clearly detail the intent of councilor’s actions in introducing new legislation, making it easier for members of the public to provide feedback,” said Swallow.
The recommendation will require the City Council to introduce and adopt the rule change during a future meeting.
Recommendation two
Recommendation two calls for the implementation of text and email alerts for public meetings. Caudle said the recommendation would adopt technology to allow Springfield residents to sign up for text and email alerts for when public meetings are scheduled.
The alerts are intended to be adopted for all City Council, School Committee, subcommittee, municipal board and commission meetings. The working group also aspires for the city to offer the services free of charge to neighborhood councils and civic associations.
Caudle explained that the recommendation derives from concerns around the accessibility of meetings.
“The city of Springfield should adopt an opt-in public alert system to allow residents to sign up to receive notifications and agendas to make such information more accessible,” said Caudle.
The City Council and City Clerk’s Office will now work with the Finance Department and the Information Technology Department to identify the best and most cost effective technology to incorporate. The impact of this recommendation will be measured by comparing the number of sign-ups for meetings over an annual basis.
Recommendation three
Recommendation three highlights the launch of an online public speakout and online committee meeting sign-up pages. Francis-Fisher shared that the current policies for signing up for public speakout and virtual participation are not clear.
“The public speakout policies of the City Council and other public bodies are not widely known, and signing up for public speakout or virtual participation can be time intensive for members of the public,” said Francis-Fisher.
Francis-Fisher and the Working Group on Civic Engagement aspires for the sign-up pages to improve public engagement.
“Launching an online registration page for public speakout and virtual committee meetings allow for sign-up policies to be centrally located and make it more convenient for members of the public to initiate engagement,” said Francis-Fisher.
Similar to the second recommendation, the City Council will work with the City Clerk’s Office and Information Technology Department to build out and launch the online sign-up.
Recommendation four
Kibodya presented the fourth recommendation, which focuses on adopting early and mail-in voting for local elections. In Springfield, voter turnout for local elections is typically under 10 percent.
However, Kibodya and the working group noted that early and mail-in voting were both readily utilized during statewide elections.
“Existing data shows that a significant number of Springfield voters are already utilizing early and mail-in voting options when it is offered in statewide elections, and expanding this to local elections will create consistency in voting mediums across election cycles, and break down barriers that can exist to participation for all voters,” said Kibodya.
Kibodya and the working group aspires for the adoption of early and mail-in voting to improve participation in local elections.
“The adoption of early and mail-in voting in local elections breaks down barriers to participation and creates consistency between local, state and federal election practices,” said Kibodya.
The implementation of early and mail-in voting for local elections requires two springfield election commissioners to recommend the adoption before a final vote from the City Council. The group aspires for these steps to be achieved for the 2023 election.
Recommendation five
Recommendation five calls for the creation of local government briefings as a tool to inform the community. Gomez and the working group shared that some residents expressed a need to hear more regular updates.
“Residents expressed a clear need to hear more regular updates from local elected officials, including what initiatives and issues they are working on in an accessible manner,” said Gomez.
The government briefings aspire to include the City Council, the School Committee and Mayor Domenic Sarno’s office to update the community on their work. The briefings would be streamed live on Focus Springfield and social media while also including a call-in conference number for older residents.
The City Council intends to begin the monthly briefings in 2023.
Recommendation six
The sixth recommendation focuses on the expansion of the city’s 311 call center operations. Payne-Ghedi explained that many in the community feel that the 311 service has some limitations.
“The 311 Call Center is widely recognized by the community, but more capacity is desired from residents who are seeking two-way communication from city departments and closer tracking of service request outcomes,” said Payne-Ghedi.
Payne-Ghedi and the working group devised a comprehensive strategy for addressing changes with the call center via an internal audit.
“Working together actively with the city clerk, the director of 311, and 311 staff, the City Council and the director of internal audit should conduct a deep dive into 311 call center practices nationwide with the goal of expanding and improving our own operations to include two-way communication, service request tracking and follow-up, and interfacing of the 311 call center with municipal departments,” said Payne-Ghedi.
The internal audit will be the first step in cementing avenues for improving the call center’s operation.
Recommendation seven and eight
The final recommendations focus on ways to expand opportunities for youth participation and the inclusion of the senior citizen community.
Bakowski and McCoy detailed how recommendation seven will work to make local government more accessible for youths through a multi-faceted approach.
“The working group acknowledges the magnitude and multifaceted nature of this particular recommendation, and as such admits there is no one “solution,” instead submitting a series of recommendations to serve as a starting point for our local government to demonstrate a commitment to addressing youth engagement,” said Bakowski.
Some of the youth recommendations include the creation of paid internship programs through municipal departments, the establishment of a youth representative for neighborhood councils and civic associations and a “Councilor for a Day” program that will allow youths to act in the role as a City Councilor at their school.
Additionally, other programs include arts-based civic engagement training with the city’s poet laureate, a voting curriculum for youths and the intergenerational initiatives to engage seniors and the youth population.
The City Council will begin adopting these recommendations through the creation of a youth ad-hoc committee.
Sharif shared how recommendation eight will improve inclusivity for the senior citizen community by “promoting ways to actively include senior citizens in decisions about their lives, especially those facing physical and mental disabilities.”
The City Council will work with the Commissioner of Health & Human Services Helen Caulton-Harris, the director of elder affairs, and the City Council’s Elder Affairs Committee to commission a report assessing the barriers to senior engagement and develop holistic, community based solutions inclusive of input directly from senior residents, according to the working group’s report.
Each member of the working group received a citation for their contributions to the final recommendations. Reflecting on the conclusion of the working group’s assignment, Lederman said he is “looking forward to a productive 2023.”
Readers can learn more about the Working Group on Civic Engagement’s full report at https://www.jesseforspringfield.com/single-post/springfield-city-council-working-group-on-civic-engagement-releases-final-recommendations