[Electronic-lan] For your comments - Notes on lack of transparency re the dumping of polluted water & comparison of City of Lawrence transparency vs. other cities

[Eric Kirkendall]

Dear friends and neighbors,

I am writing to you as a fellow Lawrence resident, in order to share some
ideas and ask for your feedback.

On Tuesday, I made two recommendations to the City Commission
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Qc7ibUe4oYyiduVfjcbrNI99fUpARmK/view?usp=sharing>
to take specific, narrow actions to improve transparency and citizen
involvement, and a third broader action:

   1. Move the city manager’s report to the beginning of the city
   commission meeting, so residents can tell you their recommendations after
   they hear about the city manager’s plans, but before action is taken.
   2. Put a few informed citizens on the task force charged with finding a
   long-term solution for disposal of the pollution associated with the
   Farmland remediation.
   3. Ensure that decisions that will affect Lawrence residents are always
   made with sufficient citizen involvement and transparency.

Most of our city commissioners responded to me, two of them participated in
a good discussion of some of the issues at last night's Lawrence
Association of Neighborhoods meeting, and I expect a positive outcome on
the first two recommendations.  I offer my thanks to our city commissioners
for the care with which they listen and respond.

However, my last recommendation is very open-ended, so rather than just
complain and say "do something" I did a little research this morning and
put together draft notes for the review and comment of our city
commissioners and anyone interested in exploring the possibility of
improving transparency and governance and in Lawrence.

As my notes explain further, I encountered significant difficulties finding
the information I was looking for on the City of Lawrence website,
confirmed that residents were informed ineffectively and late of the
dumping of polluted water into the Kansas River, and found that the City of
Lawrence's monthly reporting lags far behind some of our peer cities,
including Shawnee, Fort Collins, and Manhattan.

But - did I miss something, such as a channel for communications that
replaces a thorough monthly report?  Please check out my DRAFT notes on the
lack of transparency and examples of how it is done in other cities
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WJAM9RByt5qnmLK3ZdFuR6256gjfyhFXvZwZ3WvhG-k/edit?usp=sharing>,
and let me know of any errors and omissions, and what you think.

As food for thought, the article Local Government Transparency: How To
Improve Visibility For Citizens
<https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/local-government-transparency/> has a
few good paragraphs on this subject.

And a closing thought, this is about process, not people.  I believe
everyone involved is doing their best, but that we can and must do better.

Thank you,


Eric Kirkendall
785-550-3408 <(785)%20550-3408>
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