Christine McGrath
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Question 5: If you are elected to the Council, what will be your top 3 legislative priorities and what will stand in the way of you making them happen? Be specific, and tell voters what your initiatives will cost.
If elected to council, I would like to have an impact by transforming how our local government operates. None of what I am proposing needs to be accomplished via ordinance or resolution, though, and requires very little cost. What I am proposing is a re-orientation of certain activities.
- Transforming local government communication
Local government has an obligation to communicate to residents on issues that will impact them and to always be working towards increased transparency. During this campaign I have met hundreds of residents from all areas of town, and one consistent message is that residents are having a hard time keeping up with the key issues that matter to them. The discussions on housing development have only amplified this issue, and now residents are demanding proactive communication from our local government.
Here are some ideas that I will advocate for, so that our local government could improve communications and transparency: - Livestream meetings, starting with Town Council meetings.
- Move the start times for Town Council and volunteer meetings later (7:30 or 8 pm).
- Create opt-in email and text messaging services to send out meeting agendas and minutes to encourage participation.
- Taking a best practice from the Verona Schools: create a “Friday Folder” email for town communications, including meeting and event communication.
- Ensure every local government committee meeting is created as an event on social media platforms and promoted.
- Host “Verona Government 101” sessions for residents to provide an overview of how our government is structured and the committees that set policy and impact development. Partner with existing civic clubs and organizations to host sessions for new residents.
- Create a new process for the recruitment for volunteer committee positions to ensure that all residents are aware of local government volunteer opportunities and have an equal chance to participate.
- Reform the volunteer committee appointment process to include interviewing all committee appointment applicants.
Cost to improve communications: Minimal (less than $1,000 per year)
Incorporating resident feedback into day to day operations and capital improvement projects
As part of the effort to improve communications efforts, we also need to broaden how residents can participate and provide input on local government initiatives. Our local government could adopt the following ideas to ensure a continuous flow of feedback on how local government is operating:
- Hold town hall listening sessions on the weekends to hear issues raised by residents.
- Conduct regular town-wide surveys to get feedback on:
- Pool
- Recreation classes
- Downtown business district
- Traffic and pedestrian safety
- Garbage, recycling, and environmentally sustainable initiatives
- Ensure all committees have an email address where residents can send feedback directly.
- Develop a process by which resident feedback is solicited before capital improvement projects, such as playground re-designs.As a councilperson, I would be committed to transparency, and will hold regular office hours – both in person and virtual – at times that are convenient for residents.
Cost of online surveying tools: Minimal (less than $1,000 per year)
Strategic Planning
I have spoken many times during this election of our need to create a 10-year strategic plan to appropriately prioritize local government initiatives and spending. Resources are limited. Verona’s local government needs to create a long-term strategy to prioritize how tax dollars should be invested over the next several years.
Development of a strategic plan is usually assisted by a third-party consultant who helps to organize the various components of the plan’s development. This includes a quantitative survey of residents and small business owners that will be necessary in its development, and the hosting of several small focus groups and 1:1 interviews with key stakeholders. Both the Verona Public Library and the Verona Board of Education used consultants to help with the development of their strategic plan, and I would advocate for doing so here as well.
Cost of third-party consultant: Approximately $10-$15,000 for the project
