1. City Charter approved 6/4/1996
Neighborhood Councils and Community Forum

2. Purpose
Advise the City Council and the Mayor on neighborhood and City-wide issues.
Increase citizen participation
Build cooperation and improved communication between citizens and City officials.

3. Responsibilities
City—provide information on City and neighborhood issues to all Neighborhood Councils and the Community Forum regularly and in a timely manner.
The NC and CF—report to the City Council and the Mayor regarding neighborhood and city wide interests and concerns.

4. Office Staffing Liaison turnover—every 1-2 years
Past 3 years—5 work study students
Spotty coverage due to work study limited hours and schedules/vacations/and funding
Constant retraining-- inefficient and time consuming

5. Current Activities NCs are engaged and positive
15 active NCs-most ever
Previously sparsely attended; attendance average 50 people
New—strategic planning done for 11 NC
Increased communications with Mayor City, Council , Staff

6. Time commitments
Average 4 NC meetings per week; prep time 2 hours each meeting plus 3 hours meeting and travel time (20+ hours/week)
NC yearly elections—train new members (15 NC x 4 hours)
City meetings—3 per week- one hour each
Community Forum & LT—each monthly—8+ hours/month
Constant citizen support phone and —2-3 hours per day

7. Time intensive projects
ONGOING:
Neighborhood Project funds—citywide recruitment—citizen training, support, department collaboration, committee selections, grant management; small and large grants
Traffic Circle—collaborative (Extension and Parks and Rec and UM ambassadors) promotion, training, ongoing support, grant management
Candidates’ Forums

8. Time intensive projects
Months of Preparation
Bus Tour
ONVYA
Future and continuing projects:
Sustain adequate level of support for increased # NCs
All NCs active with support for subcommittees
Neighborhood summit
Citizens’ Academy