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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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Anyone else get their letter from the Mayor today about the Ward Captains?
I heard from someone that was there that city hall is buzzing like a beehive. I called my ward captain to get some things on the list & she said her phone has been ringing off the hook. People are telling her that they couldn't get a response from their council person about anything & they hope this works.
Citizens Service Bureau disbanded.
Reducing supervisory ranks in the Police department.
Ward Captains.
Should be interesting times ahead.
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_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:15 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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| Yes, the letter is about reporting streets that need to be paved/patched and structures that need to be demolished in your ward. Several months ago our councilman was at our group meeting and asked that we get this information to him. His name wasn't on the memorandum on the reverse side of the letter so I have to assume he reported the information he received. |
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Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:29 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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The 5th ward captain told me she's been swamped with calls. She's getting calls about a lot more than streets & houses.
Our son lives in the 3rd, & he's seen that captain driving slowly through the area writing down the addresses of abandoned houses. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:02 am |
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Ryan Eashoo
F L I N T O I D
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This is good, we need this kind of activity in the neighborhoods. I applaud the mayors efforts!
quote:
Dave Starr schreef:
Anyone else get their letter from the Mayor today about the Ward Captains?
I heard from someone that was there that city hall is buzzing like a beehive. I called my ward captain to get some things on the list & she said her phone has been ringing off the hook. People are telling her that they couldn't get a response from their council person about anything & they hope this works.
Citizens Service Bureau disbanded.
Reducing supervisory ranks in the Police department.
Ward Captains.
Should be interesting times ahead.
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_________________
Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:49 pm |
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Josh Freeman
F L I N T O I D
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Another Kangaroo Council? Man.. this sounds like something you would see on the BBC about some African government..... The Executive concentrating power while slowly dissolving the legislative branch.... interesting...
I've got a question though, why did the wards that had Council folks respond still get the letter. Why add the the $4 million debt by sending a letter to those wards at taxpayer expense.
Another question. These folks weren't elected to anything. Do they get to prioritize that work that is going to be done? How are they held accountable by the citizens?
Just another fire set by the Mayor to keep the people distracted. Isn't it the executive's job to pave the streets. Doesn't he hire a capable Transportation Director that is educated in street maintenance to determine which streets need attention the most? Do we really want the Councilpeople (i.e. Sandy Hill) determining which street should have priority? Most of them don't even know the boundries of the Ward they represent.
Interesting indeed. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:26 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Josh Freeman schreef:
...why did the wards that had Council folks respond still get the letter. Why add the the $4 million debt by sending a letter to those wards at taxpayer expense.
Another question. These folks weren't elected to anything. Do they get to prioritize that work that is going to be done? How are they held accountable by the citizens?
It appears all wards got letters. Potholes are ongoing.
Our ward captain was asked if she'd like to be a volunteer. All she does is take the telephone report from the citizen, and report all calls at the end of the day. She was a mini-station volunteer many years before retiring. How would you have that person be "accountable?"
One might guess that serious problems will be addressed immediately, and the rest of the information compiled by a certain date will be grouped and paved or addressed accordingly. For a more definitive answer you could call the number shown on the letter. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:04 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| The Mayor asked the Council members to meet with him and build a list for paving & demolitions. If they choose not to meet with the Mayor - do their job & represent the citizens in their ward - then get someone to do it for them. The Council seems to be too busy fighting everything the Mayor does to have any time for their constituents. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:26 pm |
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Josh Freeman
F L I N T O I D
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If you have an issue with a street or code enforcement, why not just call the appropriate department at City Hall? Isn't that what we pay these folks for....
Just think... the phone number is listed in the phone book (we all get two every year) negating the need to send a letter around to the entire city of flint.... bulk rate is about .30 for a letter... times that by say 50,000 households (though businesses got them too) that works out to $15,000.00 just for postage. Then add the cost of the letter and envelope and we are easily at $20,000.00
Is the Mayor suggesting that the department that he is responsible for is not capable to respond to the needs of the residents? |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:39 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Josh Freeman schreef:
If you have an issue with a street or code enforcement, why not just call the appropriate department at City Hall? Isn't that what we pay these folks for....
Josh, I reported to Street Maintenance by phone a huge hole in the street sinking where there had been city construction--not a pothole--was at a guess 8x10 feet excavation to start with. The dirt fill-in had settled and there was more dirt at the side to put in the hole. Also reported it to councilman at meeting mentioned previously. After that, there was some asphalt put on the hole but by far not nearly enough. This past week I saw a Street Maintenance truck ahead of me and flashed my lights and drove up beside him and told him about it, he said he'd check it out. He actually drove up and stopped at the edge of the hole. I drove by him, so don't know if he actually got out of his truck but if he drove over it when he left he'd sure feel it. If it's not filled in in a few days I'll call again. Our "ward captain" said someone also reported it to her.
Months ago I also reported a missing one-way sign downtown. I was told it would be taken care of--it didn't happen. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:26 pm |
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Josh Freeman
F L I N T O I D
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So are ward captains going to solve this problem? I would hope that we could address the issue with the non-response when it was properly reported to the proper CITY OFFICIAL. That is the problem that needs to be fixed. How is adding another layer going to solve it?
Hell, when I was on Council and would report things to the Administration, very rarely were they ever corrected. I can remember them asking me for a list of needs for the parks in my ward... never was it acted upon. I was asked for a list of hot spots for devils night... drove my entire and wrote everything up... never was responded to.... Frustrating on every level when the simple things can't get taken care of.... |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:43 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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Ward captains alone aren't going to solve the problem, but if they're reporting problem spots to somebody who will do something about them there may be hope to get some of them resolved.
How do current city council members determine which items they're going to act on? Why do some city council members not return phone calls from their constituents? Why do some city council members refuse to learn to use email? Next time there's a city council election we should ask the candidates whether they use email, cell phones, or how they will respond to concerns of citizens in their ward.
Another idea is to have a central City of Flint website location where we can report concerns in individual wards. For example, my residence in one ward wouldn't prevent my interest or possible support of a concern in another's ward. What could affect one could affect all of us. Community groups can overlap wards. We had a visitor from another area at our last group meeting who was interested in learning how we do things. We can learn from each other. |
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:03 pm |
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Josh Freeman
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
00SL2 schreef:
How do current city council members determine which items they're going to act on? Why do some city council members not return phone calls from their constituents? Why do some city council members refuse to learn to use email? Next time there's a city council election we should ask the candidates whether they use email, cell phones, or how they will respond to concerns of citizens in their ward.
Another idea is to have a central City of Flint website location where we can report concerns in individual wards. For example, my residence in one ward wouldn't prevent my interest or possible support of a concern in another's ward. What could affect one could affect all of us. Community groups can overlap wards. We had a visitor from another area at our last group meeting who was interested in learning how we do things. We can learn from each other.
I agree with you on this... almost every Council Member has a city paid cell phone... they all have email accounts... they have staff in the office from 8 to 5 monday through friday to answer calls and take messages for them.... there is no excuse for not being available to the residents. I still get at least 5 calls a week because they can't get ahold of the current Councilperson.
We had talked about instituting a complaint form online for residents that would go directly to the correct department.... never happened though. The Councilmembers are able to input a service request form online that goes directly to the Police Department.. so they can report abandoned vehicles, drug houses, etc..... the same type of service should be available to the residents |
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Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:43 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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I've sent emails to the Mayor. A member of his staff replied that it was forwarded to the appropriate department. In a day or 2, I got an answer from that department. Emails to my councilperson are never answered. When i asked why, I was told: "I don't do that email stuff, it's too complicated". How hard would it be for someone on the Council's staff to print the emails and put them on the appropriate desk?
Online forms and emails are good, but a lot of people in this city don't have computers & email. If a councilperson doesn't return, or respond to, phone calls, something is needed to handle complaints. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:43 am |
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Adam Ford
F L I N T O I D
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| At least one or two of our city council people don't know how to use email. If they can't email I wonder if they even know how to use the internet. |
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Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:10 am |
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Josh Freeman
F L I N T O I D
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| Well, I guess next year we'll be able to hold all of these Council Folks accountable... Those that have been unresponsive should be booted. |
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Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:53 am |
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