Roseville Task Forces Offers Recommendations for Increasing Civic Involvement

The Roseville Neighborhood and Community Engagement Task Force presented its final recommendations to the Roseville Council at its meeting last week.

Here are the highlights of its recommendations:

1) Integrate Citizen Engagement into City Hall Culture
1.1 Policy Intent or Practice:  The city should work to enrich and strengthen civic engagement at city hall, and encourage employees and elected officials to appreciate civic engagement as an asset.

2) Increase Effective Public Participation in City Council and Commissions
2.1 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should foster public participation at both the council and commission level.
2.2 Policy Intent or Practice:  The city should widely publicize openings on all commissions and ad hoc groups and encourage all residents to apply.
2.3 Policy Intent or Practice:  The city should develop and enforce an absence policy for commissioners.

3) Engage Roseville Renters and Non-Single-Family Homeowners
3.1 Policy Intent or Policy:  The city should engage renters as it does homeowners.

4) Provide Public Participation Support, Training, and Resources
4.1 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should sponsor administrative supports to foster more effective volunteerism and public participation.
4.2 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should invest in civic engagement training for public officials and city staff to foster a climate of public participation.
4.3 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should develop educational and informational resources for citizens to learn how best to participate in civic issues.

5) Enhance Print Communications and Dissemination
5.1 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should continue to disseminate information via printed material, keeping in mind that many residents rely solely on print media for news and
information.
5.2 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should include pertinent information and stories related to civic engagement and neighborhoods in its print communications, the Roseville City News.

6) Enhance Website and Electronic Communications
6.1 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should continuously improve its website to make it
most user-friendly, thereby fostering civic engagement.
6.2 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should maximize two-way communications technologies (Web 2.0) to facilitate timely public participation and engagement.
6.3 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should enhance access to City Council and commission agenda items, minutes, and recorded meetings through its (and/or North Suburban CTV’s) website.
6.4 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should foster direct and efficient email communication with public officials.

7) Enhance Overall City Communication
7.1 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should go beyond the legal requirements for public notification on issues critical to Roseville’s development (refer to Recommendation 9: “Improve Notification Processes” for suggested criteria).
7.2 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should emphasize communications utilizing existing
systems more proactively and effectively with the intention of engaging residents.

8) Foster and Support Vibrant Neighborhoods
8.1 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should continue to support residents’ efforts to create neighborhoods as a means to build community.
8.2 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should support neighborhoods in developing neighborhood networks and associations.
8.3 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should increase access to public participation events and facilitate meetings at the neighborhood level.

9) Improve Notification Process
9.1 Policy Intent or Practice: The city should expand the notification radius and methods to take into account developments that have great impact and/or involve issues of probable concern.