Will our government of our City of St. Augustine start to "put people first?" Will citizens be represented on our City Commission? Shall our City "put people first" by:
1. Listening: Listening to citizen concerns, learning from citizens' experience and concerns, and protecting citizens from possibility of City government waste, fraud, mismanagement, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance or abuse of power?
2. Halt Wasteful Spending: Instituting zero-based budgeting (ZBB), with an eye toward restraining wasteful City spending on White Elephants and Junkets (WEJ)(like parking garage, NYC and European trips) and Overpriced Objects and Commodities (OOC)(like buying gasoline on the spot market based on telephone price quotes, not long-term contracts)?
3. Information Transparency: Securing your "right to know" about City government, including an Online Reading Room for all documents given to Commissioners (as the County has)?
4. Truly Open Meetings and Transparency (TOMAP): Providing at least one annual Town Listening Meeting, while establishing a fully functioning City website that includes City documents and on-demand "streaming video" access to City meetings, 24/7?
5. Protecting our Environment: Stopping our City's long-secret illegal dumping, holding managers accountable and conserving our trees, quiet streets, waterways and precious cultural, historic and environmental heritage while increasing City recycling, energy conservation, use of alternative fuels, walkability, bicycling, disabled access and sports venues?
6. Worker Protection: Protecting workers' ability to live where they work?
7. Saving on Utilities, Energy and Other Variable Costs: Investigating possible ways of saving our City and residents tax dollars and extending the savings to residents as well.
8. Solving Health Care Crisis: Investigating the possibility of single payor health insurance for all residents of our city and county, as Cape Cod (Barnstable County, Massachusetts) is considering? www.capecare.info Our county's high infant mortality rate amidst great wealth and great poverty requires action.
9. Encourage Environmental Parks, Bicycling and Walkways: Consider adding more all-walking streets -- helping encourage higher paying jobs and, prosperity for small businesses, families, artists, musicians, historic re-enactors, entertainers and vendors?
10. Protecting the Middle Class and Working to Solve Poverty: Raising labor standards and helping workers afford to live where they work, while working to help homeowners keep and repair their homes by obtaining federal community development grants and working to assure affordable housing?
11. Preserving History: Preserving our Ancient City's Native American, Spanish, British, American and nautical history and culture: How do we stop creeping ugliness and destruction of historic and scenic values and burial sites and water pollution?
12. Hurricane Preparedness: Working to improve flood control while enhancing emergency preparedness for hurricanes and other disasters (especially including disabled, senior citizens, students and low-income people)?
13. Creating Greenbelts, Greenspace and an Emerald Necklack of Parks, Managing Growth and Halting Careening, Out-of-Control Ugliness: Can our City do a better job protecting the quality of life and our neighborhoods from speeding trucks, toxic hazards, noise, ugly condo buildings, McMansions, speculators and overdevelopers(a/k/a "flippers")?
14. Protecting Human Rights: Protecting civil and human rights in housing, education, employment, public accommodations, law enforcement and government services, assuring full disabled access to our City, ending de facto discrimination and the "glass ceiling" in City government hiring/ promotion/employment, and assuring balanced memberships on City boards and commissions and fair employment practices?
15. Reconciliation: Healing divisions and honoring our City's historic civil rights pioneers (and hate crime victims) by promoting reconciliation and brotherhood and equality, with discussion of appointment of a Reconciliation Commission and discussion with West Augustine residents of annexation and apologizing for historic wrongs by our City?
16. Employee Free Speech Rights Protection: Guaranteeing protection for all city employees' rights to do their jobs without fear or favor by protecting whistleblower and free speech rights?
17. City Commission Accountability: Providing for annual performance appraisals for City Manager and other municipal managers and supervisors and considering changes to City Charter?
18. Open City Manager Selection Process: Increasing oversight and limiting powers of City Managers and providing for open selection process and search committee for selection of next City Manager, City Attorney and other top positions?
19. Citizen Oversight: Appointing an independent Inspector General, Ombuds (citizen advocate) and Law Enforcement Review Board - all reporting directly to City Commissioners to help eliminate waste and lawsuits?
20. Community of Scholars and Artists (COSA): Increasing public display of artists' work in present and planned public buildings, remove barriers to artists performing, e.g., redressing the St. George Street artist, musician and entertainer ordinance and working to ease "Town vs. Gown" tensions with Florida School for the Deaf and Blind and Flagler College, while helping St. Augustine build upon its reputation as a community of scholars and artists?
21. WIFI Network: Investigating the possibility of a Wireless Internet (WIFI) network for our City, helping grow small business and tourists and encouraging students using the Internet, reducing costs of communicating for our City, our employees and our citizens, building on St. Augustine's growing reputation as a community of scholars and a place of learning? (New Smyrna Beach, Florida and many other cities have done it.)
As JFK said, "a rising tide lifts all boats." I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts on these 21 ideas for the 21st century in St. Augustine.
What do you think?
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084
904-471-7023
EASlavin@aol.com
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