Participatory Democracy

The City currently shares updates with citizens in several ways, including the city-wide email updates (sign up here), the quarterly newsletter (click here to see all), and the Mayor Report (click here to see all). Citizens are, likewise, able to share their thoughts and concerns with elected or appointed officials, publicly, by making statements at public meetings or public hearings. Although there is certainly value in these one-sided communications, I think that the entire community benefits when officials (1) provide opportunities for public dialogue and engagement (i.e., actual conversations) and (2) explicitly seek regular citizen input—and not just from those who can physically attend public meetings.

As the mother of two young children, I know how difficult it is to attend City Council, Planning Commission, or other public meetings that begin at 6p or 7p. Since July 2019, I have brought my children to several such meetings, to the amusement of some and the chagrin of others. Because 40% of City of Dexter households have children under the age of 18 (ACS 2018), I know I am not alone in this scheduling difficulty. And that’s not even including those whose work schedules conflict with traditional public meeting times. I also know how much time it takes to digest 300-page meeting packets or to search through months and months of meeting minutes to piece together the timeline of key policy decisions.

Here in the City of Dexter, at least 25% of registered voters are members of local social media groups designed to foster community among area residents. We can capitalize on the already-expressed interest in general online engagement by introducing a more formal online platform designed specifically for civic engagement. Combining these new methods with traditional off-line methods will ensure that all citizens have a convenient way to be heard. (Importantly, 94.6% of City of Dexter households have a computer and 87.1% of City of Dexter households have broadband Internet access [ACS 2018]).

In addition to shorter polls about specific issues, periodic comprehensive city-wide surveys are also a valuable tool to gauge progress toward stated goals and citizen satisfaction. In fact, in early 2011, as part of its Master Plan review process, the City of Dexter conducted such a (online) survey of its residents (see here for the current Master Plan, adopted in November 2019). A total of 162 residents responded. To the best of my knowledge, the City has not conducted such a comprehensive survey since. I think such a survey is long overdue given the transition to city status in 2014, the fact that 54.6% of households have acquired occupancy since 2010 (ACS 2018), and the fact that so many more citizens are active on existing online platforms now than in 2011.

Case Studies

• Click here to see how the city of Walnut Creek, California is using Open Town Hall to gather citizen input

• Click here to see how the small town of Bar Harbor, Maine is using Polco to transform community engagement (disclaimer: I have done paid consulting work for Polco; however, Polco is free to use.)

• Click here to see how the city of Ann Arbor is engaging its residents in a joint conversation about developing vacant public property and housing affordability

Evidence-Based Decision Making

In my years of designing questionnaires and analyzing data, I am often met by others with the assumption that there is a “right” way to write a question or a “right” way to analyze the data. In fact, there are many ways to write questions and many ways to analyze data and all of them have implications for the eventual results. As a methodologist, I am trained to understand how the particular methodology used for a specific inquiry might impact the findings. Whenever possible, I recommend a process of triangulation—using multiple methods, data sources, and analytic techniques.

As your City Council representative, I will bring my passion for and expertise in research and methodology to every decision I make. I take very seriously the responsibility of promoting the health, safety, and welfare of City of Dexter residents and feel strongly that evidence must be at the core of all decisions.

Fiscal Responsibility

As the economic fallout of the ongoing pandemic continues, it is critical that we efficiently allocate our limited resources. The City recently began a large effort to reassess properties throughout the City. This effort will likely generate additional property tax revenue by increasing the taxable value of your home (and, thus, your property taxes). And yet, in early June 2020, the City sold nearly 2 acres of public property to a tax-empty entity for nearly $100,000 below the appraised value (a 33% discount)—even as the years-long battle to recoup lost property tax revenue from the Dexter Wellness Center continues and even as we are knocking on the door of a nearly $10 million bond to improve city facilities (i.e., fire station, police substation, city offices).

Yes, it is abundantly clear that improvements to the fire station must be made. At the same time, I question a recent proposal to build new city offices at the 3045 Broad Street redevelopment site on a parcel labeled by the architect to be “prime retail” space (compare pages 11 and 13 here). Although I do not support cutting corners on necessary improvements to critical city facilities, I am confident that we can be making more sound financial decisions that bring tax relief to our overburdened citizens.

Sustainable Growth

Between 2000 and 2010, the City’s population (then Village) grew by 73.9%. Although population growth has slowed and is only projected to increase slightly by 2040 (see here), I think the City is still struggling to manage the recent growth. For example, I regularly see and hear people complaining about the traffic congestion in downtown and yet the City continues to advocate for high-density development downtown and elsewhere in the City. How do we reconcile the need or desire for growth with the existing strain on our infrastructure (e.g., traffic congestion at the Main Street/Baker Road intersection and the viaduct railroad bridge, the permanent every-other-day watering ban)? I think the answer to these and other questions of growth can be answered by applying all three of the above—actively engaging the public, using the process of triangulation in consideration of the evidence, and being fiscally responsible.