As an introduction into what it means for the City of DeKalb to create a sustainability plan, Bill Finucane, chair of the DeKalb Environmental Committee, moderated an evening meeting with a presentation by Aaron Cosentino with the City of Elgin followed by questions and answers. Cosentino spends between 40-50% of his work day coordinating that city’s sustainability and grant efforts. For the past year he worked with more than 100 citizen volunteers to develop Elgin’s first Sustainability Action Plan, which was adopted by the Elgin City council August 10, 2011.
According to a press release by Dan Kenney, who serves on the DeKalb Environmental Committee: The overall mission of such a plan would be to improve the quality of life for DeKalb citizens and improve the local environment, while making DeKalb a sustainable, viable, and vibrant place to live. The strategies that emerge from the plan will hopefully help DeKalb manage its environmental assets, reduce our environmental impact, promote citizen engagement, and educate the community-at-large.
Background Material
What Is Sustainability?
Sustainability is a broad term that generally means that a person or society lives within the means of what the Earth is capable of providing over a long term. An often quoted definition for sustainability is the one put forth by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development: “Sustainability meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
However it is important for each city to arrive at the definition of sustainability which best suits its bioregion and community. The definition making process should include the social, economic, and environmental needs of the community.
Why a Sustainability Master Plan?
A Sustainability Master Plan would provide the city of DeKalb with a sustainable vision, providing opportunities for sustainable practices, and serving as a guide for developing a sustainable philosophy. A plan identifies areas which could address sustainability in terms of energy, water, construction and building technology, economic viability, a respect for the environment, transportation, and sustainable living practices. As an example the city of Elgin created nine citizen based working groups consisting of over one hundred citizens committed to learning about sustainable practices and creating an action plan with goals and time lines for reaching the established goals.
A sustainability plan promotes responsible management and effective stewardship of the city’s built and natural environments, transforming the city of DeKalb into a model government that is clean, healthy, resource-efficient, and environmentally conscientious.
An overall plan could include goals for nine areas of sustainability
- Alternative Energy
- Green Building Technology
- Healthy Living & Community Education
- Transportation & Mobility
- Water Resources
- Economic Development
- Green Infrastructure
- Recycling & Waste Management
- Urban Design
The goals or recommendations put forth by the working groups related to these nine areas of sustainability are not all-inclusive or expected to represent all sustainable solutions but they would provide a road map to move the city and its citizens toward a more sustainable life. The plan would need to be dynamic and ever-changing as recommendations become implemented and as DeKalb’s collective sustainability vision evolves.
The above video has selected clips from the question and answer session of the presentation. The clips were selected to engage conversation. Watch the video, read the background information provided and then comment.
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7 Comments
The task force moved up its meeting time so as to provide a break before the sustainability meeting.
The task force meeting held during regular working hours was once again not broadcast and microphones were not turned on making it very hard for any in the audience (and some ear aging TF members like me) to hear all that is being discussed.
If it involved over time probably a needed decision if funds are tight, but if staff are available and with the misperceptions of crime in this town and the conversations of the task force dealing smack right on with these issues, you’d think you’d want to enable people to hear these discussions.
Mac, this was taped in the council chambers which has a top of the line video and audio system paid for by taxpayer dollars.
Why didn’t the city bother to broadcast this or at least record it to further public discussion?
Public participation certainly was included among the six tenets which have been proven to work in Elgin. Shame that this city hall doesn’t understand this.
Thanks for your coverage of this.
As a member of the budget advisory committee I know that the city council asked for cuts in overtime. I believe this meeting was the 4th meeting scheduled at 200 S 4th Street that day. Having a city employee run the camera and broadcasting equipment would be cost prohibitive. That being said, NIU has a broadcast and TV department and running that equipment is not rocket science. Good example for intergovernmental cooperation with win-win results. Students gain experience. Public gets meeting coverage. We just must not be progressive enough, here in DeKalb, to think of such things. 🙂
What was your take on the meeting?
Mac, it is not cost prohibitive if resources are managed appropriately. A non-pensioned resource could be trained and hired at $12-$15 an hour to run the set up as it is. This would free up the existing producer for other vital tasks at city hall.
Perhaps the Finance Advisory Group could ask for a comprehensive work breakdown study of what staff does. I’m pretty sure what you’ll find is widespread misallocation of human resources.
As the Elgin presenter attested, public inclusion should be a vital component of any city hall mission. Too often, it’s an after-thought.
As Herb Rubin talks about above, the task force meeting was held earlier that day. City staff couldn’t even be bothered to post that meeting on the city calendar.
Mistakes happen, but the sheer volume of instances where these types of oversights occur is staggering as to give the impression that inclusion of the public is a distant after-thought.
Comcast customers pay over $500,000 a year in the highest tax rate lawfully provided. That should more than cover the expenses necessary to broadcast every committee meeting which happens in city hall. Instead that pile of cash is used as a slush fund.
And even if televising the proceedings was too difficult to accomplish, at the very least, as Herb Rubin points out, couldn’t someone flip the switch to turn on the audio system within the chamber. In this day and age, would that be so hard?
Time and time again, the public is an after-thought in this city hall. But I’m glad some people are satisfied with first blush excuses.
The discussion on whether or not the city should have broadcast the meeting has proven to be sustainable.
I was hoping for more discussion of the issue of sustainable management practices for the City of DeKalb.
But to your points:
Perhaps the Finance Advisory Group could ask for a comprehensive work breakdown study of what staff does. I’m pretty sure what you’ll find is widespread misallocation of human resources.
Thank goodness the Finance Advisory Group has Lynn Fazekas and she’s not even on the committee. She is doing an outstanding analysis of the budget in her study of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR). Agree with her conclusions or not, her work is a must read and her efforts are appreciated.
Allocation of human resources is the responsibility of the city manager. If he’s not doing his job he should be replaced.
Time and time again, the public is an after-thought in this city hall. But I’m glad some people are satisfied with first blush excuses.
The public wasn’t an afterthought in my mind. That’s why I was there with a camera. I would have rather been home watching baseball.
A video from the City of Elgin
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Hello all.
This is my first post here. I appreciate coverage of this. I would suggest that any secretary of any committee could be trained in less than an hour on either the broadcasting, or taping, of the meetings as part of the minutes. It would be wonderful to see more small committee meetings available to viewers.