I have grave concerns regarding the recently revealed reorganization/elimination of volunteer boards. It represents a completely different approach to city government, with City Council and staff making important decisions with limited citizen input. The city must feel citizen input is a bother and can be reduced down to comments on bean counting.
This proposal itself is being handled with no public input whatsoever and should be put on hold until new Council members are elected.
The recent ballot measures in 1999, 2005 and 2015 were all passed with the tireless work of the very volunteers that appear to no longer be needed. The ballot language was specifically written to include reviews of how money would be spent by these boards to ensure the trust of the voters. And it worked with passage by large majorities. To consolidate this into one financial-oriented board is not what the voters expect or were told would happen.
There could be many unintended consequences to this radical restructuring. Both staff and Council could spend many more hours dealing with individual comments, complaints, ideas and questions on recreation, infrastructure, etc. There could be far less trust in our city government leading to demands for – perhaps – citizen advisory boards!
We elect councilors to serve us and a major part of the job is to listen to the citizens. Likewise, we pay the staff to do the same. I encourage citizens to contact City Council to voice your concerns and ask the candidates to respond to this vital issue.
Sandy Burke
Durango
