Livable Raleigh’s proposal for renewed engagement

Livable Raleigh’s proposal for creating the next generation of community engagement organizations for the City of Raleigh.

With the election of four new Councilors, Raleigh voters have made it clear that restoring and improving city support for the public’s involvement in community affairs is a top priority.

After three years, the voters know that waiting for a perfect solution is unrealistic and will only further delay city support for the essential and imperfect community conversations that are the foundation of an informed democracy.

It is with this sense of purpose that the Livable Raleigh Advisory Committee offers six policy-level proposals for quick adoption. Our hope is that these proposals will have several positive effects:

In the near term, they will restart city-supported community conversations and give Raleigh residents confidence that the positive change they voted for is real.

In the longer term, as the new community engagement groups are refined, these proposals will help clarify the new Council’s goals for progress toward the city’s future Community Engagement Plan.

Raleigh benefits from a network of community based groups that provide an  opportunity for community members to engage with each other, City staff, Council representatives, and experts on topics of interest. There are currently nine active community engagement groups that came into being as Citizens Advisory Councils (CACs) with City of Raleigh support 50 years ago.

These are the currently active groups:

• • East
  • Five Points
  • Hillsborough/Wade
  • Midtown
  • Mordecai
  • SouthWest Raleigh Community Engagement
  • West
  • NorthWest
  • SouthEast

In order to facilitate the continuation of this work, we request that City Council:

• • Direct staff to open the city’s community centers for monthly meetings of CACs and other qualified community engagement groups for discussions of City of Raleigh issues.
  • Direct city staff to announce the meetings in advance consistent with the general policy of announcing meetings of boards and commissions.
  • Direct city staff to cooperate with such groups.
  • Commit as Council members to work with these groups as part of a broad community engagement effort.
  • Commit as Council members to assist the formation of new community engagement groups in communities where none exist.
  • Commit as Council members to work with these groups and City staff to reach more residents.

 Livable Raleigh Advisory Team

If you appreciate the kind of reporting we bring to you