RSS

Category Archives: Citizen Participation

Should Interviews for Christiansburg Town Manager be Open to the Public?

06 Jul

At the 7/5/11 Christiansburg Town Council Meeting one of the topics discussed at the end of the meeting was concerning whether interviews for the position of Town Manager should be held as open meetings. No definitive decision was made yet, but will be made in the next few days as interviews have been set up for the 18th and 19th. The top five (5) individuals are interviewing for the position of the more than 70 applicants. As much of a proponent of open government as I am, this is one case where I feel open meetings would likely have a negative effect. Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
Comments Off

Posted by on July 6, 2011 in Christiansburg, VA, Citizen Participation, FOIA, Local Government, VOTE

 

Furlough Days: Did Council Comply with Their Adopted Policy?

02 Jul

Do you remember when — At the 9/7/2010 Christiansburg Town Council Meeting, Town Council voted to approve a freeze on Steps pay for employees. Then, on 9/21/10 the topic arose again. This time one of the supporters of the move moved to rescind that vote and to readdress the issue with the discussion being on whether Steps Freeze or Furlough Days would be more appropriate. You can see this discussion in Part 4 of the 9/21/10 Video I have posted on http://myvaresources.com. Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
Comments Off

Posted by on July 2, 2011 in Christiansburg, VA, Citizen Participation, Local Government, VOTE, Your Tax Money

 

Christiansburg is equal to Lynchburg when it comes to Special Events?

23 Jun

It was June 21st, my sister’s birthday, when Christiansburg Town Council held a meeting. Along with multiple other items on that agenda, there was a request from the Christiansburg Civic League for some help offsetting some unexpected expenses that were incurred at their Train Day event held in Cambria. Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
2 Comments

Posted by on June 23, 2011 in Christiansburg, VA, Citizen Participation, Economic Development, Local Government, Your Tax Money

 

Open Government Focus in Latest Issue of The Community Planner

20 Jun

The Community Planner is a quarterly journal on Planning. What makes it unique is that it is written to provide information to citizens as well as professionals. It is produced on a CD rather than in print because along with the 60 or so pages of each journal, there are also additional features added. For instance, in the article I wrote for the just released Volume I Issue 3, I refer  to several tools that can help people understand the Freedom of Information Act and several sources of on-line information that citizens can find useful for determining what documents they need to request. Attached to the article, via links, are 3 pdf files which have a list of websites where you can find information on each state’s Freedom of Information Act, Retention Schedules for documents, and websites for each state’s auditor/Auditor of Public Accounts. Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
1 Comment

Posted by on June 20, 2011 in Citizen Participation, Economic Development, Environment, FOIA, Historic Preservation, Land Use, Local Government, US Government, VA government, Your Tax Money

 

Christiansburg and Capital Improvements Program. Meeting at last?

14 Jun

Back on May 13, 2009, I posted this blog article: Capital Improvement Plan? Christiansburg? Will it comply with State law? (worth reviewing this article to see what the process is about) Recent discussions at Town Council Meetings indicate that Christiansburg may, at last, be moving in the direction of developing a Capital Improvement Program as defined by Virginia State Code. This is just one of the many things that have happened in recent months that show that the Town of Christiansburg is making some big changes. It certainly isn’t business as usual anymore. Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
1 Comment

Posted by on June 14, 2011 in Christiansburg, VA, Citizen Participation, Local Government

 

Christiansburg Budget – Is an end in sight?

14 May

There have been several meetings concerning the budget for the Town Christiansburg. While seeming to be a negotiation process, there remains certain issues on which the Town Council appears to be split. (Hope the Mayor has his “tie-breaker” out and ready. Are you ready for a repeat of last year’s budget woes? Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
2 Comments

Posted by on May 14, 2011 in Christiansburg, VA, Citizen Participation, FOIA, Letter vs Spirit of the Law, Local Government, Your Tax Money

 

Gov.101: Budget Process is the Hot Topic

09 May

PUBLIC INVITED – Christiansburg Budget Process

Tuesday night, May 10th, 2011 @ 6:30pm, the Government 101 Series co-sponsored by the Christiansburg Library & Civic League will have Christiansburg’s Chief Financial Officer, Valerie Tweedie present to discuss how the budget process works and to answer questions. It should be an interesting evening.

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
Comments Off

Posted by on May 9, 2011 in Christiansburg, VA, Citizen Participation, Local Government, Your Tax Money

 

Another FOIA Request Prompted by the Christiansburg Planning Commission: Conflict of Interest and FOIA Training

17 Apr

(Video of Planning Commission FOIA and Conflict of Interest Meeting available now.) I made another FOIA request the other day and am now working on setting up what I received in a format that citizens can use. It is a database of CUPs (Conditional Use Permits) for the Town of Christiansburg. It is taking a bit of time because I am comparing it to a list of CUPs I received earlier to make sure I haven’t missed anything, and to set it up in a spreadsheet (pdf) format so that you can look at all of the CUPs in a specific area, by year, or by applicant. This was not an original idea on my part. Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
Comments Off

Posted by on April 17, 2011 in Christiansburg, VA, Citizen Participation, FOIA, Letter vs Spirit of the Law, Local Government

 

Conditional Use Permit: Casting a Big Shadow on Sunlight

04 Apr

I recently opened up the Town Council Agenda Packet for the April 5, Christiansburg Town Council Meeting. As I was browsing and thinking what a good thing it was to see this quality of information out to citizens, I suddenly found myself entering the Twilight Zone! Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
1 Comment

Posted by on April 4, 2011 in Christiansburg, VA, Citizen Participation, Land Use, Local Government

 

“The Community Planner” a Toolbox for Citizens and Governments

29 Mar

Introducing The Community Planner

Whether you are a planning professional, an elected or appointed official, or a citizen who wants to have more information and be an active participant in your government, The Community Planner has something to offer you. It is provided on a CD-Rom so there is plenty of room for templates, worksheets, and examples. These articles are written in plain text and definitions/explanations are provided. A variety of formats are used including document files, spreadsheets, and presentations so that you can simply adapt the samples for your own use. Links are provided to a wide range of websites where additional information can be obtained including, but not limited to, how different different jurisdiction’s laws affect the process. By using your imagination, I feel sure that you can find many ways to use these tools beyond just Planning. Read the rest of this entry »

EmailFacebookGoogle BookmarksGoogle+LinkedInShare
 
Comments Off

Posted by on March 29, 2011 in Citizen Participation, FOIA, Land Use, Local Government, US Government, VA government, Your Tax Money

 
← Older posts
Newer posts →