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BACKGROUND:
Often local government discourse gets derailed, or blows-up, or is less effective simply because participants aren't clear on appropriate procedures, processes and roles. Because of (unnecessary) lack of understanding and agreement about process, content often doesn't get the quality attention that it could (and relationships lose rather than gain trust and respect.)
This especially applies where elected or appointed officials must work with each other, and where any combination of elected or appointed bodies, staff and the public interact. This includes the relationships between council, commissions, and staff; meetings, procedures and processes; the Brown Act and conflicts of interest; and the role of public participation.
There was one all-day workshop about these topics held locally in 1996. Other than that, for the most part people have had to travel out of the area for this type of training. Although there are benefits to getting together with colleagues from other areas, it can be challenging for elected and appointed officials and staff to have the budget, time (and motivation) to travel out-of-county for training. Few if any of our local governments have developed the capacity to provide training in-house.
Providing more training and related resources locally, and providing better information about what training and resources are available elsewhere, will facilitate participation and help to make it more cost-effective and productive for everyone.
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