INC NEWS - Bond Oversight Committee (again)

[RW Pickle]

I like it.

But we need to state that moving forward without the formulation of these
ideas prior to the cementing of the structure of this committee will lose
our support for it (or something like that). like David Harris mentioned,
they are going to be passing bylaws and such here shortly that leave
critical pieces of the wording of our statement out. It also leaves out
the unaddressed issues we mention. And if we want it included, they need
to slow that process down.

We can work to pass the bond or work to defeat it. How they see our view
will depend on the direction we take. It they exclude us, then  INClusive
is not what they are working toward and the rubber stamp process will not
fly (or I can't see how we'd buy it).

Randy

> In its last 2 meetings, INC has discussed what the bond oversight
> committee
> should actually do.  I said  I would DRAFT something that would attempt to
> capture the discussion, since some kind of formal position needs to be
> done
> this week if we expect to have any effect.  Anyway, what is below is a
> DRAFT, first approximation, whatever of an official letter.
>
> Regards, pat
>
> --------
>
> The InterNeighborhoood Council (INC) is a strong supporter of the concept
> of
> having a citizen oversight committee for bond spending. We believe that
> such
> a committee will further INC goals of openness in government, use of
> well-defined decision processes, and respect for the professional work of
> staff and the efforts of citizen committees. 
>  
> On the other hand, the selection of a firm to design and oversee
> construction of the Walltown Park Recreation Center has raised new
> concerns
> about how well the bond money will be spent and how effective the
> oversight
> committee might be. City of Durham staff followed a well-defined method
> for
> evaluating firms and made their recommendations based on points earned
> during the interview process. City Council then selected a different firm,
> based on unknown criteria. We note that the Walltown Park Recreation
> Center
> will take about 20% of the Parks and Rec part of the 2005 Bond Referendum,
> and 
>  
> We believe the oversight committee should be chartered to have at least
> the
> following powers: 
> * Gathering consensus when the priorities for spending bond funds must
> change (due to new needs, increased costs, etc.) 
> * Providing expertise in developing evaluation requests for proposals and
> in
> evaluting responses (for example, experience in CPTED standards) 
> * Evaluating processes and proposing improved processes so that we become
> more and more effective in the use of limited funds 
> * Receiving project information packets prior to the approval process for
> our evaluation and input
>  
> Obviously, we do not want to make the already complex process of writing
> city contracts worse. However, we believe that the committee?s charter
> needs
> to be clear about what the powers of the committee will be, what aspects
> of
> bond spending they will oversee, and what the consequences will be when
> the
> committee is displeased. 
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> INC-list mailing list
> INC-list at rtpnet.org
> http://lists.deltaforce.net/mailman/listinfo/inc-list
>


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