08-11-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

6 • Having positive relationships was mentioned next most frequently with comments such as, “Being open to all opinions and showing a willingness to listen” and “Respect for each other’s opinions.” • The next most common response was the importance of having an engaged staff or a City Council member who worked with the commission, such as, “We are helping to promote more active engagement in building a vibrant City atmosphere.” Similar comments include “city staff is well informed on issues,” and “competent staff liaison.” • Actively seeking feedback was mentioned by a number of respondents, “Input from the community,” and “improved outreach and inclusion for underrepresented communities.” • Several people also cited making positive change/adaptations toward progressive environmental policies as an important accomplishment. • Several people mentioned how COVID-19 has affected their commission. Most have adjusted to online meetings with somewhat mixed results, though more made positive rather than negative comments about online meetings. “We are starting to think "outside of the box" due to the pandemic restrictions.” “The online dynamic is working well.” What could improve your Commission? • The most common response of 39 who answered this question was needing more feedback from the public such as, “More local interest and involvement, including with students. Have more commission recommendations approved or supported by City Council. Consider ways to reach out to various stakeholders in community, (for example) solicit input on goals or identify areas of concern or interest.” • The next most common response involved clarification of their role, including clear guidance and more defined role for commissioners, wanting a more clearly defined mission, regular progress updates, better access to central data, better onboarding or training for new commissioners, better cohesiveness between City Council and the commission and better communication. • Several people mentioned problems presented by COVID-19 and they felt they were being more reactive than previously. “Even before COVID, the number of meetings per year was too few.” “Looking forward to in-person meetings. Hard to do all our work through Zoom.” Existing orientation and training • Only half of respondents reported receiving an orientation. Of those, 92 percent said it was useful: o nearly all want training in policies and procedures and the City’s strategic plan o next highest request was history of past practices o less than half said training in building consensus and communication skills was necessary, though we respectfully indicate that this may increase in importance as diversity of experiences increases • On the need for orientation, we asked commissioners to rate the importance of an orientation on a scale from 1 to 100. Respondents’ ratings averaged 70 out of 100 on the importance, with 66 percent scoring it over 50. “(Need) improved onboarding for new commissioners, clear guidance from City Council.” “(Need) roles and responsibilities of a