Reimagining the Neighborhood Board

Every 10 years, the Honolulu Neighborhood Commission reviews the Neighborhood Plan and asks for input from the community. What works? What can be improved? I have to be honest: unless you enjoy reviewing bills and contracts, the Neighborhood Plan is not easy reading; but the discussion about Neighborhood Boards is worthwhile.

A year ago, when the Charter Commission considered eliminating Neighborhood Boards, I thought it was a terrible idea. I strongly support monthly neighborhood board meetings because they give people the chance to find out what is going on in the community and voice their opinions.

The first idea I had to improve Neighborhood Boards was term limits. We need term limits at all levels of government to encourage community involvement in local issues, and we service could be limited to four consecutive two-year terms.

Then I decided to challenge the very concept of Neighborhood Boards. If there were no Neighborhood Boards, how would I want to participate in the community? How could I reach out to government leaders and lawmakers? What is the most effective way I could make my voice heard?

I realized that what I strongly support is the monthly neighborhood meetings, rather than the Neighborhood Board itself. The Neighborhood Board is a formal and structured system – with precise district boundaries, elections, and oaths of office – but it’s really more of a Neighborhood Advisory. In some ways they are another level of bureaucracy that separates residents from government leaders and lawmakers.

We could change the name to “Neighborhood Advisory” to more accurately reflect their role as advocates for the community, and remove some of the formality of the Board – with fewer district members and more “at-large” advisers.

Or we could change the focus from a “Board” to a “Forum” completely. We could keep the monthly “Town Hall” meetings with City Councilmembers, State Senators, State Representatives, and representatives from the Mayor’s Office, Police Department, and Fire Department, but instead of Board members, elect “Community Coordinators” who would organize and run meetings.

The Community Coordinators (one primary coordinator and two assistant coordinators) would be liaisons between the neighborhood and government leaders. They would be social media mavens and meeting moderators who would get the word out about monthly Town Hall forums, confirm agendas, take attendance, conduct meetings, and track neighborhood-generated issues. The emphasis would be on facilitating communication, not leadership.

With Community Coordinators, there would be no Neighborhood Board Commission and no Board members. We would need an Executive Community Coordinator as a resource for the Community Coordinators. Formal letters of support or opposition to community issues could be written by Community Coordinators and signed by residents at the next Forum, or offered as templates online for individuals, homeowners associations, and organizations to submit directly to government leaders.

Or we would continue with our current Neighborhood Board system, fine-tuning it and changing it to account for changing technology. We would offer Google Hangouts or Skype video conferencing. We could allow comments by phone or chat, to be read aloud by Board members. We could elect a Social Media board member who would post updates and community feedback in real-time.

What do you think about your Neighborhood Board? Do you attend meetings regularly, or do you feel empowered knowing that you have an opportunity to share your thoughts?

Explore posts in the same categories: Community, Government

Tags: Honolulu Neighborhood Boards, Honolulu Neighborhood Commission Office, Neighborhood Boards

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