City government needs to recognize that.
By the Northside Planning Council
The quote in this headline from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes resonates powerfully as we look around at a world so different from the world we lived in only a few weeks ago, a world changed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout this issue, you’ll see evidence of the ways in which we were made for these times. The grassroots response has been nothing short of inspiring. Governments have been slow to act, playing catch up at best and shutting down democratic processes at worst, but the neighbors helping neighbors, the nimble organizations that already have relationships in our communities and the leaders who are leveraging every last bit of ingenuity out there, moved into action immediately.
On Tuesday, March 17, we watched our city government pass a law that automatically shuts down official City of Madison boards, commissions and committees (BCCs) in the event of any declared emergency. This strikes us as a deeply troubling response for the times when we most need to harness all of the energy and creativity of our community. Residents everywhere have found ways to collaborate, share resources, collect information about unmet needs and crowdsource solutions, even during a quarantine. We wonder why the city has shut down its many conduits of participation and input when they are most needed?
As of press date, the only city BCCs being allowed to convene, even remotely, are those that receive approval by the mayor and the president of the Common Council. The Board of Public Health is not even on that list. We understand that city staff resources are taxed right now, but there is more than an enough resident initiative to work out the technological solutions for meeting in a quarantined world. In fact, it’s a perfect opportunity to create accessible public processes for residents who normally need remote access, whether due to a lack of time, transportation, or child care or due to disability. Remote access should be the norm.
We believe the City of Madison can and must do better. City staff and elected officials need us all at the table, now more than ever, and we need them to be listening to us directly.