"Incentivizing" ANC Commissioners

Yesterday's Examiner, in "Elected ANC seats not so coveted," discusses Advisory Neighborhood Commissions and the process of electing Commissioners, and how about 1/7 of the seats don't have candidates. From the article:

Commissioners talk of incentives to maintain or spur interest. Perhaps a tax break or a stipend, they say. Hire more staff in the government’s ANC support office. Or at least reschedule meetings for such bodies as the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board — both of which meet during the day — to accommodate commissioners’ full-time jobs.

“There’s nothing the city can do to incentivize ANCs,” said Christopher Dyer, a Dupont Circle commissioner. “It’s a volunteer position. We do it for civic engagement and responsiveness.”

Sure there are things that can be done:

1. Annual Appreciation Dinner sponsored by the Mayor and/or the City Council. (See this blog entry, "Main Street and getting schooled in politics, constituency building, and building support for your program" for an extended discussion of why it's important to do this.)

2. Alternatively or in addition, each Council Member could do this in their Ward.

3. (Even though I am not a pro-car person) Special license plates for ANC Commissioners, just like for Councilmembers, and like the special low-number license plates provided to the politically connected.

4. (And to me the most important) Create a training and development infrastructure for ANC Commissioners (also open to community groups). Right now few agencies provide much support along these lines (DHCD does provide a seminar now for ANC Commissioners, and they are one of the only agencies that does so). Granted everyone is busy, but showing people they matter by providing extensive training opportunities is another way to demonstrate the importance of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions as grassroots government.

Also see this blog entry from March 2005, "Neighborhood Planning Meta Website" about examples of training infrastructures in other places that support civic engagement in planning and land use issues.

Index Keywords: civic-engagement