by RNH Nello

Created on: February 12, 2009   Last Updated: February 19, 2009

Our country works best when our citizens become proactive. This means that the citizen has become knowledgeable and uses that knowledge to better his world. Certainly this applies to those national issues and national campaigns, but that proactive citizen is potentially most effective within the local community.

Being proactive doesn't necessarily mean group protests, signs and yelling, certainly if such is important to your then do so, but let me suggest that being proactive starts with defining what it is you find important. This is more than just saying that you are upset about the garbage collection system or the potholes in your street or any of the multifaceted issues in your local community. It includes knowing what jurisdictions are involved, how the issue under question came into being, who was involved, what are the various perspectives, what is the impact on budgets, what are the options, in other words, it means knowing your community.

Proactively working citizens begins with defining your local jurisdiction(s). As an example I'll use mine:

In its broadest definition my local community encompasses the county. In my county there are:

Nine incorporated cities, each with a mayor and with 7 cities having 5 council members and 2 cities having 7 council members, all elected, there are no city managers in my county.

The cities within the county have an aggregate population of 116,915 people

another nearly 12,000 people live in the out county area which has 17 Townships each with a board of 3 Trustees plus a Clerk.

The county itself has a Board of Supervisors with 5 elected members.

In the county are 6 Boards of education (plus a board for the Community College) all with elected members.

Counting all of these elected people plus all of the elected others such as members of the legislature there are over 180 offices in the county which are voted on by the citizens.

In addition there are other people who are appointed' to commissions, boards and committee and in my county thee are over 400 such positions.

Of course there are all of those individuals employed to perform the myriad of tasks and jobs that these various jurisdictions exist to accomplish.

In terms of the people, elected, appointed, or employed, keep in mind that they are local. They are your neighbors, your friends, your relatives, and you know them or know someone who does know them. You know, or can find out quite quickly, who is worthy of support and who should not be in whatever office they hold.

Knowing

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