COUNCILLORS went face-to-face with the public last Wednesday in the first ‘Meet the Mayor and Councillors’ day.
“And this time the councillors did the least talking,” says Wellington City councillor Paul Eagle, who is in charge of the community engagement portfolio.
Members from 63 community groups, which included Salvation Army Youth Services, Filipino Artists Association and The Humorous Arts Trust, talked to Wellington City councillors about their concerns and hopes.
“Hearing people is the key. We wanted to find out how we could interact better with community groups and also discuss solutions to financial challenges, such as leaky homes.”
He said the meeting highlighted issues concerning communication.
“There are problems with interaction as there is no face to face now. Some people have said to me that they can’t even afford to get the Internet or they don’t even have dial up. The whole approach has changed. It was the mayor’s initiative.”
Mayor Celia Wade-Brown says face-to-face discussions and good communication between community groups and councillors are one of her main aims.
“You’ll have to ask my husband if I’m a good communicator. It is one of my aims,” she says, laughing.
“I’ve always had the initiative to be open and inclusive so the sessions were constructed partly to allow community groups hear each other’s concerns and for us to be able to say to people ‘we tried’ if they had concerns.”
Face-to-face communication is even more important in this electronic age when emails and Internet communication often prevail, she says.
“It is important to get out and about and meet people. It is a tentative beginning in improved communication,” she adds.
Eagle says the aim of the day is to have a cross-section of community groups represented.
“We want to review the council’s engagement policy and put strategies into place following these meetings. Some people don’t know how to engage with council members and ask: ‘How do we physically get in front of these guys’. Usually people have a specific time slot or get technology tailored responses. But this time we want to talk.”
Discussions from the meeting will be reviewed and strategies will result, Eagle says.
Groups can register for the next meeting day, which is planned for early 2011, at www.wellington.govt.nz by clicking on ‘Have your say’ and ‘Meet the Councillors’.