The fact that I’ve been very unhappy with the performance of
Hollister’s City Council is probably the worst kept secret on the
planet. Let’s hope that that the new members will change the group
dynamics and the returning members will take a long look in the
mirror, and together they will exercise both leadership and
oversight.
Since a new year is coming, I’d like to tell the Hollister City
Council what I believe they should be doing to improve
Hollister.
The fact that I’ve been very unhappy with the performance of Hollister’s City Council is probably the worst kept secret on the planet. Let’s hope that that the new members will change the group dynamics and the returning members will take a long look in the mirror, and together they will exercise both leadership and oversight.
Since a new year is coming, I’d like to tell the Hollister City Council what I believe they should be doing to improve Hollister. The overwhelming majority of residents want the city to move forward and provide a good, safe and prosperous life for them and their families. They want results not just grand plans that never come to fruition.
First, the gang task force must get going. The city has to stop treating this issue as a mere nuisance and photo-op, long on words and very short on action. Every month that goes by without effective anti-gang measures in all aspects of community life just condemns another group of youngsters to a dead-end and instills fear in the citizens. The Hollister Police Department cannot do this job. By the time they get involved, the damage is usually done. Stop telling us what your plans are and start measuring your accomplishments.
Second, decide what the city should be and then make it happen. As the old saying goes, stop coming up with vast ideas and half-vast implementation.
Recently, someone gave me a Free Lane from 1983. It announced that the new Economic Development Corp. was going to bring in additional good paying jobs – we’re still waiting. Perhaps it’s become our fate to be a bedroom community with only a barebones commercial section. If so, let’s become the best bedroom community possible. Instead of going to another useless AMGBAG or Blueprint meeting, go visit communities that are doing well in similar situations. Who knows – you may learn something.
Third, there is a lot more to being prosperous than mere economics. It means acting as a community and moving forward on all fronts and one of the key areas is education. The Hollister City Council is the voice of the people and people are concerned about the quality of education their children are provided. Education is much too important to be left to the education administrators.
They are the entrenched bureaucracy and as long as the Hollister City Council ignores the problems in the local schools, progress will be minimal.
Fourth, one of the critical components for a good city is an active public community. Merely meeting the minimal requirements for public access and having a dozen or more special meetings annually is simply not good enough if we expect to generate community interest. The city government must go out of its way to ensure that all the city’s residents have an opportunity to be involved to the maximum degree possible.
One way to do that would be to schedule three regular meetings a month instead of two with one of those being on a Saturday. This will provide additional opportunities for local citizens to participate in their government.
Finally, the council needs to open the government to more public scrutiny. Governments at all levels are adopting open-government ordinances and regulations to ensure transparency of decisions making. The reason is that many Americans do not trust their representative to act in the public interest, rather than in their personal interest.
Don’t take it personally and don’t blame me – blame the long line of officials who have violated their oaths and lined their pockets or traded public funds for political support.
If the council would make those five items their New Year’s resolutions and follow through, the community would be moving in the right direction.
Marty Richman is a Hollister resident. His column runs Tuesdays. Reach him at cw*****@ya***.com.
