Category Archives: Good Government
Using Tinmouth FPF to inform voters before Town Meeting
“Thanks to the folks running for election who gave us a quick bio of themselves here on Front Porch Forum. We vote for town positions and officers on Tuesday, 3/1, and by law they can’t speak up about why they are running during our Saturday town meeting. Would it be worth coming in a little early, say noon, to be able to share why you should be voted in? Town Meeting officially starts at 1:00. What do you all think?”
• David, Tinmouth FPF
Vermont radon program reaches annual goal in just two weeks by using FPF
Typically, the Vermont Health Dept. devotes a lot of staff time and resources to meeting its goal of distributing 2,000 radon test kits per year. Following its recent Front Porch Forum posting, the Health Dept’s Radon Program received more than 2,100 radon test kit requests in just two weeks.
The effectiveness of this outreach will allow the State to focus on other important initiatives to protect Vermonters from the health risks posed by radon.
The State estimates that for every 2,000 radon test kits distributed, there will be approximately 10 fewer cases of radon-related lung cancer as people identify and fix radon problems in their homes.
Click here to learn how your program, business or nonprofit can use FPF to raise awareness of your services and products.
Public Outreach 101 in Vermont…
“I sat in a line of traffic on the south end of the bridge in Vergennes for 45 minutes this morning because they were paving Main Street. If before the construction started there had been a traffic sign or it had been posted here on FPF… I would have taken another way around Vergennes… I drive to Burlington many times a week and I never saw a sign. I look at FPF daily. I didn’t see a posting for it.”
• Laurie, Vergennes FPF
“To everyone affected by the paving of Main Street this week, please be understanding and patient. Business owners received a letter from the city notifying them of the project. The decision to not use FPF was a mistake and for that I apologize. This project was long overdue and the scheduling came together quickly. Please do your best to avoid the bottlenecks and keep patronizing your local businesses. I assure you, everyone will be proud of the finished product.”
• Bill Benton, Mayor, City of Vergennes
Richmond officials communicate with public
Richmond Rescue posted a report to the citizens of Richmond, Vermont, on their local Front Porch Forum this week. It started…
Each quarter I will be posting a number of statistics about Richmond Rescue to help you stay more informed about our business.
In the first quarter of 2015 we went on 173 calls and transported 109 patients for a transport rate of 63%. Our average for this period in the last 3 years was 160 calls and 106 transports and a transport rate of 66%…
A Richmond FPF member responded today with…
I really liked seeing the Richmond Rescue statistics posted in Front Porch Forum. It gave me an even greater appreciation of the work these valuable volunteers provide our community.
With all of the talk about break-ins in town, I wonder if the police department could provide us with some up-to-date information in Front Porch Forum about what is going on. Are our crime statistics going up? Have any perpetrators been caught? What neighborhoods are being affected? What is the police department doing about the situation?
Front Porch Forum is a wonderful vehicle for getting out information to the community about current issues and concerns. The Town Clerk uses it frequently. The Rescue is now using it. I would like to see the police department use it as well to keep us informed and up to date.
Woodbury considers Town website
The tiny Town of Woodbury, Vermont, asked its citizens yesterday on the Woodbury Front Porch Forum if it should create a Town website. Since three-quarters of the Town’s 400 households participate on their local FPF, this was a sensible move.
The feedback is starting to come in. Here’s one person’s perspective…
If you decide to have a website, which is probably a good idea, please continue to post selectboard agendas and minutes on Front Porch Forum. It is convenient at this site and has visibility.
Many Vermont towns post public meeting agendas and minutes on their local FPF because so many people tune in there.
Vermont towns post public meetings to their local FPF
An increasing number of municipal boards and committees post their public meeting warnings and minutes on their local Front Porch Forums. Many have done this for years, but more have started doing it lately. For example, the New Haven Conservation Commission posted an invitation to the community to attend its upcoming meeting, followed by the agenda.
It started with this lovely invitation…
We welcome all who wish to express their ideas, thoughts and opportunities. As we continue the goals of this commission it is important that we hear from the townspeople that we will serve. Please come join us.
And ended with…
Posted December 27, 2014, Town Office, Village Green Market, Post Office, Website, Front Porch Forum.
Does FPF effect local community? Survey says…
Before and after FPF… does it make a difference? We just concluded a survey of 964 Front Porch Forum (FPF) members (out of 6,500 invited). We asked FPF members to answer two-part questions about their experiences since joining FPF vs. before FPF.
Front Porch Forum helps neighbors connect. In the survey, 18% more members reported knowing most of their neighbors since joining FPF (vs. before joining FPF).
FPF also helps Vermonters get informed about local issues. Nearly four times more FPF members reported feeling “very informed” about local community issues since joining FPF.
And FPF helps people get involved and build community. About one-third more members work to make change in their local communities monthly since joining FPF.
See more results below.
Thanks to all who participated. And congratulations to Allison in Greensboro for winning our iPod prize drawing.
FPF helps people connect with neighbors. Since joining FPF…
- 3% more members say “hi” to neighbors monthly (vs. before joining FPF)
- 10% more members find it very/somewhat easy to make friends among neighbors
- 18% more members know most neighbors
- 24% more members have neighbors over to their home monthly
- 37% more members share goods or favors with neighbors monthly
FPF helps people get informed about local issues. Since joining FPF…
- 29% more members share news with neighbors monthly
- 68% more members feel “very informed” about local shops
- Two times more members feel “very informed” about local government services
- Nearly three times more members feel “very informed” about local clubs/organizations
- Three times more members feel “very informed” about local contractors
- Nearly four times more members feel “very informed” about community issues
- Four times more members feel “very informed” about opportunities to get involved locally
- Ten times more members feel “very informed” about neighbors’ views on local issues
FPF helps people get involved locally and build community. Since joining FPF…
- 10% more members intentionally “buy local” monthly (now 73% of members)
- 15% more members perform local volunteer work monthly
- 33% more members contact local public officials monthly
- 33% more members work to make change in their local community monthly
- 38% more members attend local public meetings monthly
- 43% more members attend local events monthly
- 89% of members have recommended FPF to someone
- 98% of members say that FPF helps their local economy (businesses find customers and new employees, neighbors save money, etc.)
Compelling one-day conference Sept. 23…
Registration just opened for…
Vermont Connected: Envisioning the Future of Vermont’s Digital Economy
Tuesday, September 23, at the Vermont State House in Montpelier.
Vermont Connected will be the culmination of the work of the Vermont Digital Economy Project, looking forward to Vermont’s future and sharing recent lessons learned from helping small businesses, nonprofits and towns in Vermont to effectively use digital tools. Tracks include:
- Educating for a Digital World
- K-12 and Beyond
- Bridging the Digital Divide
- Building Effective Organizations
- For Nonprofits
- For Small Businesses
- Creating Resilient Communities
- Open Data in Government and Beyond
- Resilience through Engagement
- Steering Vermont’s Digital Future
- Vermont’s Technology Industry
- The Creative Economy
Learn more and register today!
Front Porch Forum is one of many participating organizations.
Vermont Town Meeting… Not Her Grandfather’s Tradition
Posted today on the Calais Front Porch Forum by Sharon…
My farming grandfather didn’t go to Town Meeting. His was a north-facing sugarbush, so he sugared late and Town Meeting Day was when he set out the taps. He didn’t go to Town Meeting because he “had” to work that day. Could he have set out the taps on Monday or Wednesday? Of course — but he was set in his ways and didn’t care enough about Town Meeting to shuffle his schedule. Vermont’s small town residents have always had — and still do have — choices about whether to attend Town Meeting, and they made (and make) their choices based on their personal sense of priorities for the day.
I, in contrast to my grandfather, have an employer who expects me to show up for work every day. And with a new job, I don’t have vacation time earned. But I worked it out because it matters to me to do so, and even without a vacation day to use I’ll be there (as I have for most or all Town Meetings in the 10+ years we’ve lived in Calais) voting to keep our Town Meeting alive.
Town Meeting is a tradition in Vermont established by our forefathers. But that’s not a reason to keep it or reject it. We should keep it or not for its relevance to today, the world we want to live in, and the world we want to leave to our children. Gathering together one time per year to decide our town and school budgets, elect local officers, and debate policy both local and beyond is an important part of the richness of our community. It’s one of the things that makes Calais, Vermont special. I’m with Erica. If we have to switch the day let’s do that — or even move it around from year to year to accommodate a variety of schedules — but let’s not be hasty to toss it away. Please join me and vote “no” on Town Articles 11, 12, and 13 and the School District Article 5. Thank you.
Giving thanks for good neighbors
Lots of great Thanksgiving postings shared on Front Porch Forum this week… neighbors thanking neighbors. Here’s one example from the Marshfield Plainfield FPF…
Dear Plainfield: I am so grateful to be your librarian. Thanks to each of you who comes into our little library. We all make it to special place that it is… I certainly couldn’t do it without all of you.
I want to also take this opportunity to thank the Town Clerk’s office and Selectboard members, the Cemetery Commission, the Social Concerns Committee, PACA members… am I forgetting anybody who helps Plainfield function as a town? Also, hurray for Susan and Sylvia at the Jaquith Library in Marshfield!
Last but not least, thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers! Janet, Gail, Sherri, Will, Libby, Ben, Talvi, Emily, Joyce, Maria, Donna, Laura & her Master Gardeners, and the board of trustees (they volunteer their time, too): Jan, Sandra, Bev, Stephen, Monica, Erika and Bob.
When I am reflecting on all I have to be thankful for at the table on Thursday… living in this wonderful state, and serving this diverse and passionate community at this amazing little library, will be high on the list!
ALSO! Thank you, Front Porch Forum for connecting me with the wonderful family who sold me a set of great snow tires at a really great price.
Happy thanksgiving, everybody. We’ll be open again Saturday from 10-2.
Love, your librarian Loona
About Blog
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more
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