Category Archives: Good Government
Making Vermont towns more transparent and engaged
#VT – As Front Porch Forum expands across Vermont, we occasionally run into local conflicts around transparency. In some cases it pits old guard town fathers and mothers who have run things their way for generations vs. citizens who want to know what’s going on, how decisions are being made, and how they might get involved.
Some local officials embrace the enhanced citizen interest that FPF can bring, while others resist or even reject it wholly. We had a selectboard and town manager withdraw from their town’s FPF in southern Vermont recently because their constituents were using their FPF to raise uncomfortable questions. They also decided to warn their public meetings at the last possible moment mandated by state law. In a different community, the town manager is taking a beating via FPF on local budget issues, but he tells me he’d much rather hear from his critics and be able to address their points — which he does via FPF — than not.
We see a similar pattern with citizens. Most see the value in more local discussion on the variety of topics that FPF engenders. But others grow frustrated when they read viewpoints that run counter to theirs… and unfortunately a small number quit. We see this from both the left and right of the political spectrum. We encourage folks not to retreat into their respective echo chambers, but to stay engaged with their neighbors. But it’s not simple or easy.
We’re eager to work with local public officials and citizens to help them get the most out of their FPF. We celebrate where this seems to be working well. We appreciate Jim, for example, for his FPF posting today…
Thanks to Front Porch Forum for making Hinesburg a more transparent town.
Most vibrant FPF in Lamoille County?
#VT – Online community conversation is picking up in Lamoille County! See the photo of the Town Offices window in Morrisville… love the sign!
The Cambridge/Jeffersonville FPF is super vibrant with about 60% of local households signed up. Stowe, Johnson, and Morristown are going strong too. And Hyde Park, which launched just last week already has 120 households (out of 1,200) participating with more joining every day. And this just in from Cambridge FPF member Liz…
I posted a request for recommendations for a handy man to help us out and I got an overwhelming response!!! Thank you to every one!!! Front Porch Forum is the greatest. I am also on the Johnson FPF but I think the Cambridge one at present is more active. I look forward to reading it in the evening…
Better than a cesspool… Should Local Officials Engage Constituents Online?
#VT – The thing I’m noticing about the water in the village tonight is that as my kids are taking a bath, it smells like a chlorinated pool as far as about 6 feet from the bath tub.
I have no idea what this means. Better a chlorinated pool than a cesspool is how I choose to look at it.
I’m glad that public water supply quality is a topic of conversation on Front Porch Forum, and I do appreciate that town officials use the forum for disseminating information about it.
This was shared with 1,000 Bristol FPF members tonight by Gillian. Good for Bristol officials for engaging the public. We’re seeing more and more of this on FPF in towns across Vermont. I do know of one going the other direction… actually closing down communication with voters… but that’s the exception.
Fully integrated in Starksboro
#VT – I thought it was pretty neat that at 15 minutes into the Starksboro Town Meeting, Front Porch Forum had been mentioned 3 times by town officials (Town Clerk, Selectboard Chair, and I think also by the Moderator), with things like, “Watch for updates on Front Porch Forum.”
And the thing that struck me, was that it was always said like everyone would know what they were talking about. Here we are three years after start up there, and it’s a fully integrated part of the way the community interacts (and has been for some time). Pretty cool…
That note arrived today from an observer of Starksboro’s March 3rd Town Meeting… and we’re hearing the same from other towns who met prior to Tuesday’s official Town Meeting Day in Vermont.
Talking local politics…
#VT – Some public officials love Front Porch Forum, because it makes it much easier to communicate with their constituents. Others don’t care for it much at all… for the same reason.
Headed into Town Meeting Day, folks in one Vermont community have been asking selectboard candidates to speak up on their FPF and share their campaign platforms. In response, one candidate posted…
I hope you’ll vote for me on March 6th for… Selectboard. You can find out more about me and my positions [on my website]. Because I believe that Front Porch Forum is better suited to finding lost cats than it is to political debate, I invite you to contact me with questions or concerns by email or by phone…
Now today we heard from yet another citizen replying…
Front Porch Forum is so much more than a place to post about our “lost cats”. FPF is like your living room or a place at the dining room table where people can come and discuss whatever is on their minds. Yes, right now there are a lot of political things going on but that’s okay. Whether you are for or against something, everyone is given a chance to speak. Everyone’s opinion or points are important. The forum is a recycling center, a lost and found, a place to advertise your website (including politicians) and a place where people can come together on all levels, help one another, and find solutions. Thank you Front Porch Forum for being a part of our community.
Drawing a crowd to your FPF on Town Meeting Day…
Each neighborhood and town is unique… we can testify to that fact through our hosting of 170 different FPFs across Vermont.
While each place is different, they all get more value out of Front Porch Forum as more neighbors sign up.
Recruiting new FPF members on Town Meeting Day has proven a great way to boost your own FPF. Handing out flyers, passing around a sign-up sheet, speaking from the floor about your FPF during the meeting itself… we’ve heard of lots of successful approaches. In fact, Jeff just sent this note in today…
I would say FPF in Richmond has been a smashing success. My Town Energy Committee will have a table set up on Town Meeting Day. While FPF is a little off topic for our group, I see no reason why we can’t have flyers on our table… FPF has been a wonderful addition to our town and to the state.
Vermont Communities in a Digital Age Workshop
#VT – Vermont Communities in a Digital Age
When: Thursday, February 16, 2012: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Where: Vermont Technical College, Randolph Center
Register: Visit http://evermontworkshop.org for details and to register
Join community leaders from around the state to share ideas and learn how online tools are being used to create jobs, reinvent schools, attract visitors, improve civic involvement, and enliven Vermont communities. The workshop is sponsored by the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project.
Anne Galloway of VtDigger.org will be the keynote speaker. Session topics include mobilizing community resources for emergencies, a hands-on lab exploring online tools for business, a showcase of how technology is expanding the classroom for 4-6th graders, a look at conducting town meetings in the digital age, and ways to increase public Internet access in your town (and why).
Registration is $20 and includes course offerings, refreshments, lunch and the chance to win a Kindle reader and other prizes in our raffle drawing.
For more information about the day go to evermontworkshop.org. Pre-register online, by phone 802-859-3090, or by e-mail joanna@snellingcenter.org.
“Vermont’s Digital Development Starts on the Front Porch”
#VT – Wayne Hanson, reporting for Government Technology this week, writes about the success of the e-Vermont initiative, including this about Front Porch Forum…
As America’s cities become larger and life gets more complicated, some long for a return to a small-town lifestyle, where they are greeted by name, and the front porch — overlooking a picture-postcard main street — is a place to talk to neighbors. While this rosy view of rural living may not exactly square with reality — especially in hard economic times with high unemployment — the urge to enjoy a more rural lifestyle is attractive to many.
e-Vermont, a consortium of seven different organizations, has come together to improve the economic outlook of rural Vermont through technology, while at the same time preserving what’s most attractive about a region better known for its maple syrup, skiing and mountain vistas than Internet connectivity and job growth…
As for those conversations on the front porch, there’s a forum for that called “Front Porch Forum.” … “it’s a platform for neighborhood conversations, with the goal of things spilling over from online conversations to in-person conversations. Needless to say, public officials take a keen interest in that, not just to follow what’s going on but to have an engaged citizenry.”
Typical items on the forum might be someone selling firewood, eggs or a canoe. Missing pets are frequent items, as well as local government issues such as a proposed tax hike to pay for heating repairs at the school, which may be on the agenda for the next town meeting…
Susan Clark, a resident of Middlesex, is a sixth-generation Vermonter who co-authored All Those in Favor: Rediscovering the Secrets of Town Meeting and Community. She wanted more frequent connections with her community than the once-yearly town meetings. So when she heard about Front Porch Forum, she became a community volunteer…
Clark said that in keeping with the benefits of face-to-face meetings, Front Porch Forum isn’t anonymous, and the person’s street… is also listed… And unlike social networking sites like Facebook, she said, “Front Porch Forum wants you to know what’s going on in your community so you’ll get out from behind your computer and go out and go to the yard sale or the town meeting or the school play or the concert or any of those things.”
Clark said that the forum helps connect the public with local government, but she cautions against loading a forum with such things as planning commission documents at first. Wait until they are hooked on community events and items of personal interest, she said.
When Duane Sorrel, of Middlesex, moved to town he found out about Front Porch Forum at a town meeting. Sorrel, in a YouTube video, said that when he posted his information, he got a dozen customers for his automotive business in the first two days. “My favorite post,” he says in the video, “is “˜lately there’s been bears eating chickens.’ That’s been pretty interesting.”
How many people use FPF in Burlington?
#BTV #VT – More than 9,600 members are active in Front Porch Forum now in Burlington, out of the 16,000 households that comprise the city. In 2011, they shared 26,000 postings with their nearby neighbors via FPF. Amazingly, HALF of FPF members spoke up and contributed to their FPF neighborhood conversations. In one survey, 93% reported feeling “more civically engaged since joining FPF.” About 100 elected and appointed public officials participate too.
FPF is expanding beyond Burlington… we now serve one-third of Vermont. More than 32,000 members participate in rural areas, suburbs, and cities. Imagine this level of engagement in every part of Vermont and beyond! Let us know if you’d like to help bring FPF to your town (just enter your address on our home page and complete the form).
Three cheers for the tens of thousands FPF members in Vermont… and here’s to vibrant neighborhoods in 2012!
“Neighbor Connect” online space heating up
Congratulations to Conor White-Sullivan and the team at Localocracy… recent acquisition of Huffington Post, as reported by Kara Swisher on WSJ’s All Things D. Arianna Huffington said “[Conor and team are] pioneers in using the web to empower citizens to improve their towns, and their unique vision and talents will enable us to deepen our users’ engagement with our sites.”
This is further evidence of the “neighbor connect” online space heating up. In the past year, I’m aware of at least two dozen significant start-ups focused on facilitating conversation among people who live near each other. Some, like Localocracy, aim at niches (local ballot issues and related), while others intend to promote a general sense of community.
Huffington Post/AOL joins MSNBC.com, which acquired EveryBlock.com last year, in this space, as well as many other new VC-backed and boot-strapped entrants. Most start-ups in this area appear to be strong on tech and weak on traction. That is, they can crank out the code, but few people actually show up and use their product. To make matters worse, many attempt to open up everywhere all at once. As a friend said… “a mile wide and an inch deep.”
Front Porch Forum is an established leader in this space, with amazing traction in our state. More than half of our primary city participates. In another FPF town, 75% of members post… much higher than the 1-10% seen on many social sites. And the member success stories flow through FPF faster than we can write them down. People use FPF to reduce crime, find jobs, give away baby gear, reunite with lost pets, recommend roofers, debate ballot measures, call city hall on the carpet, and much more.
With our new web application recently launched, we look forward to bringing Front Porch Forum to communities far and wide.
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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