Dreams are funny....you wonder what they forecast or indicate. Usually I don't remember my dreams, but yesterday I woke remembering a very funny dream about the City Budget hearing that would happen later that day. In the dream when I sat down in the room the woman sitting next to me said that these hearings are a lot of fun and I will enjoy it. A gospel choir suddenly got up and proceeded to sing their proposal for funds, and then several other creative presentations were given. We voted ranking each one on a paper (a little like American Idol). One of the funnier things that happened was that the Jail gave a presentation of how some boating project would help rehab inmates. As is possible in dreams, a big speed boat was put in a river to demonstrate how it would work, the boat driven by an inmate just sped away (and honestly AB ;-] I did not see your picture before I went to bed ). Everyone just watched it go out of sight and then that was it....hmmm, I couldn't figure out what that was suppose to mean. So that was the gist of the dream. When I woke I really wondered what the real thing was going to be all about. My dad's take on it was that "government hearings are just a joke".
I went to the meeting in the evening, and it wasn't anything like my dream. However, it was like no other government meeting that I had ever been to. It was more like a strategic planning meeting that I've attended at several non-profits. There was a kind of "voting" in that we put stickers on categories that we would prioritize. And then had a group discussion about why the results showed dots heavy in some areas and low in others. The Mayor, several Alders, and city workers were there and about 225 citizens of the community. Not exactly reflective of the city's demographics. A higher representation of the non-profit sector, since the evening's discussion was focused on social service.
Throughout the evening many promises were expressed by those representing the City government that this process of relying heavily on citizen input would continue to be developed during Mayor Soglin's administration. That budget decisions will take seriously into account input from these meetings (which will cover 5 funding areas: Social services, administration, facilities & parks, safety, infrastructure) and input from a 40 page on-line survey that they are hoping as many city's residents will take the time to complete.
Survey link: http://www.cityofmadison.com/budgetProcess/survey.cfm
Essentially, they are building a case that this is not a joke, not a carnival or contest, but a serious dialogue and as is a common chant here in Madison these days: "This is what democracy looks like!"
When I returned home my sister texted me that she had just seen me on the 10 o'clock news. The atmosphere of the event was like a networking mixer. After a speech from the Mayor and then a description of core values (http://www.cityofmadison.com/budgetProcess/ for details) and budgeting categories, then people milled around the room (that was very crowded, spilling over to the hall and Library next door) Apparently I was shown talking with someone and laughing. Which is simply full of irony in light of my dream.
I haven't seen the clip yet, nor do I remember laughing a lot, however, during the mingling there were several meaningful conversations. Some of the executives of non-profits that I spoke with were grateful that at least they were invited to the table for once in the budgetary process. Others during the group discussion however represented staff of non-profits or recipients of services. While fewer in number, some vocalize their concern that their voices and unique perspectives are usually not taken into account in any budgetary discussion. The Mayor pointed out that in a pluralistic society it is difficult to represent "the people", for the people have multiple voices. However, if we cannot at least start by actually hearing those voices the decisions that are made never come near to representing the people.
This is why I found the evening budgetary discussion about social services "promising". My ultimate concern is that the non-profit world increasingly has become responsive to the requirements of the funding sources rather than the people that they serve. The agenda starts being led from the top down, and this only further disenfranchises the disenfranchised. I am encouraged at least at the attempt to begin to establish a process where we can begin to hear the voices of a community. Now only to figure out how to get people to these hearings, especially those whose voices have not yet been heard.
Ultimately in the process there will be a point where there are limited resources to allocate due to the season we are in, The value of these kinds of discussions, I believe, will only partially impact budgetary allocations (especially in the first year and in these difficult economic times). The greater value is to move us away from the tail wagging the dog: from dollars being the primary societal mover to recognizing the strength of people and untapped community assets.
The question remains always, what voice is there of those who are on the fringes of society. It's a voice that I, as a follower of the Lord Jesus and citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, is daily urged to listen to. It's a voice that has great power as is demonstrated in the Lazarus and the rich man story in Luke 16:19-31. Why should we only turn to the "poor" when we ourselves are parched and without means? Can we not recognize now the value of the one is critical to the success of the whole? Or can we only recognize that when the unraveling starts to hit us personally? Then do we simply kick into reactive mode, or step back and start recognizing all the "Lazarus'" that we've walked over and side-stepped on our way to get our own. I'm grateful that somewhere in this great country there is some attempt to actually listen to the voices around us, and look forward to being part of the process in responding to those voices.
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