5 Ways to Improve Your Town

Traffic to this blog is reaching record highs, and I think that’s an indication that people are increasingly interested in the retail drain that is the latest problem to plague Billerica from right now.  D’Angelo’s, Friendly’s, and now OfficeMax and Fashion Bug early next year — all closing with a few months’ time.  Meanwhile other towns in the same region, with similar highway access and socioeconomics, and in the exact same recession, are successfully attracting new, strong, and exciting business growth.

What else will we lose next year?  Is there anything we can do about it?

Yes, there is.  Here is how you can change this town for the better, starting in 2012.

1.  Pay Attention

Being fully aware of what is going on is the first step to changing it.  The traditional media outlets (Billerica Minuteman, Lowell Sun, occasionally the Boston Globe) are decent news sources.  Most of us read at least one of these. But it’s not enough.  Newer media is attempting to fill in the gaps.  Billerica.org has reporting like a newspaper, but its staff are residents, many of whom are elected officials.  Local blogs are expanding.  Facebook, Twitter, and other social media do contain a lot of noise, but you can find some good nuggets of news.  Some rumors you hear this way turn out to be true.  Finally, the Board of Selectmen meetings and Town Meeting sessions are all covered to start to finish by Billerica Access Television.  BATV is probably our most valuable form of communication, and we need to take better advantage of it.

Equally important to paying attention to what is happening is paying attention to what is not happening.  For example, we are not attracting new business or land development. By learning about what is happening around the region, we find out what is missing from our own town’s growth.

2.  Ask Questions

It is your right as a citizen to know what government is up to, and to understand what it means to you.  If you hear a rumor, ask an expert if it’s true.  Take full advantage of town staff, who are here to serve you, the taxpayer.  There is no reason to feel like you are being a pain in the ass or that you are bothering them with a question.  In my experience most staff are happy to help you.  The internet makes it incredibly easy (and fast) to talk to people who can provide you with whatever information you are looking for.

We have all had bad experiences with government in the past, but do not assume all people in government will treat you poorly.  Just be polite and you will be amazed at how pleasant your interaction will be.

And of course the people you elected to represent you (Selectmen, Planning Board, School Committee, etc.) are also eager to answer your question.  (The Town Clerk might ask for TM reps’ e-mail address on the nomination for the first time next year.  If she decides to do this, it would give us direct access to TM as well.)

If you don’t like the answers you’re getting, don’t give up.  Ask other people.

But who do you ask?  Rick M at A Forgotten Man has provided a full roster of department heads and other important contacts on his blog.  Rick has done all the hard work for you.  Now all you have to do is ask away.

3.  Listen, Talk

In that order.

We are all opinionated people.  One of our favorite hobbies is telling people what we think.  But hearing what other citizens are interested in and understanding the perspectives of others is the foundation of a successful community.  When you see your neighbors over the fence or at the store, ask them what they think the town needs.  Ask follow-up questions.

Then, tell them what you think and ask for their reaction.

This is the sort of basic civic discourse that built great towns.  It sounds simplistic, but are we really sharing ideas like this now?  Or when talk about local politics, do we instead talk about people we personally like or dislike?  Spread ideas, not gossip.

4.  Assemble

Americans revere our First Amendment freedoms of speech, religion, and the press.  But our freedom to assemble is exercised less and less nowadays (Occupy Wall Street notwithstanding).  For a large town, Billerica has few civic organizations.  There are zero neighborhood associations, despite having distinct neighborhoods with unique needs.

Neighborhood associations (NAs) are sometimes called “hyper-local government,” providing a forum for people who live near one another to lobby for or against things that affect them.  It could be something as small as a pothole or as large as a looming 40B development.  In some cities and towns, NAs are very powerful political entities.  With the power of several dozen people (and more on occasion!), they can be an irresistible force.

Without this type of unity, good ideas die and old ideas aren’t challenged effectively.

Again, the internet makes it easy to build these sorts of organizations.  Monthly in-person meetings are great, but something as simple as an e-mail list or Facebook page be the political spine of a neighborhood and it can let busy people participate.

5.  Vote

Yes, encouraging people to vote is bordering on corny now.  However, it is still a very important message.  Trends on turnout everywhere, especially in local elections, is pointing in the wrong direction.

But the situation here in Billerica is edging into desperate territory.  Consider the 13.0% turnout this past April.  Effectively that means each person that showed up at the polls represented about seven-and-a-half registered voters.  Now that’s influence.

What it means is that people running for major boards need little more than their personal contacts to simply turn out in order to win elections.  It helps to explain how lifelong residents win so many times — they have plenty of friends left over from high school.

But is a lifelong resident always the best person for the job?  We won’t know until we can substantially increase voter turnout.  Until then, ours will be student council elections.  We will be high school sophomores forever, voting for people who have the most friends or who have the coolest “vote for me” sign posted next to the girls’ bathroom.

Fewer voters mean less competition, and less competition means lower quality of government in any democracy.

In summary, if you are not satisfied in the quality of government, you have choices.  You can complain.  Or you can do something about it.  Make your government yours.  Participate.  Only then will things improve.