Santa Monica has active, influential neighborhood organizations, but there has been little coordination between them on issues of city-wide impact. Staff's role is to serve, not make policy. Too often, its work is presented at the last minute before Council and Planning Commission meetings, effectively excluding informed, meaningful public participation, and rendering City officials unhealthily dependent on its analysis and recommendations. Staff reports must be circulated far in advance to residents, neighborhood groups and public officials, allowing time to digest, organize, and affect policy. Better use of media.
Information is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy.
For instance, the precious few community meetings held on the Civic Center could have been recorded and televised. PEN must also be revitalized in this vein. An enforceable Sustainable City Program. Although the SCP aims at environmental stewardship, it lacks real mechanisms for implementation and enforcement. A healthy community must balance the diverse needs of all its members.