09-08-1986 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT IN A TIME OF CHANGE As a member of West Hennepin Human Services Planning Board, I have been amazed and overwhelmed by the needs of the people in our communities - the western suburbs and the rural west Hennepin County. Compounding the problem of service availability and accessibility are tight budgets and ever -changing rules. It is how more important than ever to have a plan- ing board assessing and advocating for the needs of our communities. Two themes continued to surface this past year. First, important de- cisions that impact our communities are made at many levels and to be effective, we have to work at not only the local level, but the state and federal levels as well. Second, it is essential for us to have community participation. We are cont ually striving to expand the level of involve- ment by citizens in the west Hennepin area by creating new, better and more meaningful opportunities for citizen input. I feel that the challenge of providing a communication link is critical in this time of uncertainty, with many changes in the structure and fund- ing of human services initiated at the state and federal levels. Our priority setting process allows us to provide an impor�ant link for our citizens to have a voice in the $109 million Hennepin County Community Social Services Budget. In 1985 about 450 west suburban residents parti- cipated in our formulation of priorities and already in 1986 about 300 residents have joined us in this effort. Wn consider this process as one of our most important funcions and share our findings with municipalities and agencies within our planning area. Board and staff members have actively monitored federal and state human services policies and funding that affect our communities ind promoted positive -fforts to assure that programs and policies address the needs of our r-.•,.zens and support the West Hennepin service delivery system. :xpanding our horizons and broadening community participation are integral parts of a community planning process. We need this process if we are to assure that the service system and pu!. c and private policies address the real needs of residents such as the over 3,000 West Suburban residents who fed and housed their families and one 1#468 households who heated their homes with the assistance of the WHHS Emergency Services and Energy Assistance programs. These citizens and many others like them who need hu..ian services in the West Hennepin area must continue to count on us to understand and advocate for their needs. am really impressed by the involvement and dedication of our Board )crs and our many other vol.unte rs. In 1985, Board members contributed ,ut. 4,800 hours of volunteer ,ime. We found our energy assistance volunteers contributed 990 hours to this program. On behalf of our Board I would like to thank our volunteers and member municipalities for their support. Together we can meet the challenge of making the western suburbs a better place to live. ;3usan M. Morrison, Chairperson Board of Directors