2.466 Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions Defined.
(1) The City Council of the City of Medford believes there exists a need to broaden channels to communicate with its citizens on matters affecting the livability of their neighborhoods and the community in general. The City Council adopted as one of its goals for 1997-98 a desire "to develop and implement strategies for increasing the communication and feed back between the City and its citizens." As such, the City would like to enter into a joint partnership with Neighborhood Associations/Community Coalitions for the purpose of encouraging neighborhood planning processes to identify needs, establishing workable goals and objectives, and providing follow-up strategies for solutions.
The overall objective of this partnership is to obtain a commitment of neighborhood residents wishing to make a difference in their community by making their neighborhood a better, safer place to live work and play; providing an effective channel to their city government and staff, and allowing opportunities to respond together in addressing neighborhood and community challenges.
(2) A Neighborhood Association and Community Coalition is a group of people organized within the boundaries of a "community" representing a neighborhood or neighborhoods for the purpose of considering and acting upon a broad range of issues affecting their neighborhood and community livability, as well as serving as forums for communication of concerns to city government. It is anticipated that "Community Coalitions" will be formed from citizen initiated "Neighborhood Associations" and boundaries formed based on common concerns and neighborhood similarities. When a Neighborhood Association has grown to represent numerous neighborhoods, and/or other Neighborhood Associations wish to join efforts with adjoining Neighborhood Associations they may request recognition as a Community Coalition representing a broader segment of the city sharing common concerns and similar goals and objectives. It is anticipated that Community Coalitions would also have board representation from each Neighborhood Association and would assist new Community Coalitions and Neighborhood Associations in forming.
(3) Boundaries of the Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions shall be defined by the City and Associations/Coalitions jointly and should evolve over the course of time. Membership shall include all residents, property owners, business licensees and representatives of non-profit organizations that provide services within the defined boundaries. A good faith effort shall be made to recruit a diverse and representative board of residents, property owners, and business licensees within the defined boundaries and to maintain an up to date list of board members and officers. All boundaries shall be within the city limits of Medford.
(4) No membership fees shall bar any resident from voting. Voluntary dues, contributions, contracts and grants may be utilized by coalitions to function and meet their goals and objectives. City funding and levels of funding, if any, shall be at the discretion of City Council and the City Manager.
(5) Each Neighborhood Association and Community Coalition shall adopt by laws which will govern rules of procedure, election of officers, residency and minimum age requirements, frequency of meetings, allocation of budgets and all other matters for accomplishing stated goals and objectives. Organization by laws shall be kept on file and available for review.
(6) Each Neighborhood Association and Community Coalition may:
(a) Recommend an action, a policy, or a comprehensive plan amendment to the City and to any City agency or commission on any matter affecting the livability of the neighborhood, including, but not limited to land use, housing, community facilities, human resources, social and recreational programs, traffic and transportation, environmental quality, open space and parks and public safety;
(b) Assist City agencies in determining priority needs for the neighborhood and community;
(c) Make recommendations relating to budget items for neighborhood improvement;
(d) Undertake to manage projects as may be agreed upon or contracted with public agencies.
(7) Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions shall be accountable to the people of the neighborhood which they represent, as follows:
(a) They shall be responsible for notifying residents about meetings, elections, and other events with the assistance of City staff. They shall be responsible for seeking the views of the people affected by proposed policies or actions before adopting any recommendations. Officers will serve as liaison between City staff and the Neighborhood Association and Community Coalition and shall be elected by the coalition members.
(b) The consensus view of a dissenting minority or minorities on any issue considered shall be recorded and transmitted along with any recommendations made by a neighborhood organization to the City.
(c) Nothing in these provisions shall be considered as a limitation on any citizen’s right to participate directly in the decision making process of the city government.
(d) Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions shall provide annual reports of progress (goals and objectives attained) and specific examples of measurable successes to the City Council at a scheduled Council study session. Should the City Council elect to contract services, an agreement to provide services would be mutually adopted with Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions.
(8)
(a) All Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions and City agencies shall undertake to notify affected neighborhood persons through the officers of the organization on policy or administration decisions pertaining to a specific neighborhood.
(b) Neighborhood Associations, Community Coalitions and City agencies shall abide by the laws regulating open meetings and open access to all information not protected by the right of personal privacy and shall abide by the same non-discrimination laws and policies required of the City of Medford.
(9)
(a) Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions shall provide their own liability insurance covering their staff, officers, board members and committee members acting within the scope of their employment or volunteer duties. A copy of this policy shall be delivered to the City Manager and shall provide comprehensive general liability insurance with the following minimum requirements:
Per Person | Per Occurrence | Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|
Bodily Injury | 200,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 |
Property Damage | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 |
Personal Injury | 200,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 |
(b) Special events, workshops and other programs open to the public and provided on City owned property by the Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions may require the City to be named as additional insured on the liability policy.
(10)
(a) The Neighborhood Association, Community Coalition and City agencies shall include each other in all planning efforts which affect neighborhood livability.
(b) Comprehensive plans recommended to the City or to a City agency shall be the subject of a public hearing within a reasonable time. Any changes which are proposed by the City, or a City agency, shall be sent to the affected Neighborhood Association and Community Coalition for consideration and for a response before final action is taken.
(c) City agencies and Neighborhood Associations and Community Coalitions shall cooperate in seeking outside sources of funding for neighborhood projects.