Less Criticism - More Ideas for Solutions

The initial reaction of citizens is to criticize government when it fails to resolve problems. I, for one, will no longer "point fingers" and play the "blame game". Instead, I will engage you, who participate here; my family; friends; and associates; in conversation and debate to stimulate serious discussion about new and innovative steps that our Huntington and Cabell County governments might consider to resolve on-going public policy issues. We know the issues: shrinking population and tax base, lack of business development, out migration of young and talented college students, aging population, etc. Then, there are the infrastructure issues: the ordered closing of the Deitz Hollow Landfill and the lack of a replacement, the combined sewer system in Huntington, the City's self-insured employees' health insurance program and the under-funded pension funds, labor union issues, and others.

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The first suggestion I would like to put forward is that a multi-day "retreat" be scheduled, attended by the present Huntington City Council, Mayor David Felinton and his administrative department heads, along with members of the County's Legislative Delegation and members of thevCabell County Commission and the Commission's administrative department heads. During this proposed retreat, all public policy issues that are affect citizens in the city and county would be on an agenda for broad ranging review. The objective of the exercise, which would be open to the news media and citizens, would be the creation of a white paper report. The report would contain a section for each problem plaguing our area. Each issue-section would include:

(1) a history and description of the issue
(2) an itemized list of the date and detailed steps of any steps taken in the past to move the resolution of the issue forward.
(3) an itemized list of obstacles to moving forward
(4) costs associated with the solution of the issue
(5) projected time required to resolve the issue, if funding was available
(6) a list of known potential funding sources and a history of attempts to acquire funding
(7) a summary at the end would detail actions to be taken to discover funding and intermediate steps that might be take to reduce the effect of each issue.

That is step number one! In short, "you cannot manage it, if you cannot measure it!’"

The result of such an exercise would be that the citizens of Huntington and Cabell County would have a clear understanding of each issue and a better appreciation for the complexity of our problems and the difficulty associated with their solutions. In addition, our political leaders will have worked together to zero in on issues and potential solutions.

As for this citizen, no further criticism, and I am hopeful that all of the folks who participate here will add their ideas and solutions, along with their criticisms of our governments.

I am hopeful that together we will accomplish anything we can imagine!