GOVERNMENT
CITY CHARTER AMENDMENT:
In
years when the City Charter Review Commission meets, the League will monitor
and evaluate the recommendations of the commission. When the recommendations come before the City
Council, the League may take a position on individual amendments and present
the League’s position on the individual amendments before the City Council.
(1956, amended 1964, 1965, 1967, 1994).
CITY GOVERNMENT:
Representation:
The League supports representation on the City Council
by districts. (1971, amended 1974, 1978,
1979, 1988), LAW PASSED 1979, effective 1981.
Elections:
The League supports city elections separate from state
and federal elections, in which all City Council seats run concurrently with
the Mayoral election. (1988, amended
1992), LAW PASSED 1990, effective 1993.
NEW STUDY: City/ County Merger. Information
to be available to membership within two years. (adopted 2003, 2004)
CITY FINANCING:
A
primary goal of city government should be the efficient and most effective use
of tax revenues. Those city services
which directly promote the general health, welfare, and safety of the community
should be financed by general taxation.
URBAN
PLANNING:
The
League supports the use of growth management techniques and tools for limiting
urban sprawl. These techniques encourage
mixed land uses ensuring a range of housing options and creating walkable
neighborhoods which promote distinctive attractive communities. Development should foster neighborhoods with
a strong sense of place and include reinvesting and existing communities. The
participation of citizens and stakeholders should be encouraged in development
decisions that are fair, equitable, and cost effective.
The
League encourages a more efficient use of resources which will preserve
critical natural resources and encourage preservation of open spaces, farmland,
and wetlands. Developments should
include storm water management to preserve unpolluted water sources improving
the quality of existing water bodies and streams.
The
League supports the development of standards and regulations that ensure growth
will occur in an equitable and sustainable manner. (2005)
The
League supports representation on Douglas County Board by districts. (1983,
amended 1992), LAW PASSED 1991, effective 1992.
PUBLIC UTILITIES:
Advertising:
The League believes public utility should refrain from
political advertising.
(1977, amended 1983, 1992, 1998).
Electric Rates:
The League supports a rate structure that is based on
equitable allocation of costs and encourages energy conservation. OPPD should charge a higher proportion of the
actual cost of extending distribution lines to new customers. Customers should be given an explanation of
any change in rates. (1977, amended
1983, 1992, 1998).
NATURAL RESOURCES
HAZARDOUS WASTES:
The
League supports proper hazardous waste management in Douglas and
GREATER
The
League supports parks and open spaces because they add to the quality of life
of the citizens and enhance the preservation of wildlife.
We
encourage green space linkage between parks and the development of a variety of
kinds of parks, i.e., linear, active recreation areas, low impact retreats, and
mini-parks.
The
budget for parks and recreation should be adequate to provide for quality maintenance,
for conservation of park resources, and for acquisition of major parkland in
the most cost-effective manner. (1986,
amended 1990, 1992).
NEW STUDY: Urban Growth Policy in Metropolitan
Review
and discuss issues of urban sprawl, smart growth, sustainable communities, and
new urbanism; to identify key smart growth elements; to review the city’s
Master Plan and other area planning documents. (2003, 2004)
HUMAN RESOURCES/SOCIAL POLICY
CHILD CARE:
Every
child is entitled to humane care in a safe and healthy environment which
promotes personal, emotional, and intellectual growth.
Uniform
minimum standards for child care should be established and enforced by federal,
state, and local governments.
Government
agencies that set standards for child care centers should provide parents and
caregivers with clear and concise information which fully explains the
standards.
Inspections
of child care homes and child care centers should be efficient and effective,
unannounced, at least biannual, and constructive in nature. (1979,1999).
POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS:
A
good police department should incorporate police-community relations in its
day-to-day operations. To better serve
the total community the police department should have:
1. A strong public relations program.
2. Programs designed to develop total community
cooperation and awareness of the police department.
3. Ongoing training in human relations skills, conflict
management, as well as racial-cultural and gender sensitivity for all police
officers.
4. A training process that includes qualified civilians
as trainers.
5. Appropriate funding for a strong continuing education
program.
6. A publicized telephone directory listing for citizens
to channel compliments and complaints.
(1973, update 1983, amended 1992, 1993).
Telephone Directory, 1990.
JUVENILE JUSTICE:
The
League supports a juvenile justice system which provides for realistic,
beneficial, and humane treatment of the juvenile offender, as well as
protection of the community. It
advocates the use of community-based alternatives to incarceration,
particularly for non-violent first-time offenders, and programming that is
education based, family centered, and rehabilitative. To achieve these goals, the League advocates
a high governmental priority in funding for youth issues.
Specifically,
the League supports:
Establishment of a county-wide intake and assessment
system that can act as a lead agency for all youth at risk. There should be a 24-hour information and
crisis line that networks with all juvenile justice services and provides
referral for family services.
Local family- and community-based evaluations of
youth.
Identification, separation, and control of the small
group of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders who are responsible
for the majority of criminal offenses.
Pre-trial diversion of first-time offenders into
alternative programs.
Formation and utilization of a broad range of public
and private alternatives to detention, such as runaway shelters/safe houses,
electronic home monitoring, intensive home supervision, and day programs.
Creation of family preservation and intervention
services which address the whole family unit rather than looking at the youth
in isolation. Relinquishment of custody
to the state should be avoided except in the most extreme cases.
Establishment of delinquency prevention programs
throughout the juvenile justice system to develop a pro-active system instead
of a reactive one.
In the Douglas County detention system:
Development of a positive philosophy with the emphasis
of being an “Attention Center” rather than a “Detention Center.”
Improvement of staff training and development to teach
employees how to appropriately deal with youths at risk.
Incorporation of comprehensive planning designed for
youths’ individualized needs in the Youth Center, which should include: ensuring physical and emotional well-being,
advancing life skills, enhancing self-esteem, and encouraging redirection and
Productivity with the goal of an improved quality of
life out of detention. (1994, 1999).