When considering “city government,” it’s easy for one to think only of the mayor and city council. If they were pressed, some people may think of the police chief, fire chief or, perhaps, city employees.
But there’s an entire portion of our local government made up primarily of citizens.
Though they generally work in the background, city commissions do much of the legwork and help guide city council decisions.
When a developer wants to rezone land from residential to commercial, they talk to the commission in charge of planning and zoning first.
When a downtown business wants change its facade, they talk to the Historic Preservation Commission.
There are commissions and committees on various aspects of running a city such as trees, elections and housing.
Members of commissions largely review citizen requests and make recommendations to the city council. For example, if this newspaper wanted to install a neon sign on the front of its downtown office, we would present plans for the sign to the Historic Preservation Commission. Their members would review our design. If they approved the sign, the application would be passed to the city council. The council could take the commission’s recommendation or not, though it usually takes the advice of the commission. If the commission denies our application, the issue would be dead unless we appealed directly to the council.
The members of these commissions are not typically made up of elected officials and city employees though. They’re simply involved citizens. Some are practicing professionals, others are retirees; some are black, others are white; and some are young, while others are older. The common thread is they are willing to commit to serving their city. These commissions are, in a sense, the purest form of citizen-government. They are commissions of the people, by the people and for the people, you could say.
Two important city commissions — Municipal Elections and Historic Preservation — each have one vacancy. While the next municipal election isn’t until 2021, the open seat on the Historic Preservation Commission needs to be filled sooner rather than later, says Columbus Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong.
Armstrong says years ago, filling vacant seats on city commissions was easy, that people were waiting for opportunities to serve. That culture of service appears to be waining.
We call on engaged citizens to contact the city about the possibility of serving in one of these open seats. Both of those open seats are at-large so you don’t need to live in any particular ward. Applications are at City Hall. If you need details on requirements for the commissions, which each have four-year terms, contact David Armstrong.
Serving on one of these commissions is an excellent opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to the city.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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