12. The Community
Council
Points to
cover
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The Community Council is
possibly one of the most important fruits of American
democracy.
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The
Community Council has a long and venerable American history,
with many independent origins.
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There are many sources of
information and assistance from within the movement to those
starting out.
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There are principles, or
standards, of membership within a Community Council.
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Historical Origins The Community Council
movement seems to have had several independent origins. During the
First World War such organizations were proposed as a defense
measure, and it is said that thousands were organized, but nearly
all of them disappeared after the war. From 1912 to 1919 Community
Councils were promoted by the Massachusetts Agricultural College,
under the leadership of Dr. E. L. Morgan. The first publication on
the subject, Mobilizing the Rural Community, by Dr. Morgan,
outlined methods and policies strikingly similar to the latest
pronouncements by proponents of Coordinating Councils, except that
his program looked more to long-time planning, concerned rural
communities chiefly (whereas the Coordinating Council has been a
movement of large city and suburban communities), and called for a
greater degree of direct community participation. With his
retirement from Massachusetts, and with the after war relaxation,
the movement largely stopped, but his bulletin spread the
idea.
An Early Coordinating
Council In 1919 Dr. Virgil E.
Dickson, Director of the Bureau of Research and Guidance of the
Public Schools of Berkeley, California, and August Vollmer, Chief of
Police of Berkeley, began to have lunch together and to coordinate
their work. Then, after some years, with four other department
heads, they organized to form the "Berkeley Coordinating Council.”
In 1929 the California Commission for the Study of Problem Children
recommended the spread of the Berkeley idea, and by 1933 there were
about fifty Coordinating Councils in the state.
Organized Community
Councils In 1929 the village of
Alexandria, Ohio, organized a “Community Council” which has had a
continuous and successful career. At Norris, Tennessee, under the
T.V.A., a Community Council was organized in 1936, and for some
years constituted the sole governing body of the community of 1500
people. In 1934 “Neighborhood Coordinating Councils” were formed in
Cincinnati. Doubtless numerous other similar organizations have
originated in past years quite independently of each other. In 1935
an organization of the 90 Coordinating Councils of California was
formed, as the “California Coordinating Councils.” In March, 1938,
“Coordinating Councils, Inc.,” was created, and has since been the
active head of an active movement for the organization of such
councils.
The only available
census of Community Councils, that of the American Legion, seems to
be indefinite. For instance, the 175 Councils reported from New
Jersey are, in fact, quite another type of organization, and others
were reported which, while organized, did not survive. While it
reported six hundred Coordinating Councils in the United States, and
while this figure is frequently quoted, there may be a much smaller
number in effective operation.
Representation of a
Council The Community Council
may well be one of the most important inventions or creations of
American democracy, perhaps not even second to city manager
government. It may be made up of one representative of each live,
active public-interest organization in the community. That is,
the Chamber of Commerce would appoint one member, the Parent
Teachers Association, the League of Women Voters, the Garden Club,
the Rotary Club, the Trades and Labor Council, each church, the Farm
Bureau or Grange, each would appoint one representative, and so on
through the public-interest organizations of the community.
These representatives would constitute a council to plan the fuller
development of the community, to study its needs and shortcomings,
and to cooperate with governmental bodies and with the member
organizations, for the improvement and development of the community.
A great value of the
Community Council lies in the fact that it represents every
public-spirited interest and organization in the community. It cuts
across all party and class lines, and gives representation to the
entire community. When constituted as indicated above, it is
exceptionally resistant to political or other
manipulation.
The Coordinating Council
movement is of great importance, and great credit is due to the
unselfish efforts of those in California who are chiefly responsible
for it. As is natural with any new movement, it has not arrived
suddenly at perfection, and in planning the organization of
Community Councils difficulties may be avoided by observing
early shortcomings of the movement which are in process of being
eliminated.
Weaknesses of
Coordinating Councils The first of these
weaknesses is the tendency in some cases for public officials and
public employees to dominate the Councils. In the original
Coordinating Council, of Berkeley, California, and in several other
Councils in that region, the entire representation was made up of
public officials or public employees. It would seem to be a natural
and necessary part of good local government to have a coordinating
committee, with representatives from each department or agency
concerned with local government, to prevent overlapping of effort or
failure to cover the ground, and to develop understanding, unity,
and economy in local government. Yet such a committee of public
officers and employees does not take the place of a Community
Council made up largely of non-governmental
representatives.
While the Community
Council should be in touch with all government departments and
agencies that are concerned with the life of the community, yet in
the opinion of the writer, public officers or employees should not
dominate the Community Council. It would be well for each major
official department or agency concerned with local government to
designate one person to meet with the Community Council when
desired, and to be a connecting link between the Community Council
and the government department or agency, but not more than perhaps
one fourth of the Community Council members should be public
officials or employees.
Using Public
Officials The value of working
with public officials is well expressed by Kenneth S.
Beam:
“It has been the
experience of coordinating councils in California, with some
exception, that the public officials are ready to participate in the
council program and that they welcome the opportunity to cooperate
with the private agencies and civic organizations. The very
assumption that this cooperation will be forthcoming often produces
cooperation, when any other attitude would have failed. In those
instances in which the council feels that some public service needs
improvement, they have found that they can usually serve such
improvement by working with the official concerned and offering
cooperation, rather than by criticism or opposition.
"It frequently happens
that the improvement in service or additional service sought by the
coordinating council has long been the objective of the official in
charge, but that he has been unable to secure the improvement
because of lack of funds or lack of approval of other officials. The
weight of opinion registered by the coordinating council in many
cases has provided the support that the officials have needed to
secure the service that they have long desired."
--Coordinating Councils in California, p. 49.
Co-opted Membership In addition to members
representing public-interest organizations, it would be well for the
Community Council itself to select a few "co-opted members,” that
is, persons chosen for membership because of special personal
ability to render service. These may be full members with voting
powers, or associate members with opportunity to discuss but not to
vote. For instance, a physician in the community may be greatly
interested in public health, and willing to work in that field, and
yet he may not be chosen to represent any civic organization; or
some person may be chosen as co-opted member who would be
responsible for developing community music.
Selecting Members Another shortcoming of the Coordinating
Council movement has been the lack of a clearly defined basis for
selecting members. As the Community Council becomes a more and more
important element in our national life, this shortcoming may have
serious results. The question rises, what kind of organization is
qualified to have representation in the Council? Suppose the largest
church in town has a Men’s Club, a Ladies' Aid Society, a Sunday School, and a Boys’ Club, can each claim
a representative? Suppose the Trades and Labor Council is made up of
half a dozen craft unions, should each union have a representative?
Unless clear policies are developed, such issues may make
trouble.
Membership Standards - 9
points
The following general
principles or standards are suggested for membership in Community
Councils:
1.
Government officials or
employees shall not constitute more than a quarter, or at most a
third, of the members of the Council. Where some public
official not on the Council has some special knowledge or skill
which would be of particular service to the Council, as for example
the public health officer or the teacher of school music, such
person, if co-opted by the Community Council, may be an associate
member without a vote. If any general class of people in the
community should be found to be without representation, such as the
farmers adjoining the community center, or some foreign population
group, such as Mexicans in a Southwestern city, the Community
Council may appoint representatives of such groups. The total number
of co-opted members shall not be more than a third of the whole
membership.
2.
Only
civic-purpose organizations are eligible to appoint representatives
to the Community Council. This classification does not include
amusement organizations, such as country clubs, golf clubs, or
bridge clubs, though it may include a sportsman's club if its
interest is largely that of game preservation. The criterion is
that the organization shall be committed to the public service.
Purely commercial organizations like advertising men’s associations
or coal dealers’ associations are not eligible to choose
representatives. Cultural societies concerned only with the
interests of their own members, such as dramatic clubs and private
music clubs, are not eligible.
3.
Political or propaganda
organizations, such as the Democratic or Republican Committees or
the Communist Party organization, or the Single Tax Club, are not
eligible.
4.
No
organization will be eligible to appoint a representative if the
organization has been created chiefly for that purpose, or if it has
been in active existence for less than five years, or if its
membership is less than one percent of the population of the
community, or if it is a secret organization.
5.
Membership shall be for
three years, approximately one third retiring each year. Initially
the expiration of the terms of members may be determined by lot.
After a member has served for two consecutive terms, he or she shall
not be eligible for a third term until one year has
elapsed.
6.
The
secretary need not be a member of the Council.
7.
In
case an organization has subsidiary or component organizations, only
the central organization shall be represented. A loose association
of officers, such as a town ministers’ association, does not
constitute a central organization, and is not qualified to appoint a
representative to the Council.
8.
There shall be no
restriction of membership on the basis of race or
color.
9.
Any
civic organization meeting the above conditions for membership may
appoint a member to the Community Council. In case of disagreement
as to eligibility of an organization, the vote of the majority of
the Council shall be conclusive.
The Scope of the Community
Council Another shortcoming of
the Coordinating Council movement is that in its origin and in much
of its development it has been concerned chiefly with juvenile
delinquency and with underprivileged boys and girls. Important as is
this field of work, the scope of the Community Council should be
much greater--nothing less, in fact, than the development of every
phase of community life in good proportion to every other. Leaders
of the Coordinating Council movement are coming to recognize this
need. Juvenile delinquency is largely the result of unbalanced
community development. While not forgetting juvenile delinquency as
an important community responsibility, yet the chief consideration
should be to create such a community that juvenile delinquency will
seldom originate there.
Community Council
Publicity Still another frequent
shortcoming of Coordinating Councils has been a policy of
avoiding publicity. Many communities know little of the work of
their Coordinating Councils, the near secrecy being justified by the
Councils on the ground that since much of the work is for
delinquents or for persons or families in trouble, publicity would
be humiliating to those being dealt with. With a larger view of the
place of the Community Council, publicity becomes imperative. The
public has a right to know what is being done by such an important
organization. Publicity can help to clarify issues, and can make the
public aware of the significance of the small community in the life
of the nation. It need not make public specific cases where personal
or family embarrassment would result from publicity. But through a
wise handling of publicity the idea of community integration and
unity can be developed little by little, and a feeling of pride in
and loyalty to the community can grow. (This shortcoming also is now
recognized and is being overcome by the Coordinating Council
movement.)
While the Coordinating
Council movement has made a great contribution to American life, yet
it has needed a clearer definition of purpose and of method, and a
broader vision of its possibilities, if it is to make the very great
contribution to American life which is inherent in the idea. The
steady growth of the concept is illustrated in the bulletin of
Coordinating Councils, Inc., A Guide to Community
Coordination, (28 pp.,). This is an excellent guide to
community organization, and should be in the hands of every
person concerned with such activities.
The present discussion
of Community Councils is from the standpoint of small communities,
which usually do not have councils of social agencies or
organizations of paid social workers. Therefore many of the
recommendations commonly made for neighborhood councils in large
cities, or in suburbs of large cities, are not applicable. The lack
of social workers in the small community may be compensated for by a
sense of neighborliness and of "belonging" among people who serve
their own needs largely without paid professional
workers.
Community vs.
Coordinating Councils It may seem to the
reader that the terms "Community Council" and "Coordinating Council"
are used indiscriminately in this discussion, but such is not the
case. The term “Coordinating Council" is used with reference to the
movement which developed first in California, and which is served by
Coordinating Councils, Inc., of Los Angeles. This movement was
initiated, and has been largely led, by heads of departments in
local governments, who got together to compare notes, to harmonize
and to unify their efforts, and to prevent duplications and
omissions in their work. In the view of the early organizers, the
value of their "Coordinating Council" was to enable them as
department heads to do better the work of their several governmental
departments or agencies. In this development the state government,
and the federal government through W.P.A. workers, have shared
expense and have been helpful. In the literature of that movement
repeatedly one meets the statement that the Coordinating Council is
not to undertake projects on its own account, but is only to
coordinate the work of other agencies. The Coordinating Council
movement to a considerable degree is outgrowing that attitude and is
recognizing the need for undertakings by the Council
itself.
In contrast, the
Community Council, while undertaking to co-ordinate the work of
existing public and private agencies, does not hesitate to undertake
projects of its own. A typical example is the Community
Council of Alexandria, Ohio, which has a long period of successful
work second only to that of Berkeley, California. The Alexandria
Council originated a public library for the community, and in
connection with the library provided a social room for farm women.
It developed a public playground. It worked out a Community Calendar
of meetings. It directed three community pageants at intervals of
five years. It directs an annual Halloween party. It promotes the
community musical program through an existing agency - the public
school system. The Council at Yellow Springs, Ohio, both informally
coordinates the work of other agencies and initiates projects of its
own.
The Coordinating Council
had its origin and much of its development in large cities, or in
suburban areas which had facilities largely financed by large
cities. In such cases there were well developed public departments
and agencies to coordinate. There were health officials, the
juvenile court, probation officers, recreation officers, etc. The
movement has the color of a large city, or of the suburb of a large
city. Its literature constantly emphasizes the need for paid
professional workers, which means that it is to some degree
impersonal, like large city government.
In contrast, the
Community Council of Alexandria, Ohio, is in a village of 500
people, with 1500 in the farm population which is included in the
community, and which actually shares in the program. In such a
community there are relatively few public or private agencies to
coordinate. There is no juvenile court, no recreation
department. Short of the entire county there is no governmental or
other organization, except the Community Council, which includes the
entire community of village and farm area. There is little money for
paid workers, so the people must do the work themselves by old time
neighborly cooperation. In creating the community playground by
filling a gully and removing an eyesore, the actual physical work as
well as the planning was the unpaid volunteer work of the villagers
and farmers.
In producing each of the
three pageants at five year intervals, every member of the
Alexandria community in village and country who was old enough to
participate had some part, and no one had more than one
responsibility. The chairperson of the Council is a farmer living
outside the village. Thus, the Community Council, as represented by
Alexandria, is a movement to overcome the separateness of
denominations, school board, village council, farm organizations,
and business people's clubs, to create in reality a community of
friends and neighbors who get acquainted with each other by
cooperating in community undertakings. This element of becoming a
real community is no less important than that of preventing
duplication and omission in the work of the several departments,
agencies, and organizations. The very fact that the whole community
works together on a given project creates a bond of
neighborliness.
There is room for both
types of community organization, and for various grades between, but
the small community will lose something very valuable if it sees its
Council as chiefly a means of preventing omissions and duplications
in the work of its various agencies and organizations. Its chief
work is to recreate the community of friends and neighbors, and to
bring it to a well proportioned development.
The Work of the Community
Council The Community Council
should not do the work which other organizations in the community
are willing to do and capable of doing. Where no organization exists
in the community which is willing and able to perform some necessary
service, then the Community Council should not hesitate to perform
that service if it is able to do so. But such cases in general
should be limited to general community projects, such as the
development of a calendar for community meetings or the
establishment of a public library.
First of all, it should
be the business of the Community Council and of its members to
understand the history, principles, and problems of communities in
general; to know their own community thoroughly; and to appraise its
needs and possibilities. With that background of knowledge it should
be the business of the Community Council to know how the public work
of the community is being carried on, to point out weaknesses
and ways of correcting them, to support able efforts and to
recognize good work. It should aim constantly to promote the
coordination of the work of various organizations and agencies, so
that wasted time, effort, and expense may be eliminated, and a
higher degree of efficiency may be achieved.
Coordination and
integration may not mean consolidation or elimination of
organizations of similar purpose. Small units often are desirable
because they allow more intimate relations. Several small churches,
if they are not too small and weak, may serve their members better
than one or two large ones in which intimate acquaintance would be
lost. Different churches and other organizations appeal to different
temperaments. Such small organizations with similar aims should not
be looked upon as necessarily competing with each other, any more
than squads or divisions which make up a regiment, or the artillery,
cavalry, and infantry of an army, are competing. They may have
friendly and helpful relations with each other. It may be better for
a community to have several Ladies’ Aid societies, and several
luncheon clubs, rather than to have one large organization of each
kind.
There can be too many or
too few organizations in a community, or too many of one kind and
too few, or none at all, of another kind. There needs to be a sense
of fitness and a sense of proportion in establishing and maintaining
organizations in a community. Questions to be answered such as: In
view of other needs and interests, is there justification for
drawing off part of the total resources for the new organization, or
to maintain an old one? Are enough people interested in the
organization to give reasonable prospect of success? Does the
organization menace others that are more valuable? Is the community
over organized?
When any practical need
of the community is not being taken care of it is the business of
the Community Council, or of its appropriate committee, to bring the
need to the attention of the appropriate government department or
other agency, and to follow up the matter until suitable results are
achieved.
The Community Council
should keep the public informed of the state of community affairs.
It should seldom if ever try to enforce its opinions by legal or
other drastic action, except as it may inform public opinion of the
facts and needs and possibilities.
Organization of the
Community Council The initial members of
the Community Council may well be proposed to the various
organizations by the initial study group heretofore discussed, for
appointment as members of the Council. Before making such
recommendations to the several organizations, the study group would,
of course, discuss the various possibilities with the best informed
and most responsible members of the community; and perhaps a
committee of such men and women might be appointed informally to
draw up a list of proposed names. After the initial organization of
the Community Council, reappointments would be made by the several
organizations as they should see fit. When subsequent appointments
are in order, in case some member of an organization is especially
qualified to give good service, the Community Council might suggest
his or her name to be placed in nomination among others.
When the Community
Council is organized it will be divided into several committees. One
or more of these may be concerned with the general theory and
philosophy of community organization. Any group will do better
work if it is familiar with the history and background of its
problems. It would make the Community Council a more useful group if
perhaps the first third of every regular meeting were spent in a
study of the history and philosophy and problems of communities in
general. One or more committees might be responsible for that part
of the program. If no better plan should emerge, at each meeting a
chapter might be read from one of the best books on the subject, or
a description might be read or given of significant and successful
work elsewhere.
Other committees will be
concerned with various specific subjects, and special committees may
be appointed for limited periods to deal with temporary or special
issues as they appear.
To a considerable degree
the work of most Coordinating Councils is the outcome of concern for
juvenile delinquency and for the needs of underprivileged boys and
girls. The Community Council should have a wider range of interests.
It should be concerned with the efficiency of the local government
and with the economic possibilities of the community, with cultural
opportunities and possibilities; in fact, with the whole range of
community life. This need for increased range of interest is more
and more being recognized by the Coordinating Council
movement.
It probably would be
unwise to have committees on all phases of community life at once.
Unless there is some definite need for it, a committee should not be
organized for the sake of having a committee, but in case some
member or members have a definite interest in which they wish to
work, a committee may well be provided for that purpose. For
instance, one or a few persons may feel very strongly that boys and
girls finishing high school should have help to prepare for definite
callings. In that case they may be made a committee for that
purpose.
Limiting Initial
Objectives At first attention might
well be limited to a few major issues. In addition to the day-by-day
work of meeting the current needs of the community, it might be well
for the Community Council to give its major attention for six months
or a year at a time to some single issue. For one year the major
issue might be a study of the economic life and possibilities of the
community. Such a concentration of attention would not prevent the
music committee from going ahead with its work, or the committee on
health from taking account of current needs.
The initial study group,
if it should not be absorbed into the Community Council, might very
well continue its work, for the organization of a Community Council
will not suddenly result in community consciousness, even among
Council members. Unless their interest is maintained, some of the
members will be willing to let the Council die. Someone must
continue to work hard and patiently against repeated discouragement
in order to put flesh and blood and life on the dry bones of
organization. It might be that for years the fate of the whole
movement might rest on the persistent work of one person or of a
small group, some of whom probably would be members of the Community
Council. If the Council as a whole seems listless, perhaps some
committee chairperson is alive, and with the help of the initial
study group, might make his or her own small part of the program
such a success as to give life to the whole Council. Often it is by
such a course of taking any legitimate opportunity which presents
itself, that success finally is achieved.
Suggestions as to New
Councils From the literature of
the Coordinating Council movement the following suggestions are
culled. Their value is largely due to the fact that they are the
product of actual work with Coordinating Councils. Most of them were
assembled by Kenneth S. Beam, Executive Secretary of Coordinating
Councils, Inc.
"In starting a Council
one should concentrate on a few interested individuals rather than
try to form an organization with a large number of people." [During
the early days of a Council, and until community interest is well
established, one thoroughly interested person might represent two or
more organizations, but his aim should be to interest others to
become representatives of all but one of them.]
“Start with a small
group, then increase by inviting representatives from other
organizations in the community, until all are
represented."
"Sell the idea to three
people who will devote their time and efforts, and the job is
begun."
"Take plenty of time to
secure good representation from each member
organization."
"Get young people on the
committees."
"Secure the broad,
inclusive participation of all possible interests and
agencies."
"Work very closely with
the law enforcement bodies."
"Include in the
membership the people's groups, so that the Council is not
superimposed on a community."
“Secure an active and
discriminating membership chairman."
Suggestions for the
Program
"Study the community,
find actual needs; then select one need and meet it."
"Find a vital basic
need, and concentrate all efforts to fill that need."
"Start work immediately
on some problem, however small, which can show tangible
results."
"Begin with a small
group attacking a definite project, one that can be completed within
a reasonable time so that interest can be maintained."
"Go slow. Analyze
needs, but do not expect to accomplish everything at
once."
"Do not attack too many
problems."
"Limit the scope of the
project to that which can be well done. Expand as resources and
understanding permit.”
Surveys
"The Council's first
activity should be to study the neighborhood from the social
viewpoint."
"Definite understanding
of community problems must precede program building."
Leadership
"The one
person who represents the Council in the eyes of the community is
the chairman. If he or she is a person in whom the community has
confidence, and is one whose interests go far beyond his own
organization, the Council has a good chance of succeeding.
Ordinarily he should be a person who has already demonstrated
his ability by having served as the leader of other organizations in
the community."
“No one person can
possibly have experience or training in all the fields touched upon
by the average Coordinating Council."
"He or she should not be
known as an extremist in any field, political, religious, or
professional. He should not be a fanatic, a radical, or a
reactionary, and not one who is inclined to ride one hobby to
death."
"She should be one who
does not try to capitalize on his organization contacts for personal
gain, or to make use of the organization for political
advancement.”
"He should be able to
detect and emphasize points of agreement and to minimize points of
difference until common ground is discovered.”
(Some of these
suggestions seem to emphasize tactfulness rather than courage and
conviction. A real leader will do more than tactfully prevent
friction. He will have conviction and creative ideas, and will not
shun unpopularity when that is necessary.)
"Never allow politics to
enter."
"Select a chairman who
will lead from the community point of view, not from a church or a
P.T.A. point of view."
"Be cautious lest you
have publicity seekers."
"If they don't want a
lot of hard work without pay or credit, or if they are not able to
give a lot of free time, don't organize.”
"It would be an
advantage to start out with a paid director." (In most small
communities this is not feasible. Sometimes a woman who does her own
housework would be able to give considerable time if she could
receive the actual cost of hiring help which would free her own
time.)
"Provide a secretary
with sufficient funds to keep activities before membership and
public."
Keeping the
Public Informed
"Acquainting the public
is important, getting its confidence and cooperation."
"The press, the
governmental and private agencies must be with you; the community
must have confidence in you."
Council
Meetings—Programs and Policies
"Be sure to have
thorough preparation of interesting programs for every announced
meeting.”
“Establish committees
only as there is felt need for them, and definite projects for them
to work on.”
"No important
information should be concealed, whether it indicates success or
failure of the plans adopted. [Many matters will come before a
Council concerning which publicity would be unwise, as in case of
personal or family difficulties where help or guidance is
needed.]
"Every representative
should have some responsible part in the organization.”
"Avoid taking
authority and responsibility for initiating and carrying on
activities in the name of the Council." [This applies where there
are organizations in the community to whom the work and credit can
properly be assigned. Sometimes the Council will initiate its own
projects, where no other organization will undertake
them.]
“There is no pattern for
a Council to follow, no fixed program to be carried out in all
communities. No two towns and cities are alike, and no two should
expect to have exactly the same program.” [This statement by Kenneth
S. Beam expresses his experimental, democratic, non-regimented
attitude in Coordinating Council promotion. That attitude should be
jealously preserved. Naturally some methods and policies will be
found to be so generally sound that they will become
widespread.”
"One of the axioms to be
followed religiously by Coordinating councils is that of requiring
full information regarding a given need, condition, or problem
before a program of action is mapped out."
“Satisfactory results
will come only after hard work and dogged persistence over a long
period of time."
"City and county
organizations contemplating the sponsorship of a number of
Coordinating Councils should recognize the importance of providing
qualified and experienced persons on full time to direct the work of
the Councils. One such person can serve a number of
Councils."
"Coordinating Council
work should be related to all vital aspects of the community.
Only by being so related can it maintain its balance."
Other Forms of
Community Organization Sanderson and Polson, in
their very useful and interesting book, Rural Community
Organization, give descriptions of various types of community
organizations. This book reflects such clear insight and such a
wealth of experience that it should be read by all persons planning
Community Councils. Their final comment on community organization is
pertinent: (p.234)
“……it is questionable
whether there is sufficient experience in this field of endeavor to
warrant the advocacy of any stereotyped procedure in setting up a
community council. The presumption is that circumstances will differ
materially in each community and that the important thing is in the
beginning to get the various organizations to working together in
joint community projects, rather than to spend too much time in
trying to work out the best type of organization or to give much
attention to long-time planning. The need for long-time planning may
better evolve out of the situation, when it will be felt as a real
need and will have better support. When this stage has been reached,
or as a means for determining the essential facts upon which to base
certain projects…surveys of community conditions will usually be
found desirable.”
Especially for small
communities where there are not several local organizations to be
represented a simpler form of organization than that described for
the Community Council may be desirable. In such cases thought should
be given to find the method of selecting members of a Community
Council who will most fully represent the whole community and who
will be most efficient and useful. Direct, general participation of
the community under the best leadership should be the
aim.
Questions
-
What
representatives should make up a community council and what
duties would these representatives perform?
-
What are some
possible shortcomings with community councils that should be
avoided?
-
What are some of
the general guidelines that Morgan provides for membership
in community councils?
-
What are the
differences between “Coordinating Councils” and “Community
Councils”?
-
What are some of
the responsibilities of the Community Council and its
members?
-
Do you
believe a Community Council can make an enormous difference
in quality of life? Why or why not? |
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