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From Tech Transfer Newsletter, Fall 2007
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Encouraging Public Participation:
A California Agency's Success Story
When a contentious issue is at stake, bringing community members to the table early in the process can lead to improved communications at hearings and yield more favorable end results.
When Alameda County voters approved a half-cent sales tax in 1986 to fund specific transportation infrastructure projects and to provide critical transit operating funds, the Alameda County Transportation Authority (ACTA) was created to administer the funds and ensure project and program delivery.
Toward the end of the 15-year period approved in the 1986 vote, ACTA set itself to task to go before the voters to ask if they would like to continue to tax themselves. For the measure to be a success, the process required a balance of technical and community values, a broad base of involvement, agency commitment and responsiveness, a method for resolution and mediation, and 2/3 voter approval.
In 1996, ACTA and two hired consulting groups developed a multi-year community relations program with a target date of a 1998 election. The group was dedicated to soliciting local involvement, and incorporated the following elements into its plan:
- Creation of a steering committee of elected leaders to guide and help focus development of an expenditure plan. All meetings held to develop the expenditure plan were open to the public and had a public comment period.
- Performance of a needs assessment through stakeholder outreach and
public opinion surveys. This was done through community workshops, meetings, and public opinion surveys.
- Creation of a broad-based community group to craft the plan. A 40-person advisory committee represented viewpoints, ethnicity, incomes, ages, and abilities across the county—from the very loudest critics to advocates for every transportation mode. Developing this committee required public notices in newspapers, leaflets and flyers in grocery stores, libraries, and banks, and mailings to community groups within the county. Commitment was the only requirement for serving on the committee.
- Testing of the developed plan through stakeholder outreach and public
opinion surveys.
- Endorsement through city councils. Since the support of a majority of the cities representing the majority of the population was required to support the plan, ACTA took the plan on the road. During this process, members of the public crowded meetings, at times shutting down buildings and using bullhorns to express views. Signs and slogans were posted on walls. People were involved.
- Endorsement of the County Board of Supervisors to place the approved expenditure plan on the ballot.
Despite these efforts, the measure garnered just 58.6% support in 1998, which fell short of the 2/3 vote needed for it to go into effect. ACTA took immediate and decisive steps to reach out to businesses, groups who opposed the plan, and those who supported it.
Ultimately, the outreach efforts resulted in unprecedented alliances, and in November 2000 voters reauthorized the half-cent sales tax with 81.5% support—far more than the 2/3 vote required for approval—to deliver a fresh set of essential transportation improvements and services to keep Alameda County moving.
The Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (ACTIA) was created to deliver the new projects and programs supported by the 2000 measure. The group continues its commitment to community participation with the establishment of four community advisory committees comprised of almost 90 people who make direct recommendations on expenditures.
This article was adapted from the ACTA publication, "Getting a Grip on Gridlock," an in-depth report covering the organization's commitment to public involvement.
For more information about ACTIA, visit its website.
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