Feedback from the VANC Town Hall on September 8, 2011

These comments were received from the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils (VANC) members at their September 8, 2011 meeting.  Please note that the comments were limited do to time constraints at the meeting.

Training Motion

• Funding and ethics training should be mandated and further leadership training and peer mentoring should be offered 
• Certain topics should be mandated, such as how to run committees, and trainings can be offered in a Board retreat, which has worked in the past
• Training incentives should be offered instead of punishments
• Passing on of institutional knowledge of the Neighborhood Councils needs to be added to training
• Trainings should not be every two years
• Should not use the word "training" but "education" instead
• There are liability issues with certain subjects under ethics, work place violence and sexual harassment which may need to be mandated and would require Plan changes or bylaw changes with consequences
• Offer all the trainings online
• Neighborhood Councils should be subject to the same rules as City Council and any consequences need to be localized to the Neighborhood Council bylaws

Grievance Motion

• Neighborhood Councils should initially address grievances with the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners as the final appellate body though they could be inundated, but the opportunity to hear from stakeholders is important
• Need to be clear which grievances are selected to be heard and which are dismissed outright
• Clarity is required on how to appeal grievances and whether they are needed in the first place
• Who would want to be involved in a regional peer grievance panel?

Regional Governance Motion

• The motion should be called Regional Administrative Support instead of Regional Governance
• The motion should not just be limited to administrative support - the regional bodies should maintain power
• Need to be clear about regional responsibilities
• Neighborhood Councils should not have simplified services, such as with minutes, so with administrative support, the assistance should still fit the Neighborhood Council desires

Funding Motion

• Do not establish grants - the Neighborhood Councils can't do it
• Grant writing is hard and too time consuming
• Who would make the decision on what grants get funded