Accountable to You Action Plan

‘County Commission shouldn’t be Maine’s lost level of government’
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In order to restore public trust in county government, we must increase access, transparency, and engagement in the decision-making process. Here are a few ideas I have to make big, structural change in how our commissioners are operating...

Accessibility

• Regular commission meetings should take place at a time that working Mainers can attend; Not at 4:30PM in the afternoon
• All public hearings should be held in the evening to allow for greater participation
• Livestream meetings on social media, not just record them
• Advertise when all meetings are held to ensure public attendance; create FB events for each workshop, hearing, and regular meeting
• County website should be mobile responsive and updated; at a minimum ensure commissioner page actually has commissioner information available 

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Transparency

• Monthly video series explaining votes and decisions called ‘Commissioners’ Corner’
• Monthly email newsletter detailing actions of commission
• Weekly social media posts providing context for discussions and ways to get involved including meeting times
• Create a county commissioner website/blog specifically for our district to provide updates and have contact information to access county services
• Improve FOAA response time and process to ensure compliance with Freedom of Access laws
• Require all county commissioners to have ethics training 
• Provide official updates for local town annual reports 
• Attend city/town council meetings to provide regular updates

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Engagement

• Monthly ‘Coffee with your Commissioner’ - virtual office hours to connect about county level government topics, questions, and issues
• Develop a mobile app for engaging with county departments and services 
• Creation of a York County Government Youth Advisory Council to empower youth to get more involved
• Internship program for high and college students with commissioners and other government agencies in the county
• Create a leadership scholarship for area high school students to attend college in our commission district
• Visit area schools to educate students about county government and how they can use their voice to make a difference

Collaboration 

• Commissioners should bring federal, state and local officials together to increase collaboration between branches of government
• County government should facilitate stakeholder meetings and solutions based discussions
• Advocate for progress on the state level that impacts county residents; work hand in hand with legislative delegation to advance policy objectives; testify on legislation if needed

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