Florida Cross Collaborative Efforts – shame on me…….

My last blog attempted to urge Florida governments to accept and embrace the cross collaborative approach. Someone must have read it as I received a follow up email, I believe from John Folk-Williams of Cross Collaborate, reminding me of the great work being done in Florida by the Florida Conflict Resolution Consortium and its Director, Robert Jones.

And, frankly, shame on me… I am very aware of the good work being done by the Consortium and in my blog I should have offered a tip of the hat to their excellent work and leadership in the field of cross collaboration. They are successfully resolving public policy issues on a large scale in areas such as education, transportation, water resources, natural resources, land use and the like.

However, in my defense, as I was writing my blog I was thinking about all of the little matters that clog up local and state governments that should be addressed with a cross-collaborative approach but simply are not. Let’s think small scale for a minute. Let’s think Hatfield and McCoy.

It is the small neighborhood disputes that get the audiences a’rumblin at commission meetings. It is the big box store threatening to move into town that gets tempers flaring and gets local politicians’ phones ringing off the hook. Cross collaborative efforts need not wait for the ticking time bomb such as cross-jurisdictional annexation or water disputes. Even for the smaller issues that may only ruffle the feathers of a few citizens I encourage local and state government to focus more on preventative medicine rather than simply treating the symptoms.

So, mayors, town managers, planning staff and city and county attorney offices, before you hang up that phone after listening to someone rant and rave for what seems like forever, think about what can be done to put out that fire. In today’s newspapers alone I read the following headlines: “Roosters’ early morning calls have suburban Delray residents crowing,” “Palm Beach County schools chief revises disputed academic programs,” It may be time to suggest neighborhood mediation to air the issue out and begin working on a solution that may just solve the problem once and for all.

And for a shining example of cross collaborative efforts from today’s papers: Volusia County Public Works Departments hosts “Workshop to tackle trail plan.” Looks like Volusia County “got the memo!”

- Sandra C. Upchurch
supchurch@uww-adr.com

Cross Collaboration – come on Florida, get on this bandwagon!

Public policy collaboration. What a concept!! This is all the rage in California but appears to be in only the most infantile stages of development in Florida.

According to John Folk-Williams, the publisher and editor at Cross Collaborate, “governance today intertwines the public, private and nonprofit sectors in the management of public policy and the delivery of public services as never before. The sphere of governance revolves around partnerships, interagency agreements and cross-sector efforts of many types.” In Florida it would appear that government officials and staff agree with this in concept but as yet are unclear about how to insert cross collaborative techniques into their policy-making to the benefit of all interested parties. It is this proactive approach which led me to leave the government sector and enter the field of alternative dispute resolution with the Upchurch Watson White and Max Government Affairs Practice Group. It is my sincere belief that most, if not all, hot button political issues can be addressed constructively early on to avoid long drawn out decision-making processes, stalled projects and ugly, unproductive public debate.

The helpful blogs at Cross Collaborate discuss in an ongoing forum effective public outreach, consensus building, deliberative democracy techniques, resistance to change, and so much more all in the context of public policy and governmental decision-making. It is just a must-read blog for me and I hope it becomes a must-read for you too.

As an aside, if you are involved in a cross-collaborative public policy project in the state of Florida, give me a heads up and tell me what you are doing and how it is working. I welcome the input and the insight and who knows, your project may well become the subject of my next blog.

- Sandra C. Upchurch
supchurch@uww-adr.com

Can’t we all just get along?

I envision a world where developers meet with citizen groups and neighboring property owners early on in the development process.

I envision a world where local governments actively seek direct input from the community prior to developing new ordinances and voting upon controversial projects.

I envision peaceful commission/council meetings where all the kinks have been ironed out prior to public meetings so that all that is left is the standing ovation, the words of commendation for the cooperative effort and the pounding gavel signifying the end of the meeting.

An article in The Florida Bar Journal reminds me that others have this same vision. Dana L. Brown, the environmental enforcement administrator for the City of Jacksonville, Environmental Quality Division, and Lee White, a recent graduate of Florida Coastal School of Law, have written an article entitled “Noise: A Land Use Dilemma? A Case Study of the City of Jacksonville” which demonstrates that the City of Jacksonville, Florida wants to be proactive rather than reactive in its approach toward noise issues.

How refreshing. You see, we don’t seek world peace or cats and dogs living together in harmony, just a little bit of effort, discussion and perhaps some facilitated negotiation or mediation on the front end to avoid the fight and ugliness at the back end.

Is that asking too much?

-Sandra C. Upchurch
supchurch@uww-adr.com

Registered Sex Offenders – No Place to Call Home?

As a local government attorney in Florida I struggled with the political pressure to draft an ordinance that dictated residency restrictions for registered sex offenders. I was directed to draft requirements more strict than those imposed by state law. What I came up with was tough, I mean REALLY tough. And, at the end of the day, the politicians told their constituents that they were better protected from these predators. Intellectually I knew that those residency requirements were a false promise which offered nothing more than a false sense of security. For example, they did not prohibit sex offenders from driving by a bus stop or a school or a library or the beach or a park. Those residency requirements simply prohibited residing near those points of youthful activity. Those requirements did not prohibit attending a party at a house that was near a bus stop, school, library, beach or park. Those residency requirements simply prohibited residing near those points of youthful activity. I would imagine if one was going to commit a heinous crime against a child, a little thing like one living more than 2500 feet away is not such a big obstacle to overcome.

Many argue that driving sex offenders out of residential neighborhoods is making them harder to track for the Department of Corrections. As the mother of young ones I for one do agree that I would rather know where they are and have them closely monitored than have them homeless and virtually impossible to track.

And, what about those that argue that the standard of behavior that results in the label of “sex offender” may be a bit off target? Some say that urinating behind a building has resulted in their conviction as a sex offender – surely I am not scared of that guy!

I thank Ronald S. Chapman for his blog on this topic - His blog got me thinking about this subject again and I always think a bit of self-examination/self reflection is a good thing. For now – round and round and round we go – where this issue will stop, no one knows…

- Sandra C. Upchurch

supchurch@uww-adr.com

Web 2.0: A brief digression from mediation

Are you a technophobe afraid to plug in your hairdryer? Do you scream out for your assistant to rush in to your aid each time your word document simply “disappears” from your screen? Are you the black thumb of death to any computer you touch?

Unfortunately for you it is now terribly chic to efficiently maneuver through your computer’s PowerPoint application. And today it is cool to carry an extra flash drive on your key chain. Blogging has become a way of life. And Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter? If you’re not there – well fuggetaboutit!!!

If you are still leery of the web and its social networking capacity, I provide you with the following must-do social networking steps you can take to dip your toe into these uncharted waters.

1) Establish your internet presence with a webpage for your firm. Profile the members of your firm. Identify your areas of specialty. Include location and contact information.

2) Read blogs on topics of interest to you and your practice. Comment on others’ blogs. Subscribe to blogs to keep updated and current.

3) Write a blog at least once/week. Write about matters of interest to you and your potential clients. Link your blog to your website, other websites and other blogs. Give readers a glimpse into your personality with your writing style.

4) Create a Linkedin account. Use it to refer readers to your blog, your website and your profile. Slowly begin accumulating connections. Establish meaningful connections not just numbers.

5) Create a Facebook page. I suggest keeping a professional page separate from a family and friends page. Link it to your website, blog and Linkedin and Twitter accounts. Collect meaningful friends not just numbers of friends.

6) Establish a Twitter account and tweet at least several times each week. This is just flat out fun! Join Twibes of interest to you and your practice area. Retweet things of interest to you. Follow people in fields of interest to you and relevant to your practice area.

7) Become proficient with PowerPoint or hire someone who is. OK this is not really social networking but an important practice tip. Use this for your mediation opening statements and at trial. Just do it!!

These are just the basics and believe me there are many additional ways to supplement your Web 2.0 efforts such as webinars, podcasts, site engine optimization consultants and the like but take baby steps first. Come on in – the water is fine.

Sandra C. Upchurch
Mediation Counsel
Upchurch Watson White and Max Mediation Group
Blog: http://uwwm.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @scupchurch
Website: http://uww-adr.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sandra.c.upchurch
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sandracupchurch

Mediating Government Disputes – Confederate Flag Controversy

The Miami Herald recently wrote about a controversy brewing in Homestead concerning the flying of a confederate flag at an upcoming Veterans Day parade. The City Council and Chamber of Commerce are just two of the parties to the upcoming mediation.

Mediation is being used more and more in pre-suit situations in the government sector and with community disputes as it is cost effective and allows the parties to constructively share their perspectives.

- Sandra C. Upchurch

High Fives to...

the 16 finalists for the 2009 Innovations in American Government Award from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Mass, including Orange County, Florida for its Primary Care Access Network, Kingsport, Tennessee for its Higher Education Initiative and Chula Vista, California for its Residential Abandoned Property Program, just to name a few.

These governments set out to solve a problem that was unique to their community or that other governments thought too big to overcome and solve it they did and in a big way.

For a full listing of all nominees click here.

Just goes to show you that government can be innovative too. I will keep you posted regarding who the big winners are!! And, if you would please forgive my Florida roots - go Orange County!!!

- Sandra C. Upchurch