This is going to be just like Commiefornia. The worst state to live in by all of the studies. A Third World nation inside a nation. Plutocrats at the top and massive, indoctrinated poor at the bottom, sans any middle class. Highest taxes and costs of living in the USA.

I used to carry water for these ideas and am sorry for all of it. I used to hate Grover Norquist when he coined the phrase…”I’m going to drag big government into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” Now….I’m right there with Grover….allow ME to add more water.

The language is awful high-falutin. And full of 21st century BS:

The City of Boise Office of Community Engagement’s role is to foster deeper connections and engagement with citizens of Boise. The Office works to establish a strategic, citizen-centric communication culture within city government that reflects Boise’s vibrant, dynamic and innovative livability, and builds on residents’ high satisfaction with the value of the city services they receive. It is part of a larger effort to bring a first-rate customer service mindset to the city’s interaction and transactions with citizens.

Using the broad-breadth of 21st century communication tools and technology, we will listen and respond to the feedback of our residents and employees more effectively, while proactively delivering the right messages to the right people at the right time. This effort will prioritize, consolidate and streamline the city’s overall citizen and employee communication efforts, while creating more opportunities for residents to engage with their city government on a more personal level.

* CE’s expenditures have grown substantially since 2016 – which formed the basis for Internal Audit’s interest in function. During that first year of operation, actual spending totaled $594,349. With a current staff comprised of thirteen members organized into four functional areas of expertise, CE’s expenditures for FY2019 are budgeted at $2,119,276; representing a more than three-fold increase since their first year.

So an increase in engaging the community has just so happened to coincide with an election year?

Better Together: Private Development & Public Interest

How can we bridge the apparent cultural divide between developers and neighborhood residents? Created by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Idaho District Council, this workshop provides greater understanding of the real estate industry’s role in the development of our neighborhoods and cities.

I attended this “messaging platform” at another location a while back. One of the instructors said the developers really care about the outcome and the impact. This person has been in the local industry for at least 25 years. Maybe years ago that was the case, but now many developers are funded by out of state interests who don’t give one rats #@* about the impact on community, only the impact on their wallet.

The 4 instructors also seemed to think we (citizens) should have some sympathy for how risky their projects are. So is investing on Wall Street. Development is an investment risk, and just like other investment opportunities, there is no guarantee on the return. Although our current City Council and Mayor have run rough-shod over that principle.

EnergizED is Energize Our Neighborhoods’ workshop series that focuses on motivating, engaging and connecting Boise’s residents by giving them the information they need to become champions for change on a neighborhood level.

Exploring Housing
This series will be offered in October. Each workshop will be held from 6 – 7 p.m. in the Hays Auditorium at the Main Library at 715 S Capitol Blvd on the following dates:

October 9th
October 16th
October 23rd
October 30th
This free workshop series is open to all Boise residents.

EDITOR NOTE–The GUARDIAN feels the council should oversee the mayor’s office and keep hizzoner and staff in line. They see themselves as the “board of directors” working to rubber stamp the vision of the “CEO.”

* 22 staff – Mayor’s Office from 2009 thru 2013.

* In 2014 & 2015, City Council was spliced into their own data set as 9 & 10.*

* In 2016, the Office of Community Engagement became their own data set:
2 staff – 2016
7.6 staff – 2017
12 staff – 2018

* If all three data sets were still only under “Mayor’s Office” it would be 37.8 staff as of 2018:
15.3 – Mayor’s Office
10.5 – City Council
12 – Office of Community Engagement

These figures are provided in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report on the city website, from the 2018 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, 2018 (p.140). It is likely that the number for the C.E. Office has increased since then, to handle all of the “marketing snow-jobs” we have pedaled to us.

*Full-Time Equivalent City Government Employees – otherwise called FTE’s, of which the elected City Council Members are really only part-timers, so maybe they are not included in this category?

No one is commenting about impact of more children on Boise Independent School District.