December 2001 / January 2002 Edition

Boldly Go Where No Borough Has Gone  By Lloyd P. Dorfman, Fairclough Place Resident Several weeks ago I closed an account that I had been pursuing for over one year now. Even with the numerous calls, faxes and proposals that I had submitted to this person, all of my messages had gone un-answered until I sent an e mail. Up until that point, I was skeptical that sending e mail was too impersonal. $262,000.00 in sales later I came to realize that I was in fact, doing this person a favor! I still have not met this person face to face but, I sure made things easy for him and for me! No lunches, no tickets, no lap dances……. We live in a hurry up world. There is no way that you can argue the impact that computers have in reaching out to people. Unless we are deceased, we are being computerized in one way or another and even then, there’s lists and information. A cave dwelling terrorist can’t escape the computer generated geographical mapping of land formations that causes them to keep moving around. I have been advocating the use of e mail and computers in an effort to further the idea of an open government for some time now and would like to see Fair Lawn be one of the few boroughs who has the progressive guts to blaze a trail in this arena. The term “GOVERNMENT BY COMPUTER” was used at a council meeting a couple of months ago and while it sounded like a ridiculous claim, it has the potential for bringing more and more people into the government fold. Now, I don’t claim to know all of the legal issues involved in what may or may not be included in e mail that involves local government topics but I do know that a lot more people would be inclined to share ideas and opinions if this avenue was opened to them. Of course, it would be the local government who would be needed to take the first step! So, what could we put in an e mail that would be useful to both our local elected officials as well as the boroughs residents? 1. A gathering/listing of proposed expenditures that has been brought to the mayor and council. Not one at a time as was stated but, maybe, all the proposed expenditures that have been presented from month to month perhaps. If we are looking to involve the people than I can’t think of a better way to reach people without the costs of mailing etc., while at the same time, gaining perspective on what might and might not be acceptable to the people of the borough. If for any other reason than to say “the people we have contacted were in favor of this expenditure!” At least SOME consensus is better than no consensus at all. This might also include the proposal of new ordinances, zoning plans/proposals and anything else that directly involves the residents of the borough. 2. The calendar of events on the borough web site is great but, we are not bringing the calendar to the people, the people have to TAKE TIME to go and get it? If my newspapers, i.e., the shopper, were not delivered to me, I doubt that I would go out and purchase it at the newsstand! By the way, the borough calendar is not printed in the shopper either….I’ve said this before, there are a lot more people reading the Fair Lawn news discussion board than are attending the council meetings. There has been an AWFUL LOT of local government MIS- UNDERSTANDING taking place in the discussion board. Our elected officials will be the first to tell people to “come out and attend a meeting, attend a work session” Well, why not a pre-emptive strike? We should be going out wherever we can to bring people into our local government. It seems that it takes an election before there is any real reaching out . I am sure that people, although they may not participate in the discussion spaces, will check in with them to get a feel for the climate of public opinion as well. There has to be many more people who are using their computers in this manner than we even realize. 3. The news the other night had broadcast a piece about the use of e mail for absentee ballots/voting. There’s an idea whose time might have come.  Again, I don’t know what legal ramifications may arise from this but, at least the idea is being considered and maybe it can be fine tuned to be used legally and fairly. A case could also be made for people who want to voice their opinions and ideas but for any number of reasons, cannot physically attend a council meeting or work session. 4.  With all of the SPAM that we receive in our e mail boxes I can’t believe that not once was there a single e mail from any candidate running for ANY office or from any party even saying, “GET OUT AND VOTE” hmmmmmm! I sure got a lot of printed stuff not in the mail box but, next to the mail box and how did it get there and how much did it cost to actually print it and get there? There are no real hard costs to e mail yet, this avenue is virtually un-touched. 5.  Neither FLTV or FLCCTV has broadcasted a bulletin asking people to e mail their ideas, opinions or suggestions on issues surrounding our borough. They do show the website address for the borough but, couldn’t they do more to help with letting residents know that they do have another outlet for being heard? A scrolling marquis during the broadcasting of council meetings/work sessions should ask people to comment on the issues being discussed at that time. Editing and censorship of these comments is not needed obviously and I’ll bet there are some logical thoughts out there. I sent in a few opinions during the World Series as a “virtual manager” It was thought by individuals that the borough/website would then become a repository/depository for too much e mail and often useless e mail. I can’t argue that other than to say that the idea shouldn’t be abandoned all together. There are enough people out there that would use this avenue logically and effectively and therefore it remains a viable communication tool. It takes a very confident mayor and council to take themselves out to the people. I think that Mayor Ganz, Alan Caan, Mark Sedaka and Dan Whalen brought themselves out to the people with guts and very effectively during campaigning. Now, can our elected officials continue to do it? Can and should we expect them to reach out as often and wherever possible? I believe they can. I believe that they have guts and I believe they do have the desire and understanding of how effective having the backing of the people can be afterall, they won their seats recently. Get it started, there will always be curveballs thrown at us in this endeavor but someone said:    “The greatest risk is not taking one”   What Do You Think?: Send an e- mail to editor@fairlawnnews.com or post a message on the Fair Lawn News Discussion Forum.        Read about Lloyd's recent appearance before the Council.