Community Governments: How They Function (1953)

[Music] this is our community Riverside we're right proud in this helicopter service that speeds air mail deliveries to and from the big city airport but some things about our community are not as efficient as this as you could see if you'd look around now this looks pleasant enough just someone watering the lawn but wait Wow doesn't seem to be enough pressure but look at the first 10 pressures gone down here too yes our community has problems problems that involve us all and also our government you'll see more schools out for the day a policeman is assigned to this corner to help the children cross traffic is heavy and he's really needed here but the fire siren the postman is needed here but he'll also be needed at the fire so crossing his left unguarded and all you have to do is turn off our main streets to find all the people who live around here would like to have this page in fact there are a lot of things the people in our town would like to know about the way our community is being run that's what we're holding this meeting so we're all gathered together here too well to share our problems find out just what is going wrong with our community and to see what we can do about it we've got to do something why I can't get within a flat to my house when it rains the street is that fair as my children they have to cross a very dangerous corner going back and forth to school without police protection that has been promised to them are we going to wait until a child gets killed before we do stuff it up why we even have to take turns sprinkling our lawn and the next thing you know we'll have to schedule wash gentlemen ladies and gentle please ladies and gentlemen please quiet thank you the president of our village board of trustees would like to speak to us mr. cars thank you ladies and gentlemen fellow citizens I wish you could have been in this room last night anytime between eight o'clock and three in the morning in order to seem five very industrious members of your village board of trustees trying to do their best at running your community government that was the job that all of you had elected them to a job without pay but the community your village board must govern is growing remember I said from eight o'clock in the evening until three in the morning they took us that long to cover the major functions of a community government maintenance and construction police and fire protection water supply health and welfare and even working until three we didn't do all that we hope to do there just isn't time to get all the work done that needs be done then why can't we do something about getting a new of government for our town that will be able to get this work done I agreed and that was how the people of our community began to investigate types of community government their investigation began in a textbook types of community government County Township County Township New England Township southern County village mayor council Commission and city manager village that's what our community has now mayor council what would that system mean to Riverside our community then would be divided into sections or Ward's each Ward would elect a councilman together these councilman would form the council to legislate or make laws community as a whole would elect a mayor and his job would be to a clause this is the outline of the mayor or council form but how does the system work in practice by visiting the neighboring community of Highland Park where the mayor council plan has been used for many years we found that the owner of this particular store is also the mayor he divides his time between the store and the village hall how would one of our problems be handled here in Highland Park good morning miss Harrison good morning mr. mayor how are you today Oh fine thank you good anything new today special but there have been a lot more calls about maple street ha I can imagine after a rain that streets a regular mud hole do we have a report yet from the department of streets yes well we can't go ahead on this until we do well let's get on without work then shall we miss Harrison I certainly wouldn't want to be in alderman brown shoes or would I hello Alfred Brown speaking oh yes yes I do know about maple street yes well I've had several calls from different people in the ward about it yet well I've been recommending that they get in touch with the mayor's office I've sent the mare several notes about it myself Oh nothing's been done about of this yes yes I will do something about it yes I know I'm your representative of the City Council's as Parliament of the Fourth Ward I want to know what you're going to do certainly alderman Brown if the council is a whole who wrote a special appropriation will pave Maple Street immediately that we don't have the budgetary funds to do it now as long as we're going to talk about special appropriation what about the ragweed problem in my ward it's a health menace the mayor council system can work well when the people have elected good alderman and work with them that has been the experience in Highland Park what about the Commission system of community government how would it work for Riverside under this system the community as a whole elects commissioners usually five and these commissioners together run the community government they legislate and they execute the laws of the community somewhat as our board of trustees and riverside does a visit to another neighboring community Barrington showed how a problem such as paving is handled under the Commission plan the problem is taken by the citizens to a commissioner the Commissioner in charge of streets he usually works full-time as do the other four commissioners yes yes I I agree that Maple Street should be paved and preparing a report now for the next meeting of all the commissioners and this is a report my staff prepared I'm making a request for a special expenditure to cover the cost since I don't have the funds available at present well gentlemen although I see the need for paving Maple Street I believe that my department of hell should be given consideration first now this report concerns the need for ragweed control in our town I don't see why we can't consider both of these matters gentlemen each in due time they're both important to control break the Commission system can operate very satisfactorily of course it depends on the active interest of the people of the community to help it operate that way another type of community government is the city manager system the community elects a community council such as we have in our village or as is done in the commission plan the council then hires a manager ORS manager this man doesn't need to be from the community he is simply hired to handle the affairs of the community and he is responsible for everything to the council how does this plan work well the neighboring community of Deerfield has had a city manager plan for the last 34 years how would our paving problem be handled here I have the report from the department of street that's about the paving of Maple Street yes there's many confining Oh something wrong no not exactly it's just this estimate of cost it's far above what we have available now I have to request some additional funds at the next meeting of the council and make a note of that and write a letter to the people who have complained and tell them that the street success manager is doing a good job the last one though didn't know his business too well but the people of the community had to vote in some new city council members before they could get a change in thinking about a new form of government for Riverside we considered the mayor council system the Commission plan and the city manager plan and by we I mean the people of Riverside we studied these plans in many ways through our newspapers through our local radio facilitation wci presents a program in the interest of public service on the Commission normal community government as part of the Riverside Citizens Committee plan for finding a new type of computer and through public meeting summarizes the city manager plan in neighboring communities now I throw the discussion open to you if there any questions by the time voting day came most of our people knew which type of government they wanted for Riverside choosing the most workable form of government was the first step toward solving our community problems problems of maintenance and construction water supply police and fire protection health and welfare and we had learned something else we people of Riverside we had learned that it is the continued interest of the people of a community that makes its government good only if we participate in our government whatever form will we have a good community government [Music]