Thank You Tina McMillan !

Seems to me that Mr. Frank made one of these "defense of the council" speeches just before his annual review last year, but that could be just a coincidence.

All kidding aside, the fault in communication goes to poorly crafted Agenda Items that could leave a much more transparent set of information for people to make a better decision to support an item or not. They cite studies, reports and consultant evaluations with out posting or linking them to the items or even linking a current agenda item to previous items on the same topic to provide more depth to why an item is before the city council.

They should also cite the authority that they are working under for each issue and describe an economic and environmental impact for each action and alternative to the proposals under consideration.

Yes, it is the same at NUSD, Novato Sanitary district and County Board of Supervisors. In this day and age the staff could do a better job of preparing info for public, so that they can truly particpate.

If the do provide it we need to do OUR part and read ALL the infomation as well.

Mr. Frank's speech this week was nothing more than a Chamber of Commerce pep rally.

Thank you Tina for giving credit to Eric Lucan. Although Eric sold the good people of Novato down the river in regard to the Hanna Ranch project, it appears that he can speak out on his own. We need to encourage Eric to be his own person, and not be beholden to the Chamber or any other special interest group.

What a great response thank you Tina.

Ever since arrogant mr franks came to town things have been in a turmoil. He would be a much better fit in Los angeles actually any other place but Novato and take the developers friends with him aka the city council president

Did I miss the announcement for the State of the City speech for the public? I may have even though I try to keep up on the workings of the City. Or is it that the citizens aren't important enough and the only folks that matter are the Chamber. Oh I forgot, we could have paid the Chamber for the privilege to hear our City Manager speak.

The State of the City event was published in the Down to Business column on February 2. The Novato Chamber of Commerce breakfast event was open to non-chamber members for $35 and chamber members at $25. Seating was limited. The Chamber does publicity on media outlets and also on its website. www.novatochamber.com

Tina wonderful article. As for the State of the City speech being made to the Chamber with limited notice and seating I find it once again to be unacceptable. Mr Frank should give his speech at the newly renovated City Hall for anyone and everyone to attend free. He is more than welcome to follow up with a Chamber speech anytime. I believe the new city hall at whatever final price was irresponsible with a continuing structural deficit. It points out after the Council was handed Measure F they still went ahead to overspend for a city hall. I wonder the next time they come to the voters with their code red emergency if we will simply shell out more money? I know I am pretty well decided to say no. If the City refuses to ask developers for linkage fees. If they continue to cut and slash city workers and services and yet go out and spend that huge amount of money on a city hall, well it doesn't add up to fiscal responsibility.

Tina
Nice article! Communication is always a two way street. The City can blame "Patch" or whatever medium they choose for what they deem "misinformation", but the (previously admitted) bungling in the handling of the AH issues makes the argument a bit disingenuous. The City simply needs to be more transparent with the citizenry, whether it is in regards to "hot" issues or in simple communication over items such as direction the City is headed. AH, City Hall, RDA, budgets, are all things which should be effectively vetted and transparent. While the majority of citizens are apathetic to City issues, those that aren't need to be heard and their thoughts should be taken into account in decision making processes. Sometimes a look in the mirror is helpful.

Tina, I think you really hit the nail on the head! If you want to be trusted, your actions must be consistent with your words. Your article brought back an obscure memory for me: I once overhead a man sharing with his friend his epiphany about why his wife doesn’t trust him. So what was his epiphany? He incredulously told his friend “she actually thinks my actions have to match my words!” I find it hard to believe that people expect to be trusted on words alone, but it seems some people do. The example you gave above is perfect—if you want the public to believe that you "have been leaving no rock unturned” (Frank’s quote in the IJ’s article), then don’t spend millions of dollars to build when you could easily spend a fraction of that to renovate. The words simply don’t align with the actions.

Thank you Tina for your oped, I hope it gets printed in the IJ and Advance as well. I was shocked when I read his "State of the City" address with our mayor chiming in. When Novato's citizenry is completely ignored during public comment at a recent city meeting, how do we hold Staff, Council, and Mayor accountable? Is it a surprise that the community relies on Patch to help inform the citizenry of Novato? I sure hope that Marin Women's League of Voters sends members to multiple Novato city meetings so they can see for themselves our city's lack of transparency and their behavior towards their constituents. We have to get folks to attend these meetings on a regular basis, even if representatives from different neighborhoods take turns attending, in order to document what goes on. We also have to begin now the process of educating our community about the imperative of voting in two years. Ultimately, Novato Voters must vote better than 30%!

Brilliant article. Right to the heart of the matter. And there are other issues where this and recent past group of council members and others have ignored citizen groups.
A- Housing Sites; The city council appointed a citizen group to select the best sites for below market rate housing. After 8 months of deliberation the council ignored their own selected group's decisions and decided on a different path.
B- North Redwood Development Plan. The city council hired a consultant group to have citizen input on the development of North redwood Blvd Area. When it became obvious that the citizenry in fact want it developed No-Growth Wilhelm and Stompe pulled the plug. Council followed in lock step.
It is not a pretty picture.

Frank's State of the City speech should be re-given to the Novato Public Access Television cameras, complete with visual aids and whatever else is appropriate. Then it should be played at various times of the day and days of the week for a couple of months. Let's get some use out of that educational wasteland! And for those with a decent internet connection, the City should make a copy available on their web site too. Let's use the modern tools of communication.

Thank you for writing this column. Michael Frank needs to be fired, but the gutless Novato City Council won't do it. Vote them out of office!

You had your chance to vote them out last election and stayed home . Only two are up for election this time around and who ever wins will not change any vote Think about it as 4-1 all day long. The only gutless people you are talking about are the Voters like you and me .