Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge volunteer surge and digital mapping as council confronts staff shortages
Summary
At a Jan. 10 workshop, residents urged the council to mobilize volunteers for data entry, cleanup and mapping; staff described heavy workloads, and the council discussed appointing a volunteer coordinator and improving drainage mapping data.
Residents and councilmembers at the Jan. 10 La Habra Heights workshop focused on how to stretch limited staff capacity by engaging volunteers and improving the city’s data systems.
Kathy, a resident who spoke during public comment, said the city appears “way behind on our technology” and suggested recruiting local seniors for volunteer data-entry and counter help so staff can avoid burnout. “Seniors want to feel like they’re part of the community,” she said.
John Dominguez (Avocado Crest), who has been organizing volunteer mapping work, urged the council to move quickly to use people who have signed up on the city’s volunteer forum (he said it had captured 13 volunteers). “Use the volunteers. Figure out a way,” he said, and described a volunteer-led drainage-mapping project he is building that uses free geographic-information tools rather than the paid systems the city might otherwise rent. Dominguez told council members roughly half of the city’s drainage data paid for in 2012 is now missing or exists only on paper.
Staff confirmed heavy workloads that leave limited time to follow up with volunteers. Rafferty, the city manager, described a typical week split across administration, community relations and field inspections and noted staff had handled 632 scheduled meetings last year. Angie, a finance staff member, said she is completing multiple annual reports and often works from home to finish complex entries.
Councilmembers supported the idea of a volunteer coordinator. Councilmember John recommended a clearly defined scope for volunteer positions and a single point of contact so volunteers do not become an additional drain on staff time. Councilmember Norm said La Habra Heights has many highly qualified residents who can supplement staff if properly coordinated.
The council agreed to consider volunteer coordination, survey outreach to capture resident priorities and follow up on Dominguez’s drainage-mapping work. No formal policy or staffing change was approved at the workshop; staff will return with implementation suggestions and a clearer plan for next meetings.
Ending: The council adjourned after a short period of additional discussion and an announcement of a resident bereavement.
