Committee weighs action-form workflow and requests for a submission app

Helen Dunlap, clerk of council, told the committee the Action Form process routes resident complaints and that the Mayor’s office staff (Ms. Anton and Ms. Cummins) are tracking submissions and providing weekly updates to council. Dunlap said the system will produce links to posted meeting audio and video once BoxCast is operational, and emphasized that an email alone is not sufficient for official tracking: "An email will not suffice."

Committee Member Sarah Wojslaw said many resident submissions are detailed and that copying long emails into the action form "is not productive," arguing an app or streamlined workflow might be more efficient for capturing attachments and lengthy background. Council Member Gary Petrusky countered that the action form is an inexpensive existing tool and asked whether council members were willing to fund an app. Council Member Paul Marnecheck said he copied a detailed resident submission into the action form recently because the resident had provided a clear articulation and contact information.

Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz said the Mayor’s office has been working with the submitted forms for several weeks and urged council to follow the existing procedure so staff can track, assign and respond: completed action forms have been returned to council members with departmental responses, he said. Several council members said following the form resulted in timelier responses in at least one instance.

Ending: The committee did not adopt a change; members were asked to continue using the action form while staff and council evaluate whether a dedicated app would be beneficial.