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INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />The mission of the Elk River Area Citizens League is to foster a more informed public, <br />resulting in better decision-making for area residents. The League's purpose is to research <br />topics and sponsor public forums that have social, political or economic concern to the <br />greater Elk River community. <br /> <br />League members are residents of Sherbume County. The League's commitment to local <br />government, its effectiveness, and the strength and character it gives a community, led <br />members to select the Sherburne County committee structure as an important study topic. <br /> <br />Citizen participation in local government is the basis for "grass-roots" democracy at its <br />best. With this in mind, the League set out to evaluate the County committee structure as <br />a significant way to encourage citizen participation, and to provide citizens with an <br />opportunity to learn about, and learn how to, impact local decision-making. <br /> <br />Records for Sherburne County indicate that our county employs a significant number of <br />committees for a variety of projects and issues. The purpose of this study is to discover <br />how these committees contribute to the overall quality of county government, and how <br />effective they are at involving citizens in the "grass roots" process. This study will also <br />outline how committees are formed, monitored and evaluated in terms of achievement of <br />purpose. <br /> <br />Method of Study <br /> <br />The League employed several different techniques to collect information used in <br />completing analysis, identifying key issues and trends, and finally arriving at conclusions <br />and recommendations. <br /> <br />Interviews were conducted with the County Administrator, David Loch. The list of <br />County committees was acquired and each committee was categorized as to purpose and <br />membership. Committees were then sent a written survey to learn more about how they <br />came to exist, how they operate, and how members are recruited. Interviews were <br />conducted with various committee members, chairs and also with several County <br />Commissioners. <br /> <br />Six other counties were contacted to learn how they conduct their committee process. In <br />several cases, written procedures and guidelines were collected from other counties. <br /> <br />The data collected was evaluated for characteristics displayed in common, key issues, and <br />weighed against the purposes of this study. The study presents the Key Findings, <br />Analysis, and finally, Recommendations for change which the League believes will <br />improve the level of citizen participation, the overall effectiveness of committees, and <br />perhaps the basic quality of the local government process itself in Sherburne County. <br />Additional benefits we may realize include <br /> <br /> <br />