A.G. Gancarski
Jacksonville City Councilman Reggie Brown has a problem in his sprawling District 10, which encompasses parts of NW Jacksonville, the Northside, and the Westside.
To have an effective town hall meeting, he has to set up three events.
The folks off Soutel Road, and the folks in Pickettville, have different concerns, preoccupations, and issues.
And this in turn creates a secondary problem: how to pay for mailers to promote events like his December 3 Town Hall?
Especially when Council currently lacks bulk rate mailing rates, causing each postcard sent out to cost 35 cents in postage.
Going bulk rate, Brown estimated in a Thursday meeting, would cut down the cost by about half.
As it is, Brown related, he is unable to target all residents in the District, limiting mailers to people who voted in the last election.
Flyers, meanwhile, are a tough ask in his sprawling district, where it’s “overwhelming” to “hit the streets and put flyers out.”
Town halls have increased in popularity in recent years with council members, but community members need to be told they are happening.
Social media can reach certain people, yet even in 2015, some folks are not wired.
Council President Greg Anderson, in the Thursday meeting, wanted more information on the issue, with legislation to change policy a distinct possibility.
