Government meetings are important events to address local issues, optimize finances, proceed with citizens’ initiatives, and revise the current solutions’ effectiveness. Indeed, DeKalb County’s Board of Commissioners meeting on April 12, 2022, addressed the funding allocation to districts’ parks, analyzed the public health program’s impact, and identified the plans for updates at dependent jurisdictions (DeKalb County). The event was attended online through video streaming on website. This report aims to discuss the meeting’s agenda, its government and community participants, democracies, and the concepts demonstrated.
The DeKalb County’s Board of Commissioners meeting is a weekly event organized and broadcasted online due to the pandemic and is dedicated to addressing current issues and emergencies. The area is divided into seven districts, each with a representative with an initiative or question to discuss with the government. On April 12, the agenda was diverse because of the topics from COVID-19 updates and taxes allocation to investing in cultural affairs and inviting new members to the board (DeKalb County). Subjects such as funding to DeKalb Habitat for Humanity for Seniors and Veteran Home Repairs were discussed. Critical government participants like presiding officer Robert Patrick and their deputy Mereda Davis Johnson hosted the meeting. The event was accessible online. Thus, communities could watch it and contact their districts’ representatives who have seats on the Board.
The DeKalb County’s Board of Commissioners displays how democratic policymaking is performed. Indeed, broadcasting and online access for every citizen to watch and then reach out with ideas or issues address direct democracy, while the members elected by communities characterize the representative type (DeKalb County). Furthermore, the meeting is broadcasted to the public, and the roles and responsibilities of participants are outlined in the constitution – the aspects of monitory and constitutional democracies, respectively. The Board of Commissioners is a part of local administration, which guarantees proper supervision and taxpayers’ money allocation in DeKalb County. Weekly meetings exemplify that the government is necessary because it allows for addressing emergencies and provides all districts’ citizens with equal and optimal assistance.
The Board of Commissioners’ meeting demonstrated different political concepts, such as pluralism, equality, and liberalism. Indeed, the first notion is addressed through the chairmen’s social, racial, and educational diversity and the indistinguishable importance of their opinions in decision-making. Moreover, pluralism was displayed during the 2022 CDBG Youth Set-Aside Fund for Summer Voucher Program discussion as the members offered their initiatives and mentioned multiple social groups’ needs (DeKalb County). Equality is a central concept of the Board of Commissioners’ activities because they work to provide even opportunities and recourses for each district of DeKalb County. Liberalism is a philosophical aspect of modern politics that identifies that every citizen has freedoms, yet everyone is equal in front of the law. The Board’s discussion about cultural affairs addressed the concept as the legislative limitations of the event were discussed.
The weekly and discussion-based nature of the Board of Commissioners’ meeting affects the important issue of providing people in need with essentials such as food and access to basic healthcare. Indeed, Georgia is a state with relatively high poverty rates, and it is in the local government’s power to influence how the recourses are allocated. Each district representative reported to the presiding officer about their expenses on communities’ support and the volume of humanitarian help they distributed (DeKalb County). The consistency and transparency of the Board’s activities prevent the conditions from worsening, maintain a stream of recourses to the most affected areas, and optimize the related programs’ funding.
Work Cited
DeKalb County.Board of Commissioners Meeting. 2022.