City of Saginaw issued the following announcement on Mar 1.
“To apply to be a member of the Human Planning Commission, citizens can go to the City of Saginaw’s website, click on the ‘Government’ tab, and then the Boards and Commissions page.
Or they can just follow this link:
http://saginawmi.iqm2.com/Citizens/Board
There they can get an application by following the link that says ‘Join a board’. People who are interested would just simply fill out an application to serve on the Human Planning Commission and the City Clerk's office would be the recipient of that application.
Members need to live in the quadrant they apply for, and here’s the current openings on the Commission:
Quadrant 1: one seat open
Quadrant 2: full!
Quadrant 3: four seats open
Quadrant 4: three seats open
Quadrant five: full!
If citizens aren’t sure what quadrant they’re in by looking at the map, they can call or email the City clerk at 759-1482 or Clerk@saginaw-mi.com.
The City Clerk puts applications through a process to vet the applicants. I do know that they make sure that whoever applies for the Commission doesn't have any delinquent water bills or taxes and are vetted. I like to tell people that up front, so that they don't go, ‘Oh, my gosh, I forgot to pay my summer tax bill’ and be denied because of that. I don't want people to be discouraged. If they know that upfront, that's something they can take care of first, then go through the process and come out on the other end as a Commissioner.
I would love in the next few months to have a full Commission. Only eight seats to fill! On average, I’ve had anywhere from seven to 12 members—I've never had 21 seats and voices at that table and to have a full Human Planning Commission would be amazing.
With the new members that come in, the older members or the original members of the Commission, who I call the OGs, really impart so much knowledge from the city and from the past as far as how many millions of dollars that they used to have. They help put that in perspective with the $2.6 million projected that we normally get every year.
It's a wonderful environment for someone who's young, or new to the city to come into. It doesn't matter when or where they come in, the ebb and flow of that group is amazing. They all learn from each other and they all collaborate with each other. I had new members this year doing interviews, and one of the original members just kind of gently guided them through the process and through the minefield and she didn’t even realize she’s doing it.
The new member was like, ‘Wow, I never even thought of that.’
Or new members will come in with ideas that the older members haven’t thought of, so it's a wonderful and collaborative group.
—Leticia Trevino, Community Development Block Grant Specialist
Original source can be found here.
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