I just want to say: THANK GOD!

You have my support. Huge job...dragging them into the 21st century. And then to try to make them transparent? To function like a REAL city? Wow. Good luck. My hat's off to you for trying.

Really. Thanks. and good luck.

Civic JC will be making a presentation during the open speaking portion of the City Council meeting on Wednesday, June 14th, City Hall.

Please come out and support efforts to make Jersey City government open and transparent.

Civic JC e-Newsletter
Volume 1 issue 1
June 2006

Civic JC has announced its incorporation as a new, non-partisan, community-based initiative, designed to promote a comprehensive, positive vision for the future of Jersey City as a ?World Class City?.

Established as a 501(c)(4), non-profit, Civic JC expects to complement and support existing Jersey City community organizations by actively engaging in lobbying and advocacy initiatives consistent with its mission statement.

Through the establishment of a www.CivicJC.org informational portal, we hope that Civic JC will become recognized as an objective and recognized community resource for information and policy initiatives designed to make Jersey City a world class place to live, work and visit. Civic JC expects to concentrate on efforts regarding issues affecting Jersey City residents and to improve the transparency of decision making of Jersey City municipal government.

One of the initial initiatives of Civic JC is the establishment of our ?e-Rights?-

e ? Rights

The people of Jersey City have the right to get all information about city government directly from the city?s website. The website must be user-friendly, scrupulously maintained, and updated to provide current and accurate information. All city forms must be available and printable from the website, and the website must allow citizens to conduct all appropriate business on line. Our e-rights fall into three areas:

1. Information

All city ordinances and descriptions of city agencies, including location and hours, policies, and rules should be online. All municipal board, commission, and Council agendas and minutes, as well as reports, fees, audits, budgets and planning studies should be posted in a timely manner. All permit applications, forms, and their instructions should be available for easy downloading. All public notices, currently published in newspapers, should also be posted and indexed online. The municipal website should fully comply with Sunshine Laws.

2. Services

The city?s website should provide a clear, well-organized index and guide to citizens requiring city services. Online inquiries and business initiated by citizens should receive a timely, pertinent response.

3. Access

City e-information should be easy to find and well-organized. All municipal forms should be available as fill-in PDF forms with ?document rights.? Citizens should be able to file forms electronically and receive confirmations online.


Open Space and Recreation

As you may be aware, an open and space and recreation consulting firm, T&M Associates is currently drafting an open space master plan for Jersey City which is scheduled to be completed in mid-July. Civic JC will be submitting our own plan for consideration by the consultant featuring targeted recommendations on how best to meet out many open space needs. Our board members have been attending all of the public meetings held by T&M, and are getting input from as many relevant citizens? organizations as possible. We anticipate making our plan available for review by subscribers in mid-June. If you have ideas to contribute to this effort, please contact Peter Delman at pdelman@pingry.org.

Please encourage your friends and neighbors to subscribe as well. The success of this organization is dependent on reaching a broad base of interested citizens.


Daniel Levin
CivicJC
www.civicjc.org