My Supervisor Activities for April 2019

The following is a summary of my Supervisor-related activities for April, 2019. I spent nearly 55 hours this month on official Supervisor business compared to an average of 43 hours per month in Q1 2019.

What This Report Does Not Include

My log of Supervisor-related activities does not include the many hours I spend posting to this blog, maintaining my personal website, writing a newsletter, creating and posting video clips from meetings, hosting podcast interviews, summarizing decisions made by the Board of Supervisors (BOS Definition), etc. Also not included is the time I spend posting to my personal Facebook page, Twitter account, and Instagram account. These activities are NOT part of my official duties as Supervisor, but represent my personal views.

My log keeps track of the time spent on the following:

Attending “Required” Meetings
Preparation for BOS Meetings
Attending Optional Meetings/Activities
Interaction with Residents
Travel To & From Meetings

Meetings

In the month of April 2019, I spent about 13 hours attending meetings. The average for the 1st quarter of 2019 was 8.3 hours per month. BOS meetings are “required” in the sense that I am expected to attend them in order to satisfy my duties as a Supervisor. These include regular bi-weekly public meetings, non-public executive sessions, public work sessions, and special meetings (see the list below). Note: There was an optional Work Session on April 15, 2019, that I missed because I was at the annual PSATS Convention in Hershey,PA, participating on the panel "Social Media for Supervisors" (see my PowerPoint below).

Social Media for Supervisors

Social Media for Supervisors from PharmaGuy.com

“Other Meetings” I attended were optional. For April, 2019, I attended a Planning Commission meeting on April 2, 2019, where the proposed OR zoning amendment was discussed (read "Planning Commission Recommends Moving Forward with OR Zoning Amendment, But..."), a Zoning Hearing Board meeting on April 4, 2019, where I learned about the Iron Hill Brewery, a Newtown Finance Committee meeting on April 9, 2019, and a Newtown Fire Association meeting on April 29, 2019.

Interaction with Residents

In my opinion, personal interaction with residents regarding their concerns is an important part of my responsibilities as Supervisor. I want to be sure that I spend enough time reaching out to and responding to residents via personal contact, official email via my johnm@newtownpa.gov account and via my personal john@johnmacknewtown.info account, and via phone and/or Facebook.

In April, 2019, I spent 6.8 hours (12% of my total logged hours) interacting with residents compared to an average of 6.7 hours per month in the fourth quarter of 2018. What did I discuss with residents? Here’s a partial list (some items are not included for confidentiality reasons):

Notified residents of upcoming meetings they may wish to attend
Spoke to a resident about sidewalks in the Newtown Commons
Answered a question about the Newtown Human Relations Commission
Informed residents how to respond to the Newtown Pollution Reduction Plan
Corresponded with a father whose son wished to do an Eagle Scout project in Newtown
Posted information about potholes in S. Eagle Road, which subsequently resulted in those potholes being repaired (read the discussion on Nextdoor)

Disclaimer

When speaking with residents on issues that may come before the BOS in the future for a vote, I never express an opinion as to how I will vote because I may not have all the information. Needless to say, I also do NOT discuss any confidential information that is not in the public domain. These discussions with residents are meant solely to inform me of their opinions, not for me to give them my opinion. Or it is just to listen to complaints/concerns and to forward them on to the BOS if necessary

I decided to keep track of my activities as a Supervisor on a monthly basis partly because I want to be accountable to residents, but also to make sure I am making the best use of my time. It's really an honor to serve the community! I learn something new every day and have met many fine people and volunteers who also put in a lot of time without any compensation at all. Thanks to everyone who help keep Newtown in business and safe.

Posted on 01 May 2019, 16:04 - Category: Open Records/Transparency