The services of the Local Council and what is our role as rate payers.
The third tier of governance, the local councils play a very significant role in our day to day living. They are the providers of basic services that have a major implication to the quality of the citizen's lives.
Smooth and well maintained roads, drainages that function well and not cause floodings and street lights that light up the dark nights are basic expectations of the rate payers.
We also expect to have well maintained trees that line our roads and parks to provide shade and relaxation. The public parks within and outside housing areas should have properly maintained facilities that promotes green and healthy living.
It is also the task of the council to provide efficient rubbish collection services. This ensures a clean and healthy environment.
However one question that is seldom asked is:
"What is the role of rate payers in helping ensure these services and facilities are provided for?"
Indeed what are the responsibilities of the rate payers either individually or collectively as a community. Does the responsibility ends with paying your rates on time?
As our community progresses and we become more politically and socially conscious, our expectations increases. This follows that our responsibilities must also expand accordingly.
It can no longer be such that we leave it all to the Councillor and our elected representative. Their roles should be limited to legislative duties: being our voices at the chambers at local, state and national levels.
As residents within our community we have a very important role to ensure proper delivery of the basic local services.
There must be constant monitoring as well as open communicating channels with the local council. Services are provided by the service providers appointed by the council.
However these services provided would have a direct impact on our lives. Thus good services improve our living quality whilst poor services rendered will bring about frustrations and stress.
Therefore as residents we should not choose to close an eye or our ears to what is happening around our homes.
We should be as individuals or collectively as a community be providing feedbacks to the council on the quality of these service providers. Effectively, the council are our agents, managing the service providers.
Therefore the basic responsibility as rate payers is to open that communicating channel through engagement with the Councillor, the council and service providers.
I emphasise here "communicating channel" , not a complaint hotline. We should use this channel to provide feedbacks and suggestions on ways to further improve on the deliveries.
One failure of these channels has been that it is constantly abused: becoming an abusive and hostile hotline ending with the channel being clogged up with negative vibes. This channels will than be closed and the losers will be the rate payers.
However if we choose to engage in positive communication with constructive feedbacks than (and it has been proven) we can see good changes. We must also remember that it's a communicating channel thus there must surely also be praise and gratitude too.
These constructive feedbacks will in itself be a much valued motivating factor to the workers of the service providers, the contractors as well as the staff of the council.
Far too often our eyes and ears see and hear only the not so good things. This has always been in our culture and this must be broken down. We are deaf and blind to good deeds or rather we choose to ignore them.
I applaud communities that have gone out of their way to reward security guards when there have been significant reduction in crime rates within their communities. This is refreshing to know.
Previously we only hear of personnels or services being terminated because of an incident happening. Often it is not even proven that the person or company is ultimately responsible.
Similarly have we given a second thought to that person sweeping the leaves, cutting the grass and collecting our rubbish? What about the officer who goes down crawling into our drains to check for mosquito larvae and rats?
How often have we considered being in their shoes and being out there performing their responsibility under the rain and sunshine. Remember, in ensuring our good health and clean surroundings they risk the safety of their own health.
But we are fast to complaint when we see that one person resting or lying down at "our" gazebo or for missing that one bag of rubbish.
Going that one extra step of caring for the welfare of "low paying" worker is guaranteed to ensure a leap in the kind of services provided. Im not suggesting here that we "bribe" them but Im proposing a caring human aspect to how we communicate and manage the services.
Another contributing factor to the failure of the communicating channel has been our expectations. Far too often we see our "suggestion" as an instruction. Thus the councillor, officer or contractor is bad and useless if our suggestion is not acted upon.
The channel is for brainstorming and exchanging ideas. Not all ideas, good as they may be, are practical and applicable. Thus it should not be taken as offensive and negatively when one's suggestion is not taken up.
This is where the leadership ie the Councillor plays an important role in filtering these suggestions. Good suggestions are taken up and proposed to the council's working committees whilst not so practical suggestions can be fine tuned.
Therefore the responsibility of rate payers should include being good and positive principal in the chain. Being the eyes and ears but not being the supervisor. The rate payer is the boss and should be above the day to day operations but being the motivator and monitor.
It is perfectly in order to interact with the workers and council staff but the rate payer should not be giving orders as effectively you are not the employer. Interacting to understand the issue is important but feedbacks should than be communicated through the arranged channels.
Nowadays with technology this communicating channel is even easier with the Whatsapp Group for example. Feedbacks can be sent to the group made up of the relevant stake holders. Immediate response can be received with ideas and suggestions discussed.
Ultimately the quality of services provided by the council can be greatly improved with good, proper and positive communications between all stake holders. Each stake holder has a role to play and like the spokes of a wheel, can ensure a smooth ride towards a better delivery from our local councils.
Peter Chong
former MBPJ Councillor
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