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<The Councillor as Guardian of the Environment> Part II - Workshop on the Councillor as Guardian of the
Environment WORKSHOP COMPONENTS 13.18 Role Play / Case Study: TAKING A STAND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
To provide participants with an experience in taking a stand as a council when challenged by critics of the environmentally-friendly policy recommendations of a council-supported citizen's environmental team.
Ask six workshop participants to volunteer for a role play/case study. When you have the six volunteers, explain that the five-member local authority council is meeting to hear a grievance from a prominent local businessman about current spending on environmental programmes and to make a decision about continuing to commit public resources to support the recycling scheme. Give each of the volunteers a description of the situation and the roles to be played. One role is for a member of the local council who is a strong advocate of investments in sustainable growth and participatory planning processes. A second role is for another member of the local council who chairs an environmental team [Forum] appointed by the council. The environmental team has responsibility for review and comment on all policies to ensure that environmental considerations have been taken into consideration. The third role is for a prominent local businessman who is critical of the council's emphasis on protecting the environment as potentially bad for business and is skeptical of the council's increased reliance on appointed groups like the environmental team to influence policy. The meeting has been called to allow the businessman to make a statement. Three of the remaining volunteers assume roles as other members of the local council. One of them is the mayor whose chief duty in the role play is to preside over the meeting. Another is a male councillor who works for the same company as the local businessman who is to make a statement and reports to him. The last is a new female councillor who is undecided on the issue of sustainability and might vote either way. All remaining participants are to serve as observers (see the observer worksheet below) to record and report later on what happens at the meeting.
Give the volunteers about five minutes to read the situation and the role descriptions. While they are discussing the situation and their roles, set up a table with five chairs on one side and one on the other. When role players are ready, signal to the mayor to begin the meeting. After the council has been deliberating for about twenty minutes or has made a decision, end the role play. Ask each of the role players to comment on the meeting in four ways:
When role players have answered these questions, ask for observer reports and broaden the discussion to include other workshop participants with these additional questions.
The situation The town of Verdeville, self-proclaimed as "green town," has adopted goals similar to those set forth at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. "We call it a blueprint for Verdeville, our version of Local Agenda 21," said Councillor Agnes Hemmings, head of Verdeville's environmental Forum. Verdeville was the only city in the nation represented at the Rio conference. Verdeville's Local Agenda 21 includes a "participatory planning goal" that requires the council to include citizen input in the development of council policies to ensure that their impact on the local environment is taken into account. Moving decisively to implement this goal, the council created an environmental Forum as a separate body consisting of representatives from governmental, private, non-governmental, and educational institutions. With input from the Forum, the council has adopted environmentally-friendly policies of energy efficiency and "green" purchasing. Critics, including local businessman Max Mayhem, argue that the cost of the city's recycling scheme for plastics and cans far exceeds the financial return for those items. Mayhem is also critical of what he calls an inequitable use of public funds to finance improvements on private property. This use of public money, he contends, does not directly benefit the general public, and such practices should be discontinued by the council immediately. Councillor Agnes Hemmings, representing the Forum, argues that recycling costs have not been weighed against what it would cost to landfill these recyclables. Moreover, she says, Verdeville can boast that instead of spending money to buy home owners more fuel, the city now offers energy grants for natural gas heat conversion and to install other approved energy saving facilities. In the long run, Hemmings suggests, such home energy initiatives will save residents money on fuel bills and reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. Duana Yonder, a councillor who supports Local Agenda 21, defends the initiatives of the council, reminding critics that its energy conservation policies are not quick fix solutions. "You won't see the effects of today's policies until much later down the line," she said. "Besides," she said, "Local Agenda 21 is a programme that can't succeed without a lot of ideas and all the people pulling together." Agnes Hemmings You were appointed by your fellow councillors to head the Forum after returning from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. You are responsible for Verdeville's designation as "greentown" and worked closely with Duana Yonder in fashioning the city's concept of citywide recycling. As a lifelong conservationist, you were particularly enthusiastic by the council's decision to offer energy grants to homeowners. You see these efforts as a promising beginning to more extensive programmes that will result in achieving sustainable growth in Verdeville after the year 2000. Max Mayhem You have lived in Verdeville for over ten years since your appointment as chief executive officer of a large, local chemical plant. The sudden interest of the town council in the notion of sustainability, you believe, is a dangerous distraction. You believe strongly that the council should be committing most public resources to programmes aimed at bolstering Verdeville's sagging economy. Philosophically, you believe that all public programmes should be measured by criteria of cost benefit. Programmes that cost more than they produce should be discontinued. No exceptions! And the city's current recycling programme is a prime candidate for annihilation. This is the worst possible time, you think, to start up programmes that impose unjustified costs on local businesses. [Mayhem's own plant has been hurt by the added expense of recycling, and his corporate headquarters has been threatening to close the plant or relocate elsewhere unless the council develops a more "business friendly" attitude.] Duana Yonder A first term council member, you were elected last year by the socially and environmentally conscious citizens of Verdeville. You had the good fortune in college to study under a well-known futurist who influenced your thinking and contributed to your long-range orientation to community problem solving. You are, therefore, easily annoyed by the short-range viewpoints of people like Max Mayhem. However, you know that his views carry a lot of weight with most business leaders and many local voters. Offending him will do little good. In fact, it could slow the progress being made toward sustainability. The best strategy, you believe, is to listen patiently to Mayhem's comments at the meeting and then make the case once again for the Forum and the council's vision for Verdeville, achievable only through the efforts of all its citizens working together. Mayor Roberta Edo Your task, when instructed by the trainer, is to call the meeting to order, explain the purpose of the meeting, and ask Max Mayhem to come forward to address the council for a period not to exceed five minutes. After ten minutes, end the meeting and announce that the council will now take about ten minutes to "deliberate." Initiate the discussion with other councillors and be prepared to close the session when instructed by the trainer. Councillor John Janka You have for several years worked under the supervision of Max Mayhem. Like Mayhem, you would be forced to relocate your family should your company decide to move. Councillor Mary Newberry You are new on the council and inexperienced in the technical and political complexities of sustainability. You are undecided but prepared to make a decision on the basis of the most persuasive arguments put forward by your council colleagues.
Watch closely what takes place during the meeting of Verdeville's town council with Max Mayhem and during the following private council meeting. Answer the following questions about the interaction that takes place using the space provided below. 1. What did Mayor Edo do or not do to get the meeting with Mayhem off to a
good start? 2. What issues were raised by Max Mayhem and how were they answered by
members of the council? 3. What role did Councillor Hemmings play in the meeting, how effective was
she, and why?
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