Hollister's Gang Task Force Advisory Board has an important job and it also has a problem.
For all its good intentions, not much is happening, according to the official records. During the 4-1/2 months from the end of November 2007 until mid-April 2008, the board has attempted to convene four meetings. They succeeded once and failed to obtain a quorum (a voting majority) three times. Those three times they did not conduct any business. The minutes of the single meeting on January 22, 2008, indicates that not much happened then either. Only one, short, three-line item was included under the section titled, "Reports of Board Members and Committees."
American psychologist and philosopher William James (1842 - 1910) reflected on this situation when he wrote: "No matter how good one's sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one's character may remain entirely unaffected for the better." He then went on to mention that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The meaning of his advice is clear: Wishing alone is not enough. One must take effective action to ensure the success of any endeavor.
The members of the Gang Task Force Advisory Board represent all areas of the community - political, public safety, education, civic organizations and ordinary concerned citizens. I have only good things to say about the individuals who are willing to tackle this extremely tough job. However, it is my opinion that poor organizational structure and the resulting lack of focused management are making the work more difficult than it should be - perhaps impossible.
This is a situation where we have too much of a good thing. What we have are 12 board members.
The board is too big and it has all the disadvantages of its bigness. It's obviously not easy to get a voting majority together and with so many diverse outlooks, there is always the danger of every idea being picked to death for parochial interests. There are simply too many members at the top level for any semblance of efficient operations.
It is important to remember that this is just an advisory board, as its title indicates. It has no authority to force implementation of any proposal.
Therefore, implementation depends on voluntary cooperation in all cases. Under those conditions, there is no need for a large voting membership, as votes only commit to advice and cooperation. It would be more effective to rely heavily on a series of permanent and ad-hoc subcommittees working directly with each other to propose and create detailed solutions for presentation to a small voting board. The board, with wide-ranging input, can then perform the management functions of formulating strategy, approving policies and keeping things moving while retaining the organization's focus.
With a small board and a sufficient number of alternate members, the lack of a quorum should be a rare occurrence and with working subcommittees, many more broad-based and innovative ideas will percolate to the top.
Ultimately, the reduction of gang influence and related crime is a political responsibility, and that is where the buck should stop. To do a good job, the local political bodies must insist that the board produce timely and comprehensive written reports detailing its plans and progress. Without this critical feedback loop, how can the community and its political leadership evaluate the intentions or effectiveness of the program?
The board needs to heed William James' good advice and take advantage of every concrete opportunity to act.
Marty Richman Got a question or a comment? Send us an email.
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