By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The St. Charles Parish Public Information Office released a new brochure recently that contains information about ways the public can get engaged in the local political process. “Get Involved!” is practical guide for participating in parish government. It features instructions on registering to vote, contacting elected officials, attending public meetings, staying up-to-date on local government happenings and more.
The idea for the brochure stemmed from planning for the Paul Maillard revitalization. The project committee, with the help of community outreach specialists and consultants, plans to venture into the neighborhoods surrounding the Paul Maillard study area to ask the residents what they want to see in their neighborhood. The committee understands that they will probably be speaking with people who don’t regularly participate in local politics. The brochure was created for this purpose, and the committee hopes it will spur the community into action for all issues within local government, not just those that concern the revitalization.
The publication also lists the proper procedure for getting on the Parish Council meeting agenda to speak and gives an overview of laws and regulations for requesting public records. The back panel of the brochure maps out the locations of 13 government buildings across the parish.
Renee Allemand Simpson, public information officer for St. Charles Parish, said the goal is to make sure all groups that have a stake in the community are engaged.
“During public outreach for the parishwide plan, citizens made it very clear that they want Paul Maillard Road revitalized. If it needs to be revitalized, that suggests it’s declining. When neighborhoods are in decline, residents usually have complaints. We anticipate that when we go out, we’ll hear complaints about conditions in some parts of the community. The brochure is designed to help residents turn complaints into positive action,” she said.
Simpson said the brochure is widely available because it has great value for residents of the parish overall. The media landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. No one media source can cover all of the events that may be noteworthy to the public. Because of this Simpson said it is important for individuals to take it upon themselves to find out what is going on around them.
“More and more people are using sites like Facebook and Twitter as their primary news source. I think the most important thing that we in government should take from this is that we need to be able to adapt and use new platforms to communicate effectively. That being said, there are certain means of communication — such as the legal sections of newspapers, bulletin boards at courthouses and public meetings — that government is mandated by law to use that will always be a reliable source of information,” said Simpson.
“So in that sense, I think another goal of the brochure is to remind people of the traditional and fail-proof ways they can seek out information on their local government, and also offer their own opinions. But the brochure also mentions a handful of ways people can stay informed using social media, television and more modern techniques. As the brochure states, the media doesn’t cover all events that may be newsworthy to a particular person, so at the end of the day it is really up to each individual to become informed and engaged,” she said.
The brochure is available in the first floor lobby of the St. Charles Parish Courthouse in Hahnville and will be available soon at all St. Charles Parish Library branches. It may also be downloaded and/or reviewed by clicking the ‘Get Involved!’ button on the left-hand side of the parish’s home page, www.st charlesparish-la.gov. For more information on parish activities, visit www. stcharles parish-la.gov, www.facebook.com/ stcharlesgov or www. twitter.com/stcharlesgov.