However, an intense effort was made to include representatives from all aspects of the community, including all political interests and
factions; the theory was that the best way to ensure that CBNO would be apolitical was to include the entire political spectrum. City government was represented by the inclusion of several top non-elected
officials.
Strong emphasis was placed on equal racial repesentation on the Committee, as well as multi-generational representation. Nominees were asked to provide
some statement of why they would be interested in participating, and full disclosure of all political and other organizational affiliations was required. Individuals were chosen based on expertise on the key
issues, their contribution to the goal of broad community representation, and their ability to get things done in their communities. As a result, the Committee grew from an initial target of about fifty members to
nearly triple that number. This ensured tremendously broad community representation as well as preventing any individual or faction from dominating any of the issues.
Further representation and
input were ensured by the establishment of the Faith Based Advisory Committee, representing a cross-section of the religious denominations and associations in the City. Even the funding of the Committee affirmed
the diversity and inclusiveness of its nature. Contributions have come from a bi-racial mix of individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations, and the universities have provided substantial assistance and
support via research and other services.
Once the Committee was fully formed, an exhaustive study of the issues facing New Orleans ensued, highlighted by a review of all available studies from the past
twenty years, interviews with the seven local college and university presidents, and a baseline poll conducted by Dr. Silas Lee. From this, six critical issues were identified: City Management, Economic
Development, Education, Housing, Public Safety, and Transportation. Preliminary position papers on each issue were prepared, and by September 2000, the Committee was divided into six Task Forces, each co-chaired
by one black and one white member. The Task Forces went through a rigorous strategic planning process, including a SWOT analysis, identification of the most critical problems, setting of goals to address the
problems, establishing of objectives to meet the goals, and definition of certain implementation factors. At every step, decisions were required to be made by total consensus of each Task Force.
The result of this process was a detailed, wide-ranging action plan entitled "A Blueprint for a Better New Orleans". It was released in draft form in May 2001. This was followed by a series of public input
sessions held over a four-month period. This input was incorporated into the final version of the document, which was released in December 2001.
While CBNO originally intended to exist only as long
as was needed to complete the Blueprint, over the course of the planning process Committee members became resolved to continue working on the issues and on the implementation of the objectives set forth in the
Blueprint. At the same time, many members also felt that New Orleans did not need yet another organization. This quandary was resolved by merger with the Metropolitan Area Committee (MAC), a well-known and
established entity, in existence since the 1960s and with similar goals and philosophies to CBNO. The merger was formalized in the fall of 2001. The resulting CBNO/MAC is a diverse community organization, a catalyst and convener, working to bring all voices to the table to build a better future for all New Orleanians. Among its major accomplishments are the following:
Initiating the citywide property inventory database (2002)
Construction of the new New Orleans Chamber of Commerce (2004)
Publication of the Citizen Guide to City Services (2003)
Development of the asset-building-based employee benefits model (2003)
Development of the “Police Recruitment and Retention” white paper (2005)
Reworking of the city’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) system (2004)
Convening of major Education Summits (2005, 2006)
Re-engineering of the Transportation Element of the Master Plan, convening of Transportation Summits (2004, 2005)
Participation in the development of the UNOP process and outreach for Community Congresses II and III (2006, 2007)
Development of a model Citizen Participation Program (CPP) for New Orleans (2004) and leadership of post-Katrina work to redesign and implement a New Orleans CPP (2006 – ongoing)
Today, CBNO/MAC fills a unique role in New Orleans. With the most broad-based, diverse representation of any organization in the city and a focus on change at systemic levels, CBNO/MAC serves as a powerful catalyst and convener, bringing diverse interests to the table to comprehensively address and resolve the most critical issues. Its board is representative of the full spectrum of race, class and age in New Orleans. Priority projects at present include providing a framework for the people of New Orleans to come together to develop and implement a permanent, formal mechanism for citizen participation, and working with a coalition of partners to lead a community-wide conversation on the future of public education in New Orleans, with a focus on excellence, equity and sustainability. In addition, the Metropolitan Leadership Forum continues to be a highly acclaimed training ground for the leaders of today and tomorrow.
CBNO/MAC always seeks to engage and to listen, to build coalitions, to seek the voice of the people, and to effect meaningful, lasting change at systemic levels. It leads when called upon; it happily serves and supports when others demonstrate leadership. And always, it works to build a better New Orleans. |
