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Commissioners to promote access to FOC committee through Web site
March 17, 2009
By Christine L. Mobley
Legal News
Gaining access to Oakland County's Citizen Advisory Committee for the Friend of the Court is about to get easier.
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved the creation of a Web page for the Citizen Advisory Council at a board meeting earlier this month.
"The biggest advantage (of the Web page) is an easier method of getting the word out that the Citizen Advisory Committee even exists," says Oakland County Commissioner Jim Runestad, who, along with Commissioner Marcia Gershenson's support, successfully lobbied their colleagues to create the Web page. "The majority of people don't even know that the CAC exists."
CAC Chair Dave Taylor, owner of The Village Craftsman Inc. construction firm, agrees that the upcoming site will promote public awareness once launched.
"This was designed and created for the common citizen," Taylor said. He also agreed with Runestad that one of the biggest issues that the committee faces is that the public doesn't know about it or its meetings. "It's really going to be used as a tool more than anything for citizens to know how to utilize the committee."
The committee can receive complaints relating to office procedures or gender bias and make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners, the court, and the State of Michigan on ways the Friend of the Court can better serve the public.
The page will soon be accessible through the Board of Commissioners' Web site by visiting www.oakgov.com/BOC and clicking on a link that will direct the user to the page.
The new site will outline the guidelines for the CAC and layout the parameters for the type of grievances the CAC can accept. CAC meeting dates, times, and locations will also be listed and grievance forms will be able to be downloaded by the public.
"Being able to outline beforehand what is the purview - what are they able to do and look at - is helpful because it kind of weeds out the cases where they simply can't help," Runestad, who also served on the CAC for three years, noted.
According to Runestad, the CAC's page may also conduct surveys of site users in the future if the commissioners and CAC decide that this function would be helpful.
"I think this is a great tool for the citizens of Oakland County to know that they have a watch dog helping to ensure fair and compassionate treatment through our Friend of the Court system," Runestad stated. "If there is a problem, they do have another level of oversight."
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