MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE IVLP A SUCCES FOR URALS PARTICIPANTS

UNCLAS YEKATERINBURG 000012 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OEXC SCUL KPAO RS SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE IVLP A SUCCES FOR URALS PARTICIPANTS ¶1. A group of five professionals from municipal governments, NGO and local legislative bodies of the four Urals cities with over a million residents -- Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm and Ufa -- took part in the Municipal Good Governance and Promoting Transparency in Decision-Making International Visitors Program January 12-February 1, 2009. The group visited Washington, DC, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and New York. The group was introduced to U.S. practices in a wide range of areas, including transparent and open government; ethics, oversight and accountability in government; citizen participation in government and watchdog organizations; city/regional planning; environmental concerns: waste management, recycling and public awareness; community and neighborhood development; snow management city operations; public/private partnership; Sister Cities movement; infrastructure planning, maintenance and repair. ¶2. On February 25, PAO debriefed participants, who said their overall impression of the program was very good. All commented that the program changed their negative perception of the U.S. to a positive one. When asked why their attitude to America was negative before, they said because of U.S. foreign policy and military actions abroad. The alumni noted how friendly, polite and supportive Americans were in general, how they were willing to communicate and share experience with the Russian colleagues. "The general impression is that the United States is not a different world. They are the same people and having the same problems as us," said one participant. ¶3. The group noticed that U.S. municipalities have similar problems (road maintenance, infrastructure and public utilities development, lack of funds) and similar methods of resolving them. The participants were surprised to see the urgent need for improvement of the infrastructure, especially roads, in the United States. They found the experience on public and private partnerships in the maintenance sphere in the U.S. very useful and applicable for Russia. A municipal official from Yekaterinburg commented that the level of maintenance of government offices in the U.S. was higher than the local one, considering such factors as access for people with disabilities, sanitary conditions of the public bathrooms, and easy entrance for public to the municipal institutions. The NGO representative from Yekaterinburg said that it was obvious to participants that people in the United States were above authorities and that the government indeed serves the people. The deputy chair of Perm Duma commented that they saw an example of an ideal system of city cleaning and maintenance in Minneapolis where they had a long and productive dialog with a very dedicated city official. ¶4. The group felt they did not have enough time in New York, the city that left the most memorable impressions for them. They also attended several hockey games and came away with an appreciation of Russian hockey player Aleksandr Ovechkin, whose popularity they believed equaled that of President Obama among Americans. The shared experience of watching games together with Americans facilitated mutual understanding, they said. In conclusion, the group warmly thanked the consulate for the program and confirmed their readiness to apply the experience and share it with Russian colleagues. The Yekaterinburg City Administration is planning a conference in May on city management and environment where our alumni expressed their willingness to speak. SANDUSKY