# Oakridge.CITY *Citizen Initiative for [[Transparency]] (in Governance) and [[Yield]] (of Shared Understanding)*[^1] This website has been created to 1. Inform citizens of potential changes to significant governing documents of Oakridge, Oregon, and to 2. Demonstrate a technology that the City of Oakridge—and other communities—can use to help citizens better understand **what** changes are being suggested (or made) in governing documents and **why** those changes are being suggested (or made). ![[Oakridge-Greenwaters.jpg]]*Credit: Rick Obst, [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/discoveroregon/29199579727/in/photostream/), [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)* ## Other Technologies This website was built using [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md), which is free for noncommercial use, and which is simple enough to use that many "average computer users" can make a site. Other technologies useful for facilitating **T**ransparency in governance and a **Y**ield of shared understanding among citizens include: - [Loomio](https://www.loomio.com) ‒ For gathering stakeholders' impressions of particular proposals, to expedite the [[Charter Review Committee Operation#Phase One Picture Forming|Picture Forming]] phase of decision-making; - [Kumu.io](https://kumu.io) ‒ For visualizing networks of resources, useful for [Community Asset Mapping](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaYp9JZofBz3RSYyvL57jo_95G8ziwuTV); and - [Sociocracy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5OIi942xX8) ‒ A *social technology* useful for organizing neighborhoods and [[Oakridge.CITY#Project 3 Districting|districts]] to improve community safety and facilitate collaborative provisioning. ## Project 1: [[2024 City of Oakridge Charter Revision|The 2024 City of Oakridge Charter Revision]] As you navigate a governing document like the [[2024 City of Oakridge Charter Text|2024 City of Oakridge Charter]], what do you think: Does this way of presenting the document make it easier for you to understand the **context** for each of the proposed changes; specifically: - *What* changes are being suggested, and - *Why* each change has been suggested? Moreover, as you navigate this website, does it help you to understand the [[2024 City of Oakridge Charter Revision|charter revision process]] and [[Charter Review Committee Members|who]] has been behind this particular charter revision? Does this level of explanation help you decide whether to support or reject the proposed changes to the City of Oakridge Charter? ![[decision.jpg]] ## Project 2: [[STAR Voting]] One of the possible changes to the Oakridge City Charter that the [[Charter Review Committee Members|Charter Review Committee]] considered was a change in how Oakridge votes. The committee felt it was important to: 1. Run a trial, so citizens can make an informed choice about whether STAR Voting is working for Oakridge, and then 2. Let citizens decide—at the end of the trial—whether or not STAR Voting has been successful and, thus, whether Oakridge should add STAR Voting to our charter. ## Project 3: Districting A third possible change to the Oakridge City Charter that the [[Charter Review Committee Members|Charter Review Committee]] considered was an implementation of "districts" (or "wards") within the city. To keep the [[2024 City of Oakridge Charter Revision|Charter Revision Process]] as clear as possible, and to maximize the likelihood that proposed changes will appeal to as broad a swath of voters as possible, the committee determined to delay any proposal on districting, which could be offered later as a *separate* Charter Amendment to change [[2024 City of Oakridge Charter Text#Section 3.2|Section 3.2]] and [[2024 City of Oakridge Charter Text#Section 7.1. Councilors|Section 7.1]] of the 2024 Oakridge City Charter. Thus, no mention is made of "districts" (or "wards") in the 2024 Oakridge City Charter. This change is not currently on the table. [^1]: The official website of the City of Oakridge, Oregon, is https://www.ci.oakridge.or.us. There, you can read more about [our community](https://www.ci.oakridge.or.us/community), [local recreation](https://www.ci.oakridge.or.us/recreation), [business opportunities](https://www.ci.oakridge.or.us/business), and [city government](https://www.ci.oakridge.or.us/community/page/government, ). This is not the City of Oakridge's official website.