The Village of Atlantic Beach is inviting residents to apply for newly created volunteer positions as part of a broader push for transparency and public participation.
In an Aug. 26 website release, the village announced six resident-run committees designed to give neighbors a direct role in shaping community priorities: the Ethics Committee, Events Committee, Marine Recreation District Committee, Emergency Management Committee, Sustainable Futures Committee, and the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee, formed earlier this year, has focused on the village’s financial challenges, including the recently announced 87 percent tax increase.
The committees are completely resident-run, with board members sitting in to observe meetings and offer feedback. Meeting schedules will be set by members; according to the village’s website, each committee will typically require a few hours’ commitment each week.
“It really is the orientation and the strategy of the current board, to have as much participation as possible,” Village Mayor Barry Frohlinger said. “We want the village to be totally open, totally transparent, with as much communication and visibility as possible. I really believe that having committees that are represented by the residents of the village allows for as much transparency as we can do.”
Les Frimerman, an original member of the Finance Committee who helped reorganize the budget in June, said the committees can help rebuild confidence between the board and residents.
“In order to regain trust, we need to have a bottom-up approach,” Frimerman said. “By Barry and the trustees franchising these committees and having the village residents be active participants in providing input, guidance and suggestions, the village will gain the trust of the process.”
Residents interested in joining a committee can email the village with questions and indicate which committee they would like to be part of.
Village Trustee Peter Millius said the new administration faces many longstanding issues, and the committees will help address them while benefiting the community.
“There is only one way where we will actually win and that is if everyone is good neighbors, like yourselves who show up and care,” Millius said during the Q&A with the Mayor event on Aug. 21. “It is our job to figure out where the really big problems are first — but we are going to create transparency— that is our goal and it doesn’t happen overnight and once we figure out these problems, we will turn to you all in these committees.”
Have an opinion on the village’s committees? Send a letter to the editor at mberman@liherald.com.
