Last year, Ferguson, Missouri, began offering Open City Hall, an online program to solicit resident input and feedback on important city topics. The program is accessible from the city’s website at www.fergusoncity.com/OpenCityHall, and it allows individuals to make comments and suggestions and read what other people are saying. City officials can read the statements and incorporate them into their decision-making process. The forum continues the city’s efforts to provide more opportunities for resident interaction and engagement.

"Given the budget constraints that many cities are facing, we were looking for a cost-effective way to allow residents to learn about and provide input on city issues," said City Manager John Shaw. "This is an inexpensive way to enable residents to participate in city decisions from the privacy and convenience of their own homes."

The first Open City Hall topic titled “Chickens,” asked the question: Should the city of Ferguson loosen its current livestock ordinance restrictions to allow more residents to be able to raise chickens? Under the current ordinance, some residents cannot raise chickens due to the lack of required space. A revised ordinance would loosen some of the restrictions. Proponents of the change indicated that chickens are easy to raise, provide protein-rich eggs, and can also be raised for meat. They believe chickens provide a healthy food source without worrying about food safety, antibiotics, or hormones.

Two more questions were posted since that original one: should parking be allowed on all city sidewalks (consensus: enforce existing laws) and what are the concerns with Proposition S—an April ballot proposition allowing construction of a new fire station. When this copy was prepared, the question on Proposition S had just been posted. More than 300 people, however, have visited the site and those who completed a short survey about their experience were satisfied with the feature and liked using it to share opinions.

For more information about the online program, contact John Shaw, 314-524-5060 (office); jshaw@fergusoncity.com.