Many communities across the nation are experiencing a disconnect between the public and their local government.  The City of Montgomery’s multiple approaches to addressing this problem are designed to build relationships through meaningful two-way dialogue in innovative forums and with multiple outlets for participation and ownership.  Prior to three years ago, the typical citizen engagement in Montgomery was residents showing up and standing behind a podium with a microphone arguing “I pay your salary!” and “Not in my back yard!”  Montgomery wanted to change that scenario so there were more people participating in civil discussions, coming with solutions and working together to contribute to the betterment of the community.  To do this, Montgomery instituted innovative approaches to change some of what it did in our traditional roles and to remove the blinders and see what else it could create with citizens as partners instead of adversaries.