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I have always believed that an active and engaged citizenship is necessary to have a successful government. Unfortunately, citizen engagement has been in decline for years; voting numbers are the clearest example of this.

So, what effort(s) can the City of Nederland take to engage with citizens and solicit public input?

On Monday/Feb. 22 starting at 6 p.m., the City will host its first virtual townhall meeting. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the townhall will be held via social media on “The City of Nederland, Texas” Facebook page.

The townhall will be hosted by the City Manager, who will directly answer questions from participants. Two proposed topics will be the 2021 Streets Program and City finances; however, the townhall will have an open format to allow participants to ask questions on other topics.

If the City Manager cannot directly answer your question during the townhall, staff will attempt to have an answer as soon as possible. This is the first of four townhall meetings scheduled for this year; the second will be in May.

In addition to the townhall meeting, the City is finalizing the redesign of the City website and plans to have this new website launched prior to the townhall meeting. The new website will improve the access to information and provide updated information.

An emphasis has been made to include a Financial Transparency page to ensure citizens are aware of the City’s financial status.

If you have not done so already, please follow the City’s numerous Facebook pages.

“The City of Nederland, Texas” is the City’s official page but also follow the “Nederland Police Department,” “Nederland Fire Rescue,” “Nederland Recreation Center,” “Nederland Animal Shelter” and “Marion & Ed Hughes Public Library” pages.

In addition to social media, citizens should be registered under STAN to receive emergency notifications and news.

To register, please visit thestan.com/register. You will need to provide your name, phone number, email address and address. Once registered, you can subscribe to multiple agencies/entities to receive additional notices.

The City is committed on improving its engagement with the community, and we want to hear from the community.

We hope to see an enhanced level of engagement starting on Monday/Feb. 22 during the virtual townhall meeting.

If there are any questions regarding City operations, please contact the City Manager’s Office at 409-723-1503.

Chris Duque is city manager for Nederland. He can be reached at CDuque@ci.nederland.tx.us.