Contrary to popular belief, committees aren't always the death of all energies. In fact, the work of two IAPD/IPRA joint committees may help turn your agency's next referendum campaign into an unbeatable juggernaut.

Winning in the Face of Organized Opposition is a guide that helps agencies build the community support they need to pass a referendum or rally the community whenever threats to an agency's mission occur.

IPRA Board Chairman Jane Hodgkinson describes Winning as a tool kit that can help agencies develop an action plan for a successful campaign. The guide offers valuable strategies to counter the messages and tactics that anti-tax groups may use against an agency's efforts.

Hodgkinson is a member of the IAPD/IPRA Coordinating Council, which, among other duties, recommends specific actions on issues of concern to each association.

An "issues map" is one of the guide's features designed to help agencies combat the messages of opposition groups.

"In 2003, we were discussing the legislation that was introduced in Pennsylvania that would have limited a public park agency's ability to operate facilities such as tennis clubs or pools in competition with private businesses," says Hodgkinson. The legislation also would have jeopardized an agency's ability to win increased tax support for upgrading facilities.

"I suggested hiring a marketing company to draft a guide for agencies to help with their referendum efforts. We already knew that districts like Naperville, Bloomingdale and Buffalo Grove had weathered referendum attacks funded, at least in part, by the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association," says Hodgkinson.

The coordinating council retained the Chicago-based Sphere Public Relations to help write the guide and asked the IAPD/IPRA Joint Public Awareness Committee to publish it.

Matthew Ellmann is the former executive director for the Park District of LaGrange and also the co-chair of the Joint Public Awareness Committee. "Witnessing the ongoing numerous defeats of park and recreation agency referenda was reason for concern," he says. "The committee felt that a proactive resource guide would help better position agencies for referendum success, and, therefore, we pledged to sponsor his project."

Hodgkinson says she is pleased with the way the guide lays out practical approaches and strategies for organizing a referendum. Too often in the past, she says, agencies have waited for the residents who want new services to come forward and get the initiative started. "Sometimes we forget that other people have lives and many other activities to engage them, so we need to help them."

As its name suggests, the guide also helps campaigns overcome the messages that anti-referendum groups typically use to try to defeat an agency's measure. "We're seeing not only organized opposition groups but also well-funded ones," says Ellmann "This combination can be extremely deadly to a referendum drive. In many cases, persuading a voter over to the opposition side is simply a matter of causing confusion. An under-educated voter usually results in a 'no' vote."

Ellmann thinks the guide succeeds at giving agencies a clear plan for getting a clear message out to their constituents. "The guide is full of practical advice and useful information that can assist an agency, not only in referendum campaigns, but also in gaining public support at any level."

You can order your copy of Winning the in the Face of Organized Opposition by visiting the IAPD web site at www.ILparks.org

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