Lonnie Banks, Municipal Services Director, and Skip Bambard, Director of Landfill Services, traveled to the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh to provide technical assistance to officials in the city of Indore February 9 - February 13, 2004. Their trip was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the auspices of the Resource Cities Program, which partners U.S. communities with cities in developing countries to help improve public services and enhance local democracy. The program was managed by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). ICMA invited the City of Garland to serve as Indore's partner due to its reputation for strong management and public services and willingness to share its professional expertise. The 18-month partnership with Indore began in December of 2002.
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While in Indore, the Garland team worked with their Indian peers on five specific goals that the partners identified during Indore's visit to Garland in February 2003:
- Discussed Indore's compliance with Indian Supreme Court guidelines for solid waste management;
- Visited its landfill management site to review current operations;
- Reviewed solid waste management collection, operation and transportation systems;
- Recommended steps to improve solid waste management practices and address related issues and budget implications; and
- Reviewed Indore's communication strategies and made recommendations for how to enhance public outreach and engagement.
"Mayor Vijayavargiya is the one of the first executive Mayors elected in the state of Madhya Pradesh. His priorities for increasing citizen involvement in local government and citizen understanding of the city's financial revenue base and expenditures is admirable," said Banks. "We viewed this trip as having two main benefits. First, to use our experiences to help improve the quality of life for people in Indore and second, to help us, as local government professionals learn to do our jobs at home better."
Indian officials from the City of Indore will travel to Garland during the week of May 24-28, 2004 to meet with Banks and Bambard to finalize implementation plans for improvement of the solid waste management collection system and development of a landfill disposal facility in Indore.
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