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a matter of practice, many local communities also hold public hearings on other local ordinances, which are usually conducted by the planning commission. The main purpose of the public hearing is to share information about the proposed development or ordinance with the public and to give the citizens an opportunity to make comments and suggestions on the proposal or ordinance. There- fore, it is important that adequate notice be sent out about the planning hearing. In conducting the public hearing, every opportunity should be provided for the citizens to comment on the proposals. At the same time, no individual or group should be allowed to dominate ,or take over the meeting. It should also be noted that the planning commission need not adopt 'all of the suggested changes, since some may conflict with each other and with a proper planning program. A section on how to conduct public hearings is included in the Appendix. Assist in preparation of a capital improvement program. The eventual and logical outgrowth of a planning program in a community is a capital improvements program which establishes a set of priorities for public improvements in the com- munity for a five- to six-year period. A capital improvements program should establish priorities among such competing public programs as streets and highways, parks, sanitary sewers, and others. Only if such a program is established can a com- munity or region logically plan for future develop- ment and meet the future financial obligation to. construct these facilities. Unfortunately, very few communities have established such programs to date with the result that public facilities are often provided in a haphazard manner or only in response to emergencies. Again, the planning commission, being aware of the comprehensive plan and the various development proposals, cant serve a very useful function in the establishment and review of such a program, {See Chapter 3, section B.) Make recommendations on proposed boundary changes. Some communities are currently in the process of changing municipal boundaries or corporate status. The planning commission can provide valuable assistance to the local officials in making more logical decisions concerning proposals for incorporations, annexations or consolidations. A discussion of these issues can be found in Chapter 12. Provide liaison with other governmental units. Various other governmental units also have estab- lished programs which have an effect on a local planning program. Conversely, a local program will affect planning at other levels of government. As a regult, it is important to establish an effective liaison between a local community and other levels of government. The planning commission, being aware Of the latest development proposals in the community, can also serve a valuable function as liaison be- tween the local community and the county, school' district, regional planning agencies. or various' state agencies. . D. OTHER SPECIALIZED FUNCTIONS . 'Preparing a planning budget. Another important function of the planning commissioner is to assist in establishing an adequate budget for community planning purposes and to lobby for this budget. A local, planning program can only be carried Out effectively if it is properly funded. If the community has established a planning department, the planning commissioners should assist the planning staff in establishing the budget. If the community relies on a planning consultant, then the planning commission should play a maior~role in recommending a planning budget or assisting'the administrator with the development of the budget. Special studies. Many local planning com- missions establish smaller work committees to work on special problems. For example, a plan- ning commission may have a highway committee, a park committee, a housing committee or a code committee, to work on problems in tl~ese func- ti6nal areas. Much of the effective work of a commission usually comes out of these work committees. For this reason, each planning com- missioner should attempt to attend the meetings and provide meaningful input to the work com- mittees. -13-