The most important role of a citizen lobbyist is educating legislators on how crime prevention initiatives affect you and your clients. You are a liaison between your station and the legislator. Your job is to give the legislator the information they need to make educated decisions pertaining to MACPO's legislative agenda.
Be on time for your meeting with your legislator. They work within very tight schedules and arriving on time demonstrates respect and understanding for their situations.
Keep the meeting brief and to the point. Excess information may deter the legislator from gaining an understanding of your core issues and concerns.
Listen carefully to the legislator's questions and concerns about the issues you discuss. Don't become -partisan or defensive if they seem opposed to your position. You will be talking to them about other issues in the future.
Ask them if they would like more information to clear up questions and concerns they way have.
If a legislator asks you a question you can’t answer, simply respond by saying you can get the information and send it to them at a later time or I'll ask Sherry Munyon, our lobbyist to get information to you.
If you feel comfortable doing so, ask the legislator if they support specific items on the MACPO legislative agenda. This will give you a better understanding of the level of support we have.
The goal of your meeting is to establish good communication lines with the legislator and to educate them about your issues.
The best possible outcome of a meeting is to establish an ongoing relationship with the legislator. Ask them to keep you informed on the status of issues you discussed.
Lastly, thank the legislator for their time. Their time is in great demand and your courtesy will be well received.
Report the results of your meeting or phone conversation to Sherry Munyon.
The MACPO Legislative Committee assigned an "Option 60" sub-committee
to look into an early retirement option for probation officers and corrections agents
funded by increased employee contributions to PERA.
PERA conducted an actuarial study in 2008, and the findings were presented
to MACPO on April 20th, 2009. Here are the results of the study in PDF format. Also, an informational newsletter was put together in October 2009, explaining the Early Retirement Option and how it works in PDF format.
