ROLES IN UTOPIA
a resource for the Making Budget Choices activity

This Maine Municipal Association publication is presented for "Classroom Use Only."  Its intended use is to stimulate and aid in discussion and role playing within a classroom setting.

1. Mayor
The mayor served two terms on city council before being elected mayor in the last general election. The mayor owns a small business in Utopia's business district and is very interested in keeping the city's economy as strong as possible.

2. District I Council Member
This council member represents a lower income neighborhood. Unemployment has always been the highest in the city in this neighborhood. Many of the adults in this neighborhood do not have high school educations. There are many single-parent families in the neighborhood. This council member is minister of a church in the neighborhood and greatly concerned about the people in that neighborhood and about the poor and less fortunate, generally. This member is also very concerned about the well-being of city workers, especially those in the lowest income groups.

3. District 2 Council Member
This council member represents an upper income neighborhood where many of the residents are professionals or people who own businesses in town. Several of the houses are now vacant and up for sale after the managers of the factories which closed left town. This council member is a lawyer who is serving a second term on council and who is thought by many to be interested in running for the state legislature. This member usually argues in favor of cutting taxes.

4. District 3 Council Member
This council member represents a neighborhood where many of the workers from the closed factories live. This council member is a pharmacist who has served three terms on the council.

5. District 4 Council Member
This council member represents a part of the city with many apartments and a mixture of other housing types. The district includes a number of elderly people, and many young single adults, as well as some families with children. This council member is a real estate agent who is quite concerned about property values and keeping property taxes low.

6. District 5 Council Member
This council member represents a neighborhood of middle and lower income families. Because it is on the other side of town, fewer people in this neighborhood worked at the factories that closed, but some people in this neighborhood have also lost their jobs recently. This council member is a supervisor in the county social services department who was asked to run for city council after serving a very successful term as president of the local Parent-Student-Teacher Association council.

7. The City Manager
The city manager has served as manager of Utopia for five years, following ten years as manager in a smaller town nearby. The city manager has a Master of Public Administration degree and is devoted to a career of city management.

NOTE. Before the City Council holds its budget hearing, the city manager must prepare a proposal to balance the budget. The manager's proposal will be the starting point for the budget hearing.

8. The Police Chief
The police chief began as a patrol officer in Utopia twenty years ago and has been chief for two years. The chief has a college degree in criminal justice and keeps up with the latest thinking in how police can improve public safety.

9. The Parks and Recreation Director
The parks and recreation director has just been hired from a similar position in a city in another state. In that city, the director was well known for developing a very effective program for youth. That program (in the other city) won national awards from groups fighting alcohol and drug abuse.

10. Convenience Store Owner
This person owns a convenience store at the edge of town. The store was robbed recently. No one was physically injured, but the owner was very frightened and upset to have $550 stolen by the robber. This store owner is one of the organizers of the group seeking more police patrol in their area.

11. Manager of Dry Cleaners and Laundry
This person manages a laundry and dry cleaners near the convenience store which was robbed and strongly supports more police patrol in the area, but is opposed to increasing property taxes.

12. Drug Store Manager
This person manages a drug store near the convenience store which was robbed and thinks police should do more to make the area safer. The drug store manager is also the single parent of two elementary school children and is very concerned about having more after school recreation programs available for children and youth.

13. Restaurant Cashier
This person was robbed at the restaurant just down the street from the convenience store. The cashier strongly believes the police must do more to prevent further robberies.

14. High School Principal
The high school principal has been principal for two years, after serving as assistant principal in charge of guidance services. The principal is very concerned about alcohol and drug abuse and thinks the city could help youth avoid these problems by providing more organized recreation programs.

15. President of Teen Council
The president of the teen council is a high school senior who was elected by students city-wide. The president has made development of programs against alcohol and drug abuse the major emphasis of the teen council this year.

16. Banker
The banker is vice-president in charge of operations at a local bank. The banker's son was injured in an auto accident because of a drunken driver. The banker is very concerned about teen-age alcohol and drug abuse.

17. Unemployed Factory Worker
This person was recently laid off when a factory closed. This person is also a single parent of two young teenagers. In addition to looking for a new job, this person is quite concerned about after-school activities for those young teens.

18. Swim Club President
The president of the Swim Club is a teenager who has devoted many years of practice to competitive swimming. There are now 50 young people in the swim club and they are looking forward to using the city's new pool.

19. Sporting Goods Store Owner
The sporting goods store owner is very interested in amateur athletics and is a strong supporter of the city's parks program. This person is very eager to have the new tennis courts and swimming pool available for use by Utopians.

20. High School PTA President
The high school PTA president is also office manager for a local insurance agency. The PTA president is very concerned about drug and alcohol abuse among teens.

21. Department Store Manager
The department store manager is quite concerned about declining sales. The manager thinks better street lighting in Utopia's commercial district would make shoppers feel safer coming there at night.

22. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director
The director of the chamber of commerce wants to attract new industry to Utopia and to encourage people to shop in Utopia.

23. Executive Director of Outreach
The Outreach director is concerned because the number of people needing assistance has increased considerably since the factory closings. The director would like an increase in funding from the city, but has not yet filed a written request for more money. The director is also very concerned about any additional layoffs which would put even more people out of work and in need of help from Outreach.

24. Real Estate Agent
This real estate agent wants to be sure Utopia's residential neighborhoods stay as attractive as possible to home buyers. The agent thinks the new city swimming pool and tennis courts will help attract homebuyers. The agent also thinks that twice-a-week garbage collection keeps the city cleaner than other cities that have collections only once a week.

25. Outreach Volunteer
This person is retired and devotes several days each week to help Outreach feed needy people in Utopia. The Outreach volunteer is also concerned about drug abuse and violence in the community.

26. President of the Senior Citizens Association
The Senior Citizens president is a retired grocery store manager who is very concerned about safety for senior citizens and also about property taxes.

27. Nurse
The nurse is a single parent of a teenager. The nurse is very concerned about teenage drug and alcohol abuse and about safety in the community.

28. Garage Mechanic
The mechanic has two young children and is concerned about safety in the community. The mechanic also has a brother who lost his job when a local factory closed, so the mechanic is also concerned about the local economy and about keeping taxes low.

29. President of Congregations-in-Action
Congregations-in-Action (CIA) is an assembly of religious organizations (churches, synagogues, mosques, and so on) in Utopia. CIA helps provide funding for Outreach and also works to improve human relations in the community. The President is very concerned about unemployment, drug abuse, and violence.

30. President of Civic Betterment
Civic Betterment (CB) is an organization of business owners and managers and doctors and lawyers. CB wants Utopia to be a clean, safe, attractive city. CB wants to help bring new jobs to the city and to encourage shopping in the city. CB strongly supported the bond referendum which paid to build the new swimming pool and tennis courts. CB is also very concerned about reducing crime in Utopia.

31. President of the Police Officers Association
The POA president is a long-time police officer in Utopia who is very concerned about the safety and well-being of the citizens and also very interested in the welfare of police officers in Utopia.

32. Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission
The chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission is a lawyer who has a special interest in physical fitness. While in high school and college, this person was an outstanding tennis player and tennis remains a personal passion. This person played a key role in getting new tennis courts included with the new swimming pool construction.