There is a change of scenery. A yellow and white rezoning sign with red letters is posted in the yard of a recently sold house.

Soon, a giant yellow bulldozer will push down the house, leaving only rubble of wood, concrete and metal.

Soon, a condominium will rise to the skyline of the neighborhood.

A rezoning has occurred. And those who opposed could have had a say in what was going on in their neighborhood by contacting a government official.

Intimidating as it seems, people — citizens — have in their hands the power to change decisions.

“We are governed by more things than people realize,” Michael Cobb, a political science assistant professor, said. “More things have a public solution.”

The first step in contacting a government official is analyzing the problem. Cobb said if the problem has anything to do with the public, as in trash collection or public utilities, then you have a problem for the government.

“Most things about the government have a local solution — garbage pickup or school board decisions,” Cobb said.

On the other hand, Cobb said, if you have a crack in your driveway, you are on your own.

The first step to contacting a representative is discerning the problem and whether it has to do with the public.

For the next step, the person needs to find out whom to contact.

The most important part of this step is finding the person who has authority to resolve this problem. The worst mistake Cobb said someone could make would be to contact a person who has no authority or jurisdiction concerning the problem.

Cobb offered the example of a person not having enough soccer fields for their children to play on.

Wring to a congressman in an attempt to get more soccer fields, Cobb said, would be pointless because she or he would have no authority to help resolve this problem. Instead, Cobb said the person would need to contact someone in the Parks and Recreation Department to find a solution.

Cobb said there is no straightforward answer for finding the person to contact — but he had suggestions.

“Taking government classes would help a person to recognize regulations and to understand how the government works,” Cobb said.

The next step is contacting your government official. The most common means of contact is a letter.

Depending upon the circumstances — such as whether action is taken — the citizen might have to call, write a second letter or talk with a newspaper, according to Cobb.

Cobb also said there is overlapping jurisdiction in many cases. For example, a person might have contacted a council member who did not respond, but there is always a second potential contact — in this case, the mayor.

And action is important, according to Cobb. Because many people think the government will not care, those with a problem do not bother to try to change current problems.

“Government officials are responsive to public concerns, especially elected officials,”Cobb said. “They may only get 10 letters in a week, so they are going to follow up.”

Another helpful tip is doing research.

Cobb suggested that a person should see if the problem is unique or if it is more widespread. If it is more widespread, try to get more people involved.

According to Cobb, “It takes collective action to cause change, which is hard to do, but it is more effective.”