And speaking of the electorate ...
Joe Vizard points Borderline to a letter he wrote to the Trib about transparency in local government. He has a couple of suggestions that would let Walthamers/ites better understand the workings of the city government here. The one that I agree with relates to the website:
He also suggests having City Council committee meetings covered by the Municipal Access Channel. Borderline is not so sure about that one unless the costs for production can be kept down. And really, who would watch it? We can't afford cable TV, but even if we did shell out for RCN or Comcast we probably wouldn't watch -- there's just too much going on in terms of the number and complexity of issues being covered, and too much procedural stuff that gets in the way of the interesting debates.
BTW, if you have interesting tips related to Waltham or Newton, send 'em in. The email is borderlineblog@gmail.com.
... More information should be provided to citizens through the City's Web site. During the budget process, citizens should be able to view city budget information online. It is the people's money that is being spent, and the people deserve to see how it will be spent. Minutes of City Council meetings, including roll call votes, should be placed on the Web site.Vizard notes in his letter that the city already places some useful information online, including the contact information for councillors, meeting schedule, and the City Council docket.
He also suggests having City Council committee meetings covered by the Municipal Access Channel. Borderline is not so sure about that one unless the costs for production can be kept down. And really, who would watch it? We can't afford cable TV, but even if we did shell out for RCN or Comcast we probably wouldn't watch -- there's just too much going on in terms of the number and complexity of issues being covered, and too much procedural stuff that gets in the way of the interesting debates.
BTW, if you have interesting tips related to Waltham or Newton, send 'em in. The email is borderlineblog@gmail.com.
Labels: Politics
posted by Borderline at 9/12/2006 10:06:00 PM
2 Comments:
You said:"He also suggests having City Council committee meetings covered by the Municipal Access Channel"
I thought they did broadcast these, or at least some of them? Waltham has two local cable channels, and have a good deal of programming. I know school committee meetings were televised, I guess I just assumed since city council meetings were public, they were too.
OK, if not on cable, how about posting the minutes of the committee meetings on the internet?
-Mark
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