A Really New Idea in Open Government

I posted yesterday about the town of Barnstable providing videos of meetings of its board and committees online so the public can watch them at their leisure. I used to live near Alexandria, Virginia, one of my favorite places on earth. It does Barnstable one better in regard to its City Council and Planning Board meetings. Not only can you download or watch videos of meetings from the city’s website, you also can jump ahead in the video to items in the meeting docket (agenda). I read about this kind of software a while ago, but had not seen it in action until I checked out the City of Alexandria’s website. (According to the website for Granicus, Inc, it provides "meeting solutions" to Alexandria, VA, so presumably the downloadable videos are utilizing Granicus's software.) I am not aware of any community in Massachusetts using this technology and there are none listed on the Granicus website. (Isn't Massachusetts supposed to be a center of technological development? Shouldn't we be users too?)

New Ideas In Open Government.

Often the items I post are about when a Massachusetts governing body or public official fails to comply with the Open Meeting Law or the Public Records Law. I thought I would try something new; a post about a community that exceeds what is minimally required. The town of Barnstable is one such community. It makes available on its website videos of past meetings of a number of town boards and committees, including the Barnstable Town Council. So anyone who could not attend a meeting in person or watch the local cable broadcast of a meeting on television can now view it online at their convenience. The town also puts out a monthly newsletter from town officials, The Barnstable Bulletin, which can be downloaded from the website or emailed to anyone who signs up to received it via email. In addition, detailed budget information is also posted on the website, as is a weekly newsletter from the town manager. These are just some examples of what a community can do to provide its citizens with greater access to information about what their public officials do.

What's New In Open Government...

A continuing series linking to reports and stories about open government issues around Massachusetts. The following are stories about open government issues that appeared during the second half of December 2008:

Court May Decide Police File Release
Dec. 11, 2008, The Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Thomas Caywood
“The Telegram & Gazette intends to ask a judge to force the Worcester Police Department to release details of four citizen complaints made against Officer Mark A. Rojas…” The public records released were covered in redactions.

A Blog Posting with Boston City Councilor Yoon’s Proposals to Provide More Public Information.
Dec. 11, 2008, Sunshineboston blog

Ask a Punk for Records…
Dec. 15, 2008, On Brookline, Jim Conley
Description of problems in obtaining public records from the town’s Treasurer.

DA: ‘Coffee’ Violated Open Meeting Law
Dec. 16, 2008, The Harvard Post, Shaun Moriarty
More on the Harvard School Committee’s “flagrant and egregious violation” of the Open Meeting Law. They still do not seem to get it.

Our View: Why the Secrecy?
Dec.17, 2008, The Salem News, Editorial
This link is from Robert Ambrogi’s excellent Media Law blog. According to the editorial, the Haverhill School Committee went into executive session to discuss a $300, 000 overdue electric bill that was kept secret from the public and from at least one of the school committee’s members.

Medway Selectmen Followed Open Meeting Law Correctly
Dec. 25, 2008, The Milford Daily News, Aaron Wasserman
The title says it all, except the quotes by public officials in the article are a little disturbing.

The “Reasonable” Cost of Public Records
Dec. 30, 2008, The New England First Amendment Center Blog, Coleman Herman
Blog Posting about the costs of public records requests in Boston.

State Upholds Records Denial by Dennis-Yarmouth School District on Toilet Water in Bottle, Failure to Evacuate School During Fire
Dec. 31, 2008, Cape Cod Today, James Kinsella
Denial of Cape Cod Today’s request for two disciplinary records was upheld by the Public Records Division. Records requested were held to be exempt from disclosure.