Was just wondering.......
We're in the "information age" now. Everything runs at the speed of light thanks to the internet. Iran is keeping their concerns in the world spotlight thanks to Twitter, Facebook, cellphones....
So why are the minutes of city council NOT on the city website?
Let me clarify. Why are the minutes from RECENT city council meetings not on their website? If one delves deep into the recesses of the site they come upon minutes from 1873-1910 in the archives. Pretty interesting stuff, too, if you can read the authors handwritings. (in Nov 1873 there was an ordinance passed taxing real estate at 1/4 of 1% for the benefit of all in the city for city projects).
To receive minutes from the city council meetings one must file an open records request.
Why is that necessary in this time of superhighway- speed information?
It can't be that big of a money-maker for copies and staff time, could it? It seems an unecessary step.
Haven't ever checked, but I will tomorrow when I spend a day with my city government- but are the minutes posted on the city's bulletin board at the back of city hall? Still doesn't make sense to me if that's the only form of immediate record.
Yes, we hear some of the juicier stuff on the news and in the next day's edition of the paper. That's not the point. I want to view the minutes in its entirety and on the web or on my cellphone at my convenience.
Am I just twittering up the wrong tree, or does anyone else find this to be useful?
BTW- yes, City15 is a useful and needed tool, one of many we have available to us now. But that, too, has its flaws as I don't always have 3-8 hour blocks of time to devote to viewing its rebroadcast.
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Have you looked at the EPISD website? Same story...No minutes for half of 2005 and none at all for 2006. They are always behind on the current year (usually by a couple of months). Maybe 2005 and 2006 are missing because of the public corruption investigation (I don't know) but they could at least put something in the box and keep everyone up to date on recent meetings.
ReplyDeleteCity's website isn't great, but they are there:
ReplyDeletewww.elpasotexas.gov/muni_clerk/minutes.asp
OK Matthew- I sit corrected! I checked it out and you're correct. But when I've been on the city council meeting's page they don't direct you in any way to go to the municipal clerk's page, but they did direct me to request an open records request for the minutes! My bad, sort of. I'm a "digger" but I guess I should have kept digging!
ReplyDeleteSuggestion- have this info on the same page as the city council agenda information!
Also wondering, how fast are the minutes updated and posted? I know that the Citizen's Advisory Committee to the Mass Transit Board/Sun Metro meeting minutes are not published until2 or 3 weeks AFTER the meeting took place, when they post the agenda for the following meeting.