In my earlier posting, I suggested that "posting" meeting notices is an obsolete and antiquated practice that reaches few people. I suggested that the practice should continue but that missing a posting should not be considered a "fatal flaw' in the process. I will now provide a real-life example of how such a requirement can inhibit the efficient functioning of government.
Last week, Thursday was a holiday (Veterans Day) so Town Hall was closed. Most Town offices (including the Town Clerk) are always closed on Friday. On Wednesday afternoon, a particular committee decided it wanted to postpone its meeting scheduled for that night to the following Tuesday evening. This was a full 6 days in advance. A second committee also came in to post a meeting for the following Monday (5 days in advance). However, the Assistant Town Clerk had left for the day at noon (due to limited hours) and the Town Clerk was busy and could not accept the postings. Therefore, at least 2 committees had to postpone their meetings until at least Wednesday evening so they could be posted on Monday and meet the 48-hour rule.
I fully understand the limitations of a part-time work force and the complicating factor of holidays. However, again there is a technological solution to this problem.
Now that Sherborn has an electronic monitor facing the window at the front entrance, why not allow postings to become fully automated? That is, a set of rules could be established and just as we currently fill out a form for the posting that is sent to the Town Clerk's office , why couldn't that posting go directly to the monitor? An auto-reply could confirm receipt of the notice as well as establish the day and time of receipt to ensure that it is received at least 48-hours in advance (excluding Saturdays and Sundays). The form on the Town Clerk's web site is already set up with required fields so that ensures completeness in the postings.
Access for submitting postings could be restricted to designated staff, committee chairs, etc. Furthermore, the notices could still be reviewed by the Town Clerk's office to ensure compliance and if any notices were found to be not in compliance for whatever reason, then the meeting could be cancelled and rescheduled with the proper notice. Coupled with a web site posting, this scenario would not only allow more flexibility in scheduling meetings with no loss in public access, but would actually increase such access through the web site posting.
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Electronic media is a great opportunity to increase public access and participation. Open meeting laws are there to protect us and not loose anyone dependent on older, traditional means of public notice. This challenge is also to include those who depend on electronic media. Another aspect of Open Meeting protection comes from increasing public awareness and involvement.
Making the window display and the web site more real time makes them more useful and popular.
Gino's blog and local on-line newspapers provide interactive, facebook-like forums with the potential for faster, more accessible and popular chatting, challenging, educating and fun than the occasional letter to the editor and attending the committee meetings. On-line attendance is coming. I already watch more Selectmen’s meetings on cable than I attend in person. A blog and a Facebook-like forum sorted by topic might be just the ticket for a lot town issues that really need discussion.
Making window and web postings more timely is a baby step for Open Meeting Laws. Open Meeting Laws that add interactive electronic media has the potential to increase public involvement.
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