With Ample Tools Available For Sharing Information, Why Is The Government So Far Behind In Opening Governance?
Governance directly affects us all, and while media focuses on the federal government most decisions take place at the local level. Cities, counties and school boards significantly impact our daily lives – after all, it’s their responsibility to represent the public. Unfortunately, access to the activities of many governing bodies is hit and miss, at best.
For example, a few months ago there was talk in my small town of a new airstrip. I work with local governing bodies every day and thought getting up-to-speed on the topic would be relatively easy. I started by looking on my county’s Web site where I found a list of meetings for the county commission and the zoning board. The minutes for preceding meetings had been posted by date, and I even found a couple of the agendas there, too. However, I couldn’t find any information about the airstrip, nor did the Web site provide a way for me to search for the information I needed.
I did, however, locate the county’s phone number and called the county clerk to request the documentation. She searched through some files and, after a couple of days, eMailed the information to me. She also let me know that they had audio tapes of the meetings, and if I wanted to stop by their office, I could listen to the discussion about the airstrip.
I’ve worked with hundreds of local governments, so I know most clerks have to gather all documents for each meeting, print and copy these documents and bind them to create meeting packets for their commissioners and stakeholders. Additionally, these “paper packets” must be physically distributed prior to every meeting. Clerks take notes at these meeting and listen to the audio tape the next day to compile minutes. Next, someone from the IT department updates the Web site with the information, hopefully in a timely manner.
Most commissioners will proudly tell you that their governing body shares meeting information with the public via the county’s Web site. Really? Though this may be true in part, I would bet that many citizens would describe their experience with “open” governance unsatisfactory or even downright frustrating. In my case, after I scoured the Web, I had to make a phone call to the clerk, who had to take time out of her day to find the documents that I needed, organize them and then email them to me. To complete my information search, I would have to physically go to the county office to listen to audio tapes.
Looking back, getting to the bottom of the issue could have been much less complicated by utilizing simple technology and communication. The reality is that most local governing bodies do a poor job sharing information in a way that the public can easily access it. In other words, transparency in governance isn’t as transparent as they think.
With a Web-based content management system, clerks can quickly upload meeting documents to the Internet, where commissioners are able to securely log in to review the agenda. The county can share the information with the public in a convenient, proactive manner prior to each meeting via the county’s Web site – all without the need for support from the IT department. Clerks can notate the action taken on each agenda item, in real time, and even record the discussion using a simple MP3 audio recorder.
Open governance supported by readily available technology is a win-win for all parties involved. Had my county implemented such a system, I would have been able to go to their Web site to quickly and easily search for background information relating to the airstrip. No call would have been necessary.
But technology sounds expensive and even time consuming, right? Surprise! It’s actually more cost effective than producing and distributing paper packets and responding to records requests. In fact, the right technology can save organizations up to tens of thousands of dollars annually. And most local governing bodies that use this type of system see a 75% reduction in staff time!
In the end, a group of community members attended the zoning meeting, and, as a result, the developer and commissioners decided an airstrip in our little town was not a good idea. I hope one day my commissioners come to the realization that using technology to open governance is a good idea - one whose time has come.
Happy Landings.
Governance directly affects us all, and while media focuses on the federal government most decisions take place at the local level. Cities, counties and school boards significantly impact our daily lives – after all, it’s their responsibility to represent the public. Unfortunately, access to the activities of many governing bodies is hit and miss, at best.
For example, a few months ago there was talk in my small town of a new airstrip. I work with local governing bodies every day and thought getting up-to-speed on the topic would be relatively easy. I started by looking on my county’s Web site where I found a list of meetings for the county commission and the zoning board. The minutes for preceding meetings had been posted by date, and I even found a couple of the agendas there, too. However, I couldn’t find any information about the airstrip, nor did the Web site provide a way for me to search for the information I needed.
I did, however, locate the county’s phone number and called the county clerk to request the documentation. She searched through some files and, after a couple of days, eMailed the information to me. She also let me know that they had audio tapes of the meetings, and if I wanted to stop by their office, I could listen to the discussion about the airstrip.
I’ve worked with hundreds of local governments, so I know most clerks have to gather all documents for each meeting, print and copy these documents and bind them to create meeting packets for their commissioners and stakeholders. Additionally, these “paper packets” must be physically distributed prior to every meeting. Clerks take notes at these meeting and listen to the audio tape the next day to compile minutes. Next, someone from the IT department updates the Web site with the information, hopefully in a timely manner.
Most commissioners will proudly tell you that their governing body shares meeting information with the public via the county’s Web site. Really? Though this may be true in part, I would bet that many citizens would describe their experience with “open” governance unsatisfactory or even downright frustrating. In my case, after I scoured the Web, I had to make a phone call to the clerk, who had to take time out of her day to find the documents that I needed, organize them and then email them to me. To complete my information search, I would have to physically go to the county office to listen to audio tapes.
Looking back, getting to the bottom of the issue could have been much less complicated by utilizing simple technology and communication. The reality is that most local governing bodies do a poor job sharing information in a way that the public can easily access it. In other words, transparency in governance isn’t as transparent as they think.
With a Web-based content management system, clerks can quickly upload meeting documents to the Internet, where commissioners are able to securely log in to review the agenda. The county can share the information with the public in a convenient, proactive manner prior to each meeting via the county’s Web site – all without the need for support from the IT department. Clerks can notate the action taken on each agenda item, in real time, and even record the discussion using a simple MP3 audio recorder.
Open governance supported by readily available technology is a win-win for all parties involved. Had my county implemented such a system, I would have been able to go to their Web site to quickly and easily search for background information relating to the airstrip. No call would have been necessary.
But technology sounds expensive and even time consuming, right? Surprise! It’s actually more cost effective than producing and distributing paper packets and responding to records requests. In fact, the right technology can save organizations up to tens of thousands of dollars annually. And most local governing bodies that use this type of system see a 75% reduction in staff time!
In the end, a group of community members attended the zoning meeting, and, as a result, the developer and commissioners decided an airstrip in our little town was not a good idea. I hope one day my commissioners come to the realization that using technology to open governance is a good idea - one whose time has come.
Happy Landings.
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