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Ordinance to stream city meetings and post agendas, minutes sent to council 7–0
Summary
The Ordinance Committee approved sending Ordinance A-25-13 to the council floor by a 7–0 vote; the proposal would require streaming city meetings on the city website and posting agendas and minutes for boards and commissions that currently lack those materials online.
The Amherst Ordinance Committee voted unanimously on March 17 to send Ordinance A-25-13 to the full council. The measure would require the city to stream certain board and commission meetings on the city website and make meeting agendas and minutes available online.
Council member Dan Dembinski, who submitted the ordinance, said the intent is to improve public transparency by streaming meetings and posting materials for entities that currently do not have that coverage on the city website. “Some of our meetings like the planning commission, you'll have the agendas and the minutes posted to the website, and you can actually watch the meeting,” Dembinski said. “And then some things like the CIC and the park board and civil service, none of that information is available on the website.”
Committee members discussed expected costs and logistics. The mayor estimated the full expansion could cost roughly $30,000 depending on the number of meetings included; the mayor said he would provide more precise numbers before the next meeting. Committee members also raised concerns about boards that frequently convene in executive session (for example the Community Improvement Corporation) and whether streaming was appropriate for strategic discussions that may properly be handled in executive session. Dembinski suggested posting agendas and minutes even if specific meetings are not streamed.
Several members said the transparency gains outweighed the costs. Council member Wernarski said televising meetings would be “money well spent” for meetings where votes affecting the city occur. The committee moved the ordinance to the council floor; the motion passed 7–0.
Next steps: Ordinance A-25-13 will go to the full council for consideration; the administration said it would supply detailed cost estimates for broader streaming prior to the next meeting.
Votes at a glance: - Motion to take Ordinance A-25-13 to the council floor: Moved by Council member Ornstein; seconded by Council member Janek. Vote: 7–0; motion passed.
