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The value of reading and understanding local issues has never been more important than it is today. It is such a basic part of our education and it is critical not just to learn, but also for making decisions.
In public life and in the corporate world, board meetings are held to inform board members about what is happening when they are not in the room and to give them information to help make decisions. Detailed written reports, financial reports and summaries are usually part of what is given to board members. By not expecting this or not reading this information thoroughly, bad decisions can be made, on every level. I've seen it happen in all sectors; approvals given to spend money that should have been questioned and discussed. The rationale that needed to be heard, considered and discussed. Questions which should have been asked, such as if it is time critical, is equipment failing, is it just cosmetic or critical to operations.
It happens with multi-million dollar budgets as well as the volunteer boards that are barely clearing operational expenses. Financial mismanagement usually means someone isn't paying attention. So the people who are leading the organizations need to keep this clearly out in the open for discussion.
We cannot just rely on social media to communicate to the public. It takes more than a minute, more than a sentence to tell a full story. Today, it is nearly impossible to know what is true, what is accurate, and what has been generated just to create panic, division and distrust. As I try to focus on what is a verifiable fact, it is challenging when some of our sources may give us misinformation. Today that misinformation can be generated by nearly anyone and appear authentic.
We try to take the time to flesh out the correct details, given enough time to digest and research. We include it in our stories, in our cut-lines, in our photos. First it has to be made available to the board and to the public, but then it has to be read.
Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between truth and the illusion of truth.
So it is more important today to know who is giving us the information, by using personal, face-to-face contact to communicate.
We all need to know what is happening with the city, the county, schools, hospitals and public libraries. It is increasingly challenging when there are limitations in time, personnel and space.
So I am particularly grateful that the Hamilton County Supervisors and the City of Webster City broadcast in real time and make available recordings of their meetings. This allows more of our public to understand what is going on.
I appreciate that they bring in their department heads to explain the function and benefits of expenses that have to be incurred.
It assures me that the information on the agendas are being thoroughly vetted, not just by staff, but also by members of the boards present for the discussion.
It shows who is obviously reading and reviewing their materials, and when board members vote, it is helpful to hear why they vote the way they do.
It makes me more comfortable in their decisions. But it also makes me aware of those not contributing to discussions,making me think they are not familiar with the topic. And if that is happening, we need to know why more questions are not being raised.
It's what we elect these individuals to do. To take on a role of any of these boards is critically important to the community at large. Board members need to read and be involved in decisions, not just follow the recommendation of a single person. We need to be able to watch and see how these individuals are responding to the various issues.
We cannot all attend every meeting. And if we do attend meetings, it is important that everyone attending is able to view and hear all the discussion.
I'm not alone in being challenged to attend the evening meetings. I face deadlines daily that make this impossible. But if it is broadcast or recorded for later viewing, then I am able to do a better job at presenting information through the newspaper.
I was grateful when the County Supervisors added microphones to their broadcasts this year. I also appreciate the departmental supervisors availability and the ease in getting additional information.
We often forget that some people are shy, some just speak quietly, and if there is a large turnout at meetings it can be very difficult to hear. I am also grateful that I can go to the county or city pages and open up the meeting again and review what was said, if necessary.
The technology is available inexpensively today so I don't understand why all our elected boards are not broadcasting their public meetings.
It makes them more accessible, more transparent. It helps us "know" who we have elected to these positions. It helps us understand how these decisions are being made and why.
Right now, we have some major issues that need public involvement, most notably, the High School project. We have given the green light to our school board members to spend an enormous amount of money and it seems imperative that the public input should be continual, not just sporadic.
It takes nothing to use a tripod and set a phone on it to record a meeting. Certainly we are paying enough money to our leadership in all these organizations that this could happen.
It would allow the media to provide better coverage when deadlines don't allow personal attendance, or when there is more than one meeting scheduled at the same time.
It would allow the public to attend meetings that are scheduled when they are working or traveling or have other conflicts.
It would reassure us all that we have board members who have the information and reviewed it well enough to make good complete decisions.
And when it comes time to re-elect people to these boards, we will know better who we are voting for, and what type of job they are doing.
Then these meetings will truly be public meetings.