Editorial: In Palm Beach Gardens, let residents watch meetings... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

This Palm Beach Post editorial rightly takes Palm Beach Gardens to task for reluctantly agreeing to provide video of their meetings, but only available the day after the meeting. In fact, the decision of whether or not to do it came at the end of a meeting, with no public comment. This is not exactly a model of transparency. And the Post rightly points out that doing this should not be based on the number of people who would watch, just as elections are held regardless of the turnout. I would take that even further and suggest that having more ways for people to be aware of what their local government is doing is a good thing that might bring more people out for municipal elections. Click title for link. From the editorial:

"Such a move would have been a bold gesture a decade ago. But it is 2014, and in Palm Beach County every other city of Palm Beach Gardens’ size already allows residents to watch public meetings online, as do the county government and the school board.

For years Palm Beach Gardens has held out, rationalizing and equivocating whenever residents demanded greater access. It’s well past time for this affluent city to incur the minimal cost involved in this fundamental accommodation.

Yet even now, Palm Beach Gardens is only planning a half-measure – making meetings available a day after they take place. Watching meetings live will still be impossible online. Residents who can’t make it in person are still relegated to listening to audio-only recordings, a poor substitute that makes it difficult to follow what is happening."