Want to know what happened at recent Village of Lakewood meetings?
Recordings have been posted on YouTube.
A private individual is doing the recording and posting.
Shame that citizens don’t do the same for Crystal Lake High School District 155 and Crystal Lake Grade School District 47 and Woodstock School District 200.
But it’s a shame the districts don’t do it themselves.
Certainly high schools ought to be able to recruit budding videographers to do the recording.
And McHenry County ought to be able to post videos of its committee meetings, don’t you think?
Here’s what’s been posted so far:
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5:535122015 Mtg 3 Trustee Comments and Close
Village of Lakewood Board Meeting Trustee Comments & Closing -
47:335122015 Mtg 2 Agenda Items
Village of Lakewood Board Meeting Agenda Items -
31:285122015 Mtg 1 Public Comments 1
Village of Lakewood Board Meeting 5/12/2015
Introductions, public comments, swearing in of trustees -
WATCHED16:55
4282015 Mtg 2
Village of Lakewood Board Meeting – second video
4/28/2015 -
WATCHED52:34
4282015 Mtg 1
Lakewood Village Board Meeting
4/28/2015 -
8:334142015 Mtg 2
Village of Lakewood Board Meeting 2 -
52:254142015 Mtg 1
Village of Lakewood: Meetings -
7:404142015 Budget
4/14/2015 Village of Lakewood, IL Budget Meeting
Awesome by the citizen and lousy transparency by the village in that they passed a proposed $66 million TIF, money which they would not otherwise have to spend, yet refuse to video and audiotape board meetings.
Last month Don Frick asked Woodstock City Council about video recording and they want nothing to do with it.
If any politician in a taxing district the size of Lakewood or Woodstock does not agree to vote for videotaping of board meetings, don’t vote for them.
Make it a campaign issue.
Make public comments at board meetings.
There is no good reason for them to be secretive by not videotaping board meetings.
It’s taxpayer money, taxpayers deserve transparency in what is said at board meetings, not just having to rely on board minutes.
And the same goes for an “electronic board packet” which is one big pdf of all the documents being discussed by the board at the board meeting.
Boards and the public should have access to the electronic board packet prior to the meeting.
These are just basic taxing district transparency measures.
1. Videotape board meetings and archive them on the website.
2. Electronic board packet in pdf format available to the public before the board meeting and archived on the website.
These measure will help to control costs, salaries, and benefits, and give the public a better idea what is actually happening at these board meetings.
Of all the things the government spends its money on, transparency of how the government is conducting its business and spending taxpayer money should be high on the priority list.
Instead what has been high on the priority list.
Jacking up salaries and benefits.
For an example of better transparency, McHenry County College tapes board meetings and posts board packets.
http://www.mchenry.edu > About MCC > Board of Trustees > Board Archive.
MCC began taping board meetings in 2013.
MCC began posting board packets in 2008.