This morning was the last meeting of the Grand Chute communication committee. The committee was formed after elections in order to examine how the town board could better interact with residents of our community. I was appointed a member of this committee by Chairman Marsden. The chair, Sup. Jeff Nooyan, will be reporting to the board the committee's findings. The board will decide which recommendations to follow.
Some recommendations are already being implemented. For instance, the town newsletter has been expanded, and the upcoming issue includes more indepth articles that explain how decisions are made that affect the entire town. It will include more photos, and feature articles.
The committee is also recommending minutes for meetings be posted soon after the meeting, with a disclaimer announcing they have not yet been approved. Currently, minutes are posted on the town's Web site after approval at the following meeting. This means sometimes minutes are not available on the Web site at least two, and sometimes three weeks after meetings take place.
Other suggestions are for board members to hold workshop strategy sessions to identify goals for the upcoming year, and for department heads to give more detailed reports at board meetings so people attending board meetings have some background information of what is being voted on.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for the committee was identifying ways that board meetings can be broadcast and made accessable to the public. This included analyzing webcasts, podcasts, televised multi-camera broadcasts. Each avenue was investigated for cost issues, and ease of use. These findings will be brought before the Town Board members for them to decide. The committee's goal in this instance was to gather information only. We feel it is up to the Town Board, not the committee, to determine how to spend taxpayers money. Costs range from $500-$30,000 depending on type of broadcast.
The finalized report will be presented to the Town Board at a November meeting. It will also be posted on this site.
