Improved Communication / Transparency
The current City Council has helped improve communications & transparency in several ways, as explained in the other sections on this page. I want to improve these even more, ensuring that citizens have adequate notice of matters that come before Council, so they have adequate notice to share their ideas with Council members before the meeting if they aren't able to attend the meeting to speak.
At the Council meeting on July 7, 2009, I requested that most of the non-confidential items in Council's weekly packets be posted online (e.g., the "City Council Meeting Follow-up Items" spreadsheet).
As always, I invite you to share your ideas & concerns (by phone, by e-mail, by letter, or face-to-face).
Since July 2008, the City has posted the monthly & end-of-year financial reports on the website (in addition to making them available in print at the City Center & Bemis Library).
At the Council meeting on July 7, 2009, I asked that Council consider posting the budget as a searchable database & all non-confidential financial transactions online.
All regular & study sessions of the City Council & the Planning Commission, & regular meetings of the Liquor Authority are now televised.
Televised sessions are also video-streamed live on the City's website.
The video-streamed sessions are also typically available online within 48 hours after the meeting & can therefore be viewed at any time that is convenient to the viewer. They will be available online for 5 years.
The video-streamed versions replace the DVD & VHS versions of the meetings, saving considerable library shelf space -- & because the library staff no longer has to spend time cataloguing DVD & VHS versions of meetings, they can devote more time to other duties.
The City is again producing news & features about Littleton for Channel 8.
The City now makes all non-confidential documents used in Council meetings available to the public on the Internet (in addition to making them available at the City Center & Bemis Library on the Friday before the meeting).