• Meetings should be accessible in person and via a live video feed
• Meetings should be archived online for later viewing by the public
• Remote viewers should be able to send in questions during public comment portions of meetings

Knowledge is power.  Unfortunately, knowledge must be sought. The purpose of this petition is to show our elected officials that there is a strong community of constituents that wants to be as informed as possible.

One of the best ways to be an informed citizen is to attend meetings of your local government. Even better than being an informed citizen is being an active participant in questioning your elected representatives and at times even challenging them. This then forces officials to respond to their constituents and at times may even cause a change in the course of action your government takes.

The day to day operations of government are one aspect of public interest but what is really needed for transparency and accountability is the ability for the public to see government in action at meetings where decisions are made. Some governmental bodies seem to welcome the public’s participation and make it easy for people to be informed while others seem to have little interest in facilitating public access.

If the pandemic taught us anything it is not that difficult to stream public meetings as they happen and to invite remote public participation. We already know from other local governments how easy it is to make an archive of meetings available to the public.

Frankly, it should be mandated by state law that meetings be accessible if not live then shortly thereafter and kept available for a reasonable period of time such as a few years. I call upon our state representatives to make that a reality. They and our local representatives may need some prodding so I created this petition which I will share with them once we gather a significant number of signatures.

Given the pandemic is still with us and the rate of infection is climbing due to the Delta variant we need to make sure the public has the ability to see their government in action and to participate remotely. But even if there was no pandemic the remote option as well as live streaming and video archive need to become the norm.

There is a growing segment of the population that is becoming better informed and they want to try to participate. Life sometimes gets in the way and prevents people from attending a live meeting. If they have an option to watch and participate remotely the public participation will likely increase. For sure the public’s understanding of the process will go up. People will see their elected representatives in action and not have to always rely on third-hand reports of what took place.

It is well past time for all governmental bodies in New York to make their meetings available via streaming, and to provide an archive online for later viewing by the public. The technology is there, and the cost is fairly reasonable, if not downright minimal. There are many jurisdictions that have taken on this challenge and provide these services and have done so for quite some time. It is now time to make sure all municipalities at every level provide this.

The more people that sign the more likely we will see some results. Spread the word, get your friends, family, and neighbors to sign. Let's get this to be a reality.