The April meeting of our Village Board will take place Wednesday evening beginning at 6:30 PM, and for the first time, the ePacket agenda the board members have access to prior to meetings has now been made available in advance to residents.
These ePacket agendas include:
- Unapproved minutes drafts from prior board meetings
- Monthly financial reports and bills for approval
- Monthly police reports
- Building department activity
- Ordinances and resolutions to be voted on
- Administrative reports
The Observer applauds this landmark in transparency and appreciates the efforts of all who took part in making this significant enhancement to Village communications.
The April Village Board ePacket including links to document downloads can be viewed here.
I predict the Wednesday evening meeting will be informative and explosive…
This is an excellent start toward local government transparency. The person or people who implemented this strategy should be publicly recognized and applauded.
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May I suggest disclosure go one step further by publishing the itemized invoice from any vendor showing a monthly charge in excess of 5K. This way residents as well as potential competitive bidders for these services/materials can view exactly what was provided and for how much.
Employing this practice will no doubt in time reduce the cost of government by opening the doors to competitors while keeping current vendors on contract with the Village on their feet. Also, residents will have a greater appreciation for the actual cost of Village services and materials they receive for their tax dollars.