Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter on January 8, 1789, “that wherever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” Jefferson’s intent was that if citizens were well informed, they could have the information needed to adequately participate in their government. It is, after all, our responsibility. This sentiment coincides with Article II, Section 9 of the Montana State Constitution which declares, “No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies”.
I also agree it makes sense to have recorded meetings available for people to access. I get a lot of my information from recorded material that I access through the internet. If I had access at will to commissioner's meetings I would be far more likely to follow the processes and decisions being made at the meetings about Jefferson County affairs. Thanks for bringing this to the attention of citizens and providing a way to respond.
I think we should record these meetings. Some of the meetings are held during business hours and a lot of community members are missing out on important information due to having to be at work.
Great article Jon. I agree that clicking the record button on a Zoom call makes very good common sense with minimal effort. I was surprised to learn that most counties are not doing this, since we are used to zoom calls, virtual meetings and recordings everywhere else we go. Thank you for bringing more awareness to things most people just don't pay attention to. We need to do better as citizens about being more informed about what's going on, on every level. It's hard when we are all so busy just trying to make a living, but it's important.
I also agree it makes sense to have recorded meetings available for people to access. I get a lot of my information from recorded material that I access through the internet. If I had access at will to commissioner's meetings I would be far more likely to follow the processes and decisions being made at the meetings about Jefferson County affairs. Thanks for bringing this to the attention of citizens and providing a way to respond.
I think we should record these meetings. Some of the meetings are held during business hours and a lot of community members are missing out on important information due to having to be at work.
Great article Jon. I agree that clicking the record button on a Zoom call makes very good common sense with minimal effort. I was surprised to learn that most counties are not doing this, since we are used to zoom calls, virtual meetings and recordings everywhere else we go. Thank you for bringing more awareness to things most people just don't pay attention to. We need to do better as citizens about being more informed about what's going on, on every level. It's hard when we are all so busy just trying to make a living, but it's important.