Douglas County board meetings may be televised

Talk about it

You are on the air…

Those may soon be familiar words to Douglas County commissioners.

The digital age is catching up with many government officials in recent years and the Douglas County Board of Commissioners is not an exception.

Alan Roebke, host of the program InformedTV, asked the Douglas County commissioners at their September 13 meeting whether they would consider installing camera equipment inside their meeting room. The camera(s) would film the board meetings for members of the public who are unable to attend.

Roebke described the importance of community input and oversight of government officials at work.

“I think the best way to show people in Douglas County is to record it,” he said.

Roebke suggested installing a tripod camera in the corner of the meeting room.

“I would like to think about it,” Commissioner Paul Anderson said and asked whether Roebke could bring the commissioners a sample video.

If the idea gains approval, the meetings would be aired on Roebke’s website www.informedTV.com. Roebke anticipates providing time after the meetings to allow county residents and board members to make additional comments.

The meetings could also potentially be aired on Alexandria Community Television (cable channel 7 on Charter Communications), on Selective TV (UHF); and possibly streamed live.

“I think it is long overdue and [the commissioners] did not seem hostile to the idea,” Roebke said in an e-mail to the Echo Press after the meeting.

Roebke suggested that the commissioners could also arrange to have the meetings filmed themselves if they were interested.

“I just want good, open government for all citizens to see the issues and where their tax dollars are spent,” he said.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

APPROVED

In other board business, the commissioners unanimously approved the adoption of the 2011 Douglas County Comprehensive Plan presented by Land and Resource Management Director Dave Rush with minor modification related to removal of items associated with a conservational corridor.

“For the first time, our county plan addressed natural resources,” Rush said. “Now may not be the time to consider [the corridor], but as our county continues to grow, we may want to consider it.”

InformedTV:

For more information

on Informed TV contact:

http://www.informedTV.com

InformedTV

Box 333

Alexandria, MN 56308

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