Ward 8 City Councilor Stephen Rourke is pushing to bring Waltham even further into the digital age by publishing council dockets on the World Wide Web for public consumption. And while his resolution doesn't say so, the advance may be the first step toward digital publishing of other council information -- minutes, archives and whatever else can be converted into binary code.
The move, he said, will create "increased transparency" and "enhanced communication" between the council and the citizens it represents.
Now the City Council portion of the city's Web site lists just the facts -- length of councilors' terms, number of councilors, names of councilors and a schedule of meetings.
But Rourke envisions a "bulletin board" like the one now outside council chambers, except this one on the Internet. He said the "trend toward e-government" is inevitable because it is such an effective tool for politicians wanting to communicate with their constituents.
Rourke pointed out that his idea is not exactly novel.
Newton's Board of Aldermen Web site allows users to see dockets, reports and archives. Gloucester's City Council site lets users check updated agendas and meeting minutes. Revere has even posted its five-year capital improvement plan.
Other communities have assigned numbers to docket items so that users can search and track issues throughout the legislative process, all from their home computers.
For Rourke, such access is no small matter, as the resolution he put forth indicates. "Notice to citizens regarding matters pending before the City Council is in the best interests of democratic government," it reads in part.
The City Council's existing Web site can be seen at www.city.waltham.ma.us/council/index.html.
Quelle: Newton Daily News Tribune, 21.10.2003
