Questions I heard while campaigning often started with “How did the town make the decision to…”.

Residents had limited ways of following council business. They could attend meetings in person, sitting for hours in uncomfortable fold-out chairs. Or they could read council meeting minutes, after the fact. While the minutes provide a record of what transpired at a council meeting, they do not capture the questions asked, the points made, any discussion or the details that formed a council member’s decision. And unless a member called for a recorded vote, there was no way of knowing which way council members voted.

During the election period I attended a council meeting to give a report recommending the designation of the Old Firehall on behalf of the Heritage Advisory Committee. The agenda also included several cannabis greenhouse zoning applications. It was a good thing I arrived early or I would not have gotten a seat. It was standing room only and people were gathered outside in droves. I decided to live stream the meeting with my phone through Facebook. The video was viewed over 3000 times and provided the public with access to the meeting that they would not have had otherwise.

I knew we had to do better.

I was elected a couple of weeks later and at the first meeting of the new council’s term I asked for a report to come forward with options and costs for live streaming council meetings. This additional transparency would increase accountability and allow the public to view meetings from the comfort of their homes.

It took just over a year but in January of 2020 Kingsville started live streaming their council meetings. This was a timely initiative because just a couple of months later, as a result of the first covid-lockdown, remotely would be the only way residents or the media could view council business. Residents can now tune-in for issues that are important to them. They can listen to administration’s reports, council’s questions and discussion and see how their representatives are voting. They can also go back and review previously recorded meetings. These are available following the passing of minutes at the next meeting on the Council Calendar.

This has improved council’s transparency and accountability and while it is a great option it doesn’t compare to in-person meetings and having the public come out to participate. I hope we can safely return to this greater degree of public participation soon.