(Hurray! A step in the right direction. - promoted by David)
When I was elected president of the Boston City Council, I pledged to make the body more transparent by posting all dockets on the City of Boston’s website. This may sound like a small step, but getting the technology in place was more difficult than any of us expected. I’m happy to announce that the system is now live and you can now find PDFs of the orders, motions, and resolutions the Council will consider at our weekly meetings. Thanks to the city’s MIS department and the Clerk’s Office for their hard work in getting this program up and running. It’s appropriate that we started posting dockets online this week, as one of the items I filed will move the Council’s May 20 meeting to English High School in Jamaica Plain, marking the first of several meetings my colleagues and I will hold in the community this year. I am pleased to announce these important steps towards bringing government to residents, but there is much work left to be done. I am examining how we can overcome the technological obstacles and make all Council dockets fully searchable. I’m also in the early phases of looking at video technology that would allow anyone to do a keyword search of all Council meeting and hearing videos archived on the city’s website, and will take viewers directly to the point in the video where the requested term is mentioned. I hope that these measures will make it easy for Bostonians to take an active role in their local government. I urge you to visit my website, mikerossboston.com, and use the suggestion box for other ideas for bringing government to the people of Boston. |
