By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Information about city meetings should be easier for the public to find, an area resident told city council members.
Lori Reyes lives and owns a small business outside the city limits, but she has frequently attended city council meetings over the past six months, usually to express concerns about the proposed site of a second international bridge being planned by the city.
Reyes had a different concern Oct. 24 when she addressed council members during the citizen comments portion of their meeting.
“I’d like to address the difficulty of finding out about any public meetings regarding the city and city council meetings,” Reyes told the council.
“City council meetings used to be live on Facebook, which allowed citizens to see what goes on in these meetings and make comments in real time. I’m here at these meetings, so I’m not watching the video, but I’ve been told by multiple people that there’s a new link where you can watch the meeting, but you can’t make any comments. I think that’s a bad idea. I think we all need to be able to see what each other thinks about what’s going on,” Reyes said.
She also said the city and local media need to do a better job of informing the public about upcoming meetings.
“Also, public meeting notices: Those need to be posted on the city web site and Facebook page. The city has very little media. The 830 Times, but that comes out once a week, and these meetings normally aren’t even posted until two weeks after they happen,” Reyes charged.
“There needs to be public notice of public meetings, not just whatever the state officially requires. It needs to be notified to the local public, and in this city, the only thing is Facebook and the actual city web site where people look for information,” Reyes added.
“Preferably have it right up front, not buried, where you have to dig and dig to find out, and that’s for all public meetings in general. I’d appreciate it if they were easier to find out about,” Reyes finished.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
NEWS — Citizen asks for easier access to public information
By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Information about city meetings should be easier for the public to find, an area resident told city council members.
Lori Reyes lives and owns a small business outside the city limits, but she has frequently attended city council meetings over the past six months, usually to express concerns about the proposed site of a second international bridge being planned by the city.
Reyes had a different concern Oct. 24 when she addressed council members during the citizen comments portion of their meeting.
“I’d like to address the difficulty of finding out about any public meetings regarding the city and city council meetings,” Reyes told the council.
“City council meetings used to be live on Facebook, which allowed citizens to see what goes on in these meetings and make comments in real time. I’m here at these meetings, so I’m not watching the video, but I’ve been told by multiple people that there’s a new link where you can watch the meeting, but you can’t make any comments. I think that’s a bad idea. I think we all need to be able to see what each other thinks about what’s going on,” Reyes said.
She also said the city and local media need to do a better job of informing the public about upcoming meetings.
“Also, public meeting notices: Those need to be posted on the city web site and Facebook page. The city has very little media. The 830 Times, but that comes out once a week, and these meetings normally aren’t even posted until two weeks after they happen,” Reyes charged.
“There needs to be public notice of public meetings, not just whatever the state officially requires. It needs to be notified to the local public, and in this city, the only thing is Facebook and the actual city web site where people look for information,” Reyes added.
“Preferably have it right up front, not buried, where you have to dig and dig to find out, and that’s for all public meetings in general. I’d appreciate it if they were easier to find out about,” Reyes finished.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
Brian
Leave a Reply
Recent Posts
SPORTS — Anglers battle for $17,000 on Amistad
Read More »Community — Volunteers vital to Feast of Sharing’s success
Read More »NEWS — Commissioners court canvass makes election results official
Read More »