The Board of Selectmen won't make the documents they see for their meetings available on the town website (or anywhere online), and the majority won't say why. Nor will First Selectman Jayme Stevenson's office regularly email documents that are created electronically.
Instead, documents, many of which were created electronically within town government, are printed out and then hand-delivered to selectmen at their homes and made available in paper form to news organizations. Here's part of what they'd force you to go to Town Hall during normal business hours to find out.
This is a selection of most of the documents in the "packet" for the Monday, March 25 meeting of the Darien Board of Selectmen. The agenda is online at the town's website.
Editor's note: This article originally was published on Friday.
Tom - Kind of silly that you are going to tell us what every else is thinking.
I'm not sure what your bigger point is. I find municipal government very interesting. I laugh, when I think back, I won the Civics Award in High School. Curious why you seem so bothered by people who show interest and want to help the town. I'll throw in this other point. I probably spend about $1,000 a year on donations to the town in various ways. These are places where I volunteer and when they need something, I buy it and then never bother to get reimbursed. I also have cleaned up broken glass from public land and litter from roads. Not just as a one off thing. I make a point of doing it every year in the fall. I do all this to help the town and my neighbors. Do you think your mocking tone motivates me and others to continue? Would you like me to stop?
Then there would be no issue and we'd be done with this. Some people get this. Some people don't. Human nature. Having run a large company, I would see this "don't tell me what to do" attitude in some middle managers. They were the ones who I never promoted into higher positions..
I think you should not be anonymous. You should be proud of all what you claim to be. Please change your sign in to your real name. We need people like you to stand up and be proud!
And expanding on what I said before, if I was in that seat I would have also agreed to releasing the documents electronically. I think in fact ths should be a state statute. We almost got there. We had a state statute saying all agendas and meeting minutes must be posted on the town website. Now the state has undone this law. One step forward, two steps back.
1. Possible someone from the Board sent it to one "news outlet" not realizing it "has to" go to every other "news outlet" in Darien? 2. Absolutely officials should be able to look over documents before everyone else. 3. The agendas and minutes ARE on the town website. The issue here is some want EVERYTHING in the the "packets" online. Not only must that me time consuming (and probably isn't budgeted for) but there are some documents that simply cannot be put online.
Why? There is no basis in state law or town charter which allows officials to decree that they get documents before the general public. Federal law says something about it though. "All men are created equal." No special privileges. Should some officials get special consideration on their property taxes? Should some officials be able to get a traffic ticket undone? Should some officials be given a discounted price on personal services? I think this has happened in Connecticut. That's the thing about laws. They need to be consistently upheld, or you lose the faith of the public. Doesn't matter if we are talking about the release of documents or an official getting his taxes reduced, no special treatment. 3. "The agendas and minutes ARE on the town website. " Not everywhere. Not always.
Of course not ALL of the agendas and minutes are ALWAYS online for EVERY committee, board, and commission. There are so many steps along the way where this information may not be posted. My best guess is that no one is trying to deceive you. If your expectation is that all public documents will immediately be online, you will be sorely disappointed. Read the agendas. If something sparks your interest, get the supporting document or attend the meeting. It really isn't that hard.
Then there would be no issue and we'd be done with this. Some people get this. Some people don't. Human nature. Having run a large company, I would see this "don't tell me what to do" attitude in some middle managers. Animal Farmer, I have asked you nicely to sign your name. Why havent you? Are you taking the position of " dont tell me what to do?" This could have been over with just by complying. Interesting that you have decided that everyone should do what you believe is reasonable, yet you dont seem to comply with my reasonable stance. See how that works? Maybe the officials have adopted the stance that you exhibit, not the one that you have written.
Schuyler.
Simple solution and problem solved. Taxpayers who aren't interested can skip it easily enough, but this town is full of volunteers who care about what goes on in Town Hall. Weak excuses about 'workload' don't cut it. Digitizing is the same as copying it once. Frankly. Jayme Stevenson's resistance is the opposite of the transparency she promised. We all expected better, but here is hoping she realizes her mistake and wises up.
Perhaps you could post them online for the rest of us and save me the trouble. You realize the caterpillars at work don't get the opportunity to regularly go to Town Hall during the work week, right? Another alternative would be to find some civic-minded individual or group to do it. It's too simple for an eagle scout project. Perhaps a cub scout pack could do it. We could explain to them that, for some reason that hasn't been given to the rest of us (maybe when you stop by Town Hall you could ask) the documents created electronically are only available on paper to the rest of us, so could they please convert them into electronic format again so the rest of the town could see them before the meeting.
My apologies. Meant I WOULD pick them up if I found anything interesting on the agenda. I could always say I had a blog or was a reporter or something. I really don't have that much interest in what is discussed so I won't scan them and post them online. Sorry I can't help you. I don't think that it is most people don't have the time to pick up the information, I believe it is most people don't care enough about textile recycling. I could be wrong though. Are you saying that the forms are in electronic format but weren't given to you when asked? That isn't right.