Editorial: It’s time to put MMWD on video
July 14, 2019 at 10:06 a.m.
For many years, the Marin Board of Supervisors has videotaped its meetings so they could be viewed on TV or a computer as a way to promote greater public awareness about the way they are conducting the public’s business.
The viewers get to see the public decision-making firsthand, even though they can’t attend the board’s morning and afternoon meetings.
In recent years, most of Marin’s city and town councils have taken the same step.
But one prominent public agency, the Marin Municipal Water District, has not.
That might be changing, slowly.
The MMWD is starting to head in that direction, thanks to leadership from board President Larry Bragman, who cited broadcasting board meetings as one of the reforms needed after the district’s contentious debate over its new and more costly rate structure.
The MMWD board in June directed district staff to draft a plan to videotape and livestream its board meetings.
Bragman called the move a reflection of the board’s commitment to accountability.
We suggest that it is overdue — long overdue.
Of course, if the board videotapes its meetings then there might be more pressure on directors to actually show up for meetings.
The MMWD board has a reputation for allowing directors to call in to attend meetings.
It is a rarity for other boards, but routine for MMWD.
It is time for the board to adopt reasonable in-person attendance requirements. Their constituents deserve to see their representatives at work, not just hear them, not knowing whether the directors are actually paying attention to the meetings that they cannot attend in person.
Director Jack Gibson has said he would support not only livestreaming board meetings, but special committee meetings, as well.
MMWD already spends a lot on its public information division. Much of its focus is typically the promotion of water conservation. But it is time for the livestreaming of board meetings be part of MMWD’s public information.
In recent weeks, MMWD General Manager Ben Hornstein attended local city and town council meetings to present the district’s rate proposal. Most of those meetings were videotaped. They became ways that the public learned and heard about MMWD’s plan and the reason for the proposed changes.
The public also got a good dose of criticism toward the plan.
But when it came to the MMWD board actually voting on adopting the plan, members of the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, opponents for the rate hike, ended up footing the bill for videotaping the proceedings.
It is time for the MMWD to step up and do the right thing by improving public transparency and accountability by videotaping and posting its board meetings. The investment is minimal compared to the message it sends to those the MMWD directors are elected to represent.
Originally published in the Marin Independent Journal https://www.marinij.com/2019/07/14/editorial-its-time-to-put-mmwd-on-video/
