Virtual meetings or bust

A
s COVID-19 restrictions began to spread across the world, agencies, municipalities, boards and government officials had to quickly adjust to doing business remotely. While larger areas may have been more accustomed to using technology to remain transparent — for example the Gillette City Council live streams all of their meetings — other smaller entities had to learn on the fly and begin hosting
virtual meetings. 
In Weston County, the Newcastle City Council, Weston County Commissioners, Weston County Health Services Board of Trustees and the Weston County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees held phone conference calls or Zoom meetings in place of their regular in-person meetings. Not only were people allowed to participate in the meetings without risking infection, but those who were never involved in local government before had the ability to participate from the comfort of their home. 
Now, six months into the pandemic, health orders have slowly relaxed across the state, leading to several boards returning to in-person meetings instead of the virtual options. The Newcastle City Council has also continued to encourage those recognized by the entity to not come to the meetings, but to wait for their certificate in the mail, leading us to question why they have not continued hosting virtual options. 
This pandemic has taught us a lot about ourselves, our communities, and our ability to use technology to make our lives more convenient. The ability to stay home and listen to a 7 p.m. Newcastle City Council meeting while our families slept was something journalists have probably always dreamed of. 
Not only were journalists and other professionals allowed to participate in the meetings without breaking health orders, but people who never participated in meetings before, or hadn’t in some time, were given the ability to engage remotely.
While several local entities have ceased this practice and no longer provide a virtual option, the board at WCSD No. 1 has continued to stream their meetings over Zoom and Superintendent Brad LaCroix reported that the board has continued to see increases in the participation from not only staff but students and the community. Local emergency responders have also continued the practice of holding their monthly meetings via Zoom. 
The ability to be as transparent as possible, and encourage increased community involvement with local boards, has left us questioning why every single board, whether it is the commissioners or city council, have not continued to extend
that courtesy. 
If the government’s job is supposed to be to serve the public in the most transparent ways possible, wouldn’t it make sense to continue to live stream those meetings? Shouldn’t these boards strive to have as much participation as possible?
Here at the News Letter Journal, we think yes. 
With dipping temperatures and cold and flu season just around the corner, we would like to encourage officials who read this editorial to start the discussion, to encourage transparency and to push for these meetings to have a virtual option. If our state legislators can do it, there is no reason local boards can’t continue to keep their doors — or computer screens — wide open.