It continually aggravates me that we as citizens have to work so hard and be so diligent in order to stay currently aware of the goings on of our local government, but it seems to be our fate.
It isn't that the information is not available but rather that it's so well concealed that if one doesn't know where & when to look you'll never find it. Yes it is posted on various bulletin boards around the city/county and yes it is published in the very fine print in the local newsprint. However, (I know, our bad) many of us do not get the paper on a daily basis nor are we thinking of bulletin boards when we go to the grocery store.
The answer to this quandry? Sad but true our only option appears to be even more diligence on our part. (Am I boring you yet?)
The internet has turned out to be an excellent source of data but again, one has to know where to look.
As I was perusing today's newspaper sites I clicked on the CJ's local New Albany link and up popped the following page
http://www.cityofnewalbany.com/ . The item that caught my eye was one entitled
CBGD One-Year-Plan; Citizen Participation. I read thru it and at the bottom was a link labeled
Complete Plan. I clicked on it to find that most of the citizen participation part is now history. However, there are still opportunities for us to voice our opinions on this plan as it still has to weather final approval from the common council at some point in the future.
My point in all of this is to add this link to the growing list of places to check on a regular basis and to pass the info along to others as currently as possible. Again, it amounts to a lot of work on our part, but it's obvious to me at least, that officialdom is not going to go out of their way to keep the public informed save for that which they are leagally required to do. In other words they ain't gonna mention such things when we meet them in the hallway or on the street corner.
By the way, there are two other links you need to add to your "must see" list if you haven't already. One is
http://www.newalbany.in.gov/. This one is where you will find the meeting schedules, minutes, and agendas for the City of New Albany (Marci's webpage).
The other is
http://www.floydcounty.in.gov/. This one is the couty's web and from time to time cotains info that is pertinent to us here in the city. We are still a part of Floyd County after all and some of the decisions they make affect us as well.
Real time upfront information folks. It is our best line of defense against apathy, stupidity, and political BS! Find it, share it, and act upon it.
Happy Excavating!