It can’t be possible that North Codorus Township is the only municipality that’s in a bit of a spat with its residents over meeting minutes, but, as we reported in Sunday’s paper, the issue there keeps on going. Previously, residents questioned whether they had access to tapes of meetings, then complained that the tapes were destroyed after the official minutes were made.
This time, the issue is how much information you’ll find in the minutes should you want to take a look. A resident wanted in-depth information, and the township responded by saying meeting minutes would be kept to a minimum.
Any decision that restricts someone’s right to find out what its government is doing is a step backward (although, logically, there has to be some distillation of what goes on at meetings, particularly if a long-winded orator arises and regales the assembled with a marathon of words).
But at least supervisor Dennis Luckenbaugh appears to be on the side of transparency. He said he and new township manager Mark Derr are working toward being more open with information. Those who favor public access should be glad to hear that.
If you want to know what is happening at a town council meeting, simply attend. These are not closed door events
Thanks, sr. You’re right, anyone interested in town business should make the effort to go. Problem is, if they can’t, how do they find out what happened? Hopefully their town would keep detailed enough minutes to allow them to find out.