In many instances, the Town of Christiansburg isn't doing what residents want. In some instances, the residents take it upon themselves to get the necessary actions taken. Here are some highlights from the past few months.
Duly Noted
Meeting notices are only posted on one bulletin board in Town Hall - hardly the place a majority of folks pass by on a regular basis, but technically FOIA compliant. To encourage participation, several blogs and websites are now obtaining and posting meeting notices when possible.
Keeping Records
Since published minutes of meetings are scarcer than hen’s teeth, bloggers are posting their own notes and even recordings of meetings.
Public Welcome
Meetings are often held in compliance with FOIA requirements. Barely in compliance, but it's a start. This change happened because a diligent reporter persisted in her efforts to get to the heart of the matters at hand.
Code Updates
The Town Code was found by a business owner to be woefully out of date, handing off decisions to a defunct organization. This business owner brought up the topic, and the code was updated.
Budget Audits
It took an attentive citizen to notice that $10,000 has been missing from the Town’s books – for more than three years. Where did that money go, if it was ever received by the Town? We would never know, except a citizen asked. (No deadline was given for her to receive an answer.)
Gas-Saving Measures
Another attentive citizen called the Town on idling vehicles, and allowing personal use of police vehicles for travel to and from home. That issue hasn’t been completely resolved. The Town thinks it’s ok for trucks to idle unattended for five minutes and is claming all sorts of “just in case” situations for the police to drive their cars home.
Reality TV
All sorts of DIY (do it yourself) television shows are broadcast around the clock. Should we have a new show "DIY Christiansburg – Where Citizens Do the Town’s Work" on our local cable channel?
Probably not - we don’t even broadcast Town Council meetings.
By the way, the next Town Council meeting is August 5 at 7:30pm, 2nd floor, Town Hall. Please attend!