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To the point
Monroe County commissioners have more than one way to bring government to the people.
County board right to reach out to voters
Jan Jay must be some Monroe County officials’ worst nightmare.
He’s had a personal protection order filed against him by the county administrator.
He’s run — unsuccessfully — for several public offices.
He appears regularly at county board meetings and isn’t afraid to speak his mind or give opinions. He’s been called a gadfly by some and no doubt worse by others.
The Exeter Township resident also has been a county official; he was appointed to the county’s Emergency Medical Authority Board. He wasn’t reappointed when his term was up. He’s applied for other appointments, but has been passed over at times even when there was no other candidate.
Still, he is a defender of the First Amendment and citizens’ right to free speech.
His latest go-round with county officials involves the board’s decision to hold some of its meetings at different locations from the county courthouse.
It sounds like a good idea — taking government to the people. Some Bedford Township residents, for example, won’t drive to Monroe to see a board meeting in person.
Frankly, some Frenchtown and Monroe Township residents wouldn’t do that, either. But they might go if meetings were in their own townships. That’s what the board tried to do.
The problem, as Mr. Jay sees it, is that the board already has a location for its meetings. They already have set their annual schedule — it happened at the organizational meeting in January. And, according to his interpretation, state law says regular board meetings need to be in the county seat.
County attorneys, prompted by Mr. Jay’s questioning at a recent board meeting, are researching the issue now. And board Chairman William Sisk says the board isn’t planning to hold any more meetings on the road for the time being anyway.
Whatever the final decision, there is another way to bring the county board meetings to more county residents.
The commissioners could seriously consider putting the board meetings on local cable television. The Monroe City Council and Bedford Township Boards already do this. It seems likely that local cable companies would televise county meetings, too, on local access cable channels.
Of course, putting the meetings on TV presents some problems. It might cost money for equipment. And Chairman Sisk has said he’s afraid that commissioners, county officials or citizens will use the camera as an excuse for grandstanding.
Still, it’s worth a look. The proceedings and the decisions would be accessible to thousands of county residents who might never see their government in action any other way.
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