Last month, we began publishing public meetings information here on the Flyer. And by “public meetings” I mean city council meetings, ward meetings, planning commission meetings, etc.
So far, we’ve published 35 days worth of public meeting information but we still haven’t gotten a whole lot of traffic on those posts. They’re certainly not the most exciting things to read, I know. But despite that and the small amount of pageviews they’ve gotten, I’m still convinced there’s value in publishing them.
FAQs…
But why?
Because we’ve created a place on the Flyer where citizens can be guaranteed to find out what our city’s governments are meeting about, where they’re meeting and when the meetings take place.
Isn’t this information available on the Internet already?
Yes. The City of Fayetteville publishes this info at calendar.accessfayetteville.org.
So what’s the point?
Convenience. We provide links to the places where the meetings are taking place. We try to link straight to Local540 which features a phone number, a map and in some cases, a photo of the building. Plus, we try to link to Agendas, Bids, RFPs, RFQs and other relevant documents.
Don’t the newspapers already publish that stuff?
Yes and no. The newspapers provide the basics both on and offline, but they don’t provide links, maps, or phone numbers. Plus, now that both papers are merging and putting their content behind a paywall, you may have to be a subscriber to view it.
Who cares about public meeting information?
People who are interested in knowing about or attending public meetings.
That’s not me, dude.
No big deal. Don’t worry about it. But believe it or not, many of the decisions that are made in public meetings can actually affect you whether you realize it or not. You can stand up and be heard. Trust me, sometimes that part takes hours. Plus, things get kinda exciting sometimes. For real.
So what do you think? Is this a waste of time? Got any suggestions?
I really appreciate y’all posting them. Thanks.
I appreciate it. Plus, it helps remind me when these are going on. And it reminds me that the are equally important as the cool social events going on!
That was quick. Thanks for the responses.
It’s not a waste of time at all, and I appreciate that you do it for free as a value-added service for your readers instead of demanding the City pay for it by the column-inch.
Although if you could get the city to throw them some money, Matt, that would be great! These guys deserve it.
Seriously though-thanks, Todd and Dustin, for keeping such a valuable resource going. I may not read every article about every meeting, but I know it’s here if I need it.
I also think it’s a nice daily service that you provide your readers, myself included. Having that information pass in front of someone’s eyes might remind them of an issue that they feel is important. They end up at the meeting as a result participating in the government.
Not that Fayetteville has any issues with lack of governmental participation, hehe.
Matthew, the newspapers don’t charge for that part of the paper. It’s editorial and provided as information for free. Special events the city might want to push are paid advertising oftentimes, and of course, there are the laws regarding public notice, but public meetings is all gratis.
@Christopher Spencer – To be clear, when you say “the newspapers don’t charge for that part of the paper,” you mean they don’t charge the city to publish it. They do charge the public to view it. For now, at least…
@Christopher Spencer – No, they do charge us to publish it. Every advertisement and meeting notice. In fact, the contract is up for renewal on Tuesday.
Now, they don’t charge us when they choose to provide a notice of a meeting that is of significant public interest, but usually those notices are wrapped up in an article or editorial. We have to pay to publish the agendas, lists of meetings, and notices of public hearings.
I am the publisher of an online historical and present for Fulton County, NY. I am running into snags by 1 municipality in the county. The mayor is telling me I can not publish meeting agendas or minutes for the city. If I do he said I will be in “big” trouble. What I need is the case law that permits me to FOIL and post the minutes and other public info on my website. Can anyone help? Thanks a bunch
@Sandy – You should ask your city attorney to provide you with the ordinance or code that says that. He won’t be able to, because your mayor is lying.