In one of the shortest public comment periods to take place at a Township Council meeting in months, one small item came up that we welcome wholeheartedly.
It was no surprise that Dominick Rappoccio, a frequent council meeting attendee, was well-informed about the topics for the night’s meeting. What was different was how he learned about them.
Rappoccio said he came across the meeting agenda on the township’s official Web site, www.twp.brick.nj.us.
Finally, Brick has joined other local communities, like Dover and Point Pleasant Beach, in posting their council meetings on the Internet in advance.
The importance of this small task cannot be discounted in a town with some 80,000 residents. A municipality of that size owes its residents that much.
Without using the Web, the only certain way to obtain agendas is to stop by the municipal building and pick them up yourself –– a very difficult task given the time constraints of the average working resident.
We’ve said it before: Brick’s Web site is attractive, helpful and improving, but there is still room for progress.
Posting the council agendas is a great step forward. But with the fall and winter months ahead, municipal Planning and Zoning board schedules tend to get busier, and it’s time for Brick’s land-use boards to follow the council’s lead.
This idea is nothing new.
Brick’s demographically similar neighbor to the south, Dover, posts agendas for those three major organizations in advance. The Dover site even lists the meeting schedules for lower-profile bodies, such as the beautification commission. Dover’s site may not be easy on the eye, but it’s undeniably useful.
As Rappoccio proved, if the agendas are posted online, the public will use them.