http://lwvmcva.org/CandidateForums/Guides_Videos.html Links to all such documents are on that page. Only the first Bburg question list & the School Board have the extended questions and answers. There isn’t time before election to get the 2nd Bburg responses. The list of those questions from the 2nd forum should be available later today. Sorry, I couldn’t get them in to the computer at the forum so I’m having to juggle it in with all other work.

Where is a summary of the forum questions and responses, without having to view the entire tape? Time and technical constraints.

Thank you very much for most of your comments….My only exception is that, if I have nightmares because of this visual of the C’burg TC in skirts, I will remember the source:)

Always behave as if mother is in the room. Lisa, so what if people behave differently when a camera is on or others are watching? That is integrity, acting the same with or without an audience. If people cannot articulate the same with or without a camera, are they honest and do we want such people representing us? You’ve only shown that politicians are two-faced with this argument. One discussion for when no one but “my buddies” can hear me, another for public consumption. Now when it comes to the other ‘burg, this blog just demonstrates how much “public business” occurs between real meetings and which is probably skirting the law (to the degree all Christiansburg Council people should have to wear skirts). It is not “thought process” – it is deliberate circumvention of citizens right to know what business is happening and how it is being dealt with on our behalf. If these people don’t have enough integrity to mean what they say then it is time to seek others who have the personal courage it takes, even if it means you can’t please everyone.

Not only is it the “tech” city, there are a lot of students for whom having an internship could make a difference in whether or not they can stay in school!

Blacksburg is the “tech” city and should be able to staff covering when the real “meat” is happening. The town manager knows most people don’t have the time to attend these meetings, plus the following council meetings. It is not open government until this is made a priority, allowing those who cannot attend due to health, age, or work to really follow all the discussions in public meetings. Otherwise the government is banking on your ignorance and their ability to change the message depending on who they are talking to. It is shameful that in this day and age this won’t be funded. There is enough slush funding in the budget – state or local – to handle this. People need to make a stand and insist this is all public regardless of when meetings are held.

And could you imagine the savings if the County, Radford, Blacksburg, and Christiansburg figured out a way to work together to provide these types of services? Blacksburg staff does an excellent job of providing what it does. I wholeheartedly agree that people behave differently when the camera is on them. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing. It certainly would not have to be as fancy a setup as what is used for Town Council Meetings. In fact, simple audio recordings would be a great place to start. All too often, I have heard citizens rant about the way a decision went. What they missed was the opportunity to see how that decision was MADE! The differences between the two jurisdictions are not a valid grounds for comparison because of the absence of work sessions in Christiansburg. A lot of the things that happen during work sessions in Blacksburg, happen during the actual town council meetings for Christiansburg. I know that what first raised my eyebrows was the fact that Blacksburg TC members almost always vote unanimously. I had to search for hours to find evidence of any oppositional votes. According to people who have attended work sessions, council meets and essentially negotiates everything until they reach agreement. Then it is voted on in Council Meeting. In Christiansburg, all of those kinds of discussions seem to happen either during the Meeting or through email correspondence and phone calls between members before the meeting. Christiansburg frequently has split decisions and, on occasion, a tie-breaker requiring the Mayor’s vote also occurs. I would certainly agree that Blacksburg can’t just snap their fingers and make work session recordings appear, however, they could accomplish it if citizens wanted it. A bit more equipment, a bit more staff…or, as I alluded to earlier, working in concert to form a combined staff pool and resources with other jurisdictions. Of course, they could always just stop the work sessions and have all of that information and discussion during the town council meetings:) Open government ‘ain’t cheap’, but in the long run can save a lot of controversy and serve to better educate the public.