The cost of streaming council meetings is a pittance to pay for increased transparency and accountability.

Amherstburg decided to accept the proposed approximate $500,000. savings annually from the Windsor Police Service and opted not to pursue an OPP costing which may have resulted in a $1,000,000. annual savings.

I thought optimal savings for policing, the largest budget item, was paramount.

Then again, the town’s election process was the most expensive and the least accessible so was cost a concern?

The recent recount was considered costly, despite a surplus of monies being available.

Has money been available to outsource web design, landscaping, online surveys, benefits management? purchase real estate? hire new town employees? donate to charitable organizations?

The council chambers are very small, inaccessible to presenters with disabilities and streaming would be far less costly than building a new and more accessible town hall. Accessibility wasn’t a priority when the front entrance sidewalk into the town hall was renovated.

Accessing minutes poses a perpetual problem too: the most recent special council meeting minutes available are from September 24, 2018; the most recent regular council meeting minutes are from October 9, 2018.  

It’s time to put taxpayers’ money toward all those commitments to change and increase accountability and transparency; for real.