It now looks as if the decision whether to televise all of the Auburn City Council's sessions comes down to one vote. With councilors David Dempsey and Matthew Smith saying they want to keep all sessions, including biweekly work sessions, televised, it is now up to any of the three members of the council (including Mayor Timothy C. Lattimore and councilor Thomas McNabb, who are both up for re-election) to make sure they all air.

City hall is one-for-three in broadcasts over the last three weeks. The meeting of March 8 was broadcast twice and Time Warner broadcast a blank blue screen on Channel 12 both on Friday and Monday nights of last week's meeting. The issue is not just television; it is about having easy access to city hall. It means being able to read meeting minutes (adopted or unofficial within a couple of days) and more importantly providing the details of what is being discussed or voted on in advance.

Oddly enough, after a column last week mentioned the lack of resources online for the public to find out what is or has gone on at city hall, three sets of minutes for city council meetings in March were updated online that day. Maybe it was just a coincidence. But popping up minutes in reaction misses a deeper, underlying issue about access on several levels.

For example, while Auburn City Manager Mark Palesh is excellent at getting the council's agenda on the Web immediately, well in advance of the meeting, there are no details of what exactly each resolution being voted on is about. Sure it may state a title, but what about the details of local laws that city council is voting on, prior to the vote?

One city department head, who disagrees with the manager's request to remove television coverage, points out that in the first instance where televising did not occur - an overview of a plan to deal with missing water - the city's staff, including the manager, shined. They point out the public may not always have a high opinion of city hall, but it was this type of presentation that shows taxpayers the value of such employees.

In that same vein, such presentation, at least if done in PowerPoint should be put online for the public to read. That, by the way, should be secondary to television coverage, because of the great digital divide that exists within this community between those who have access to the Internet and those who don't.

By the way, it has now been more than 14 months since councilors Smith and William Graney took office, and the city's Web site still has Smith's Web page stating “This page is currently under construction.” Graney's page, after having the same statement on his until recently, finally has a large mug shot of him, with no other information. We all know government works slowly, but almost 15 months have gone by and these pages, which should allow voters to connect with the elected, should be finished.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com