Supervisors should turn on cameras

Smile, Linn County Board of Supervisors. You're on Joel Miller's camera.

Miller, the Linn County Auditor, carried a video camera into a supervisors meeting this week to capture the proceedings, which he later posted on the video-hosting website YouTube. It was a small victory for government transparency.

But it's curious that Miller had to bring his own 'low-budget” rig, considering that the county spent a considerable sum installing multiple cameras in both the supervisors' formal and informal meeting rooms. The cameras were installed as part of extensive renovations following the flood of 2008.

Supervisors moved into their improved digs back in 2012. But ever since, those cameras have remained dark. And the board has, for some reason, been reluctant to spend the $50,000 needed to get them up and running.

If it's a budget issue, that's surprising. Just a couple of years ago, when supervisors voted themselves a roughly $20,000 pay raise, we were told that increase represented just a tiny fraction of the county's large budget. It seems like $50,000 also is a very small fraction.

Both the Cedar Rapids City Council and School Board post video of their meetings. Linn County posts audio, which is a good start. But we see video as an important tool for citizens to keep up with a board that holds its regular meetings on weekday mornings. Most working Linn County residents simply can't take the time to attend meetings in person.

We got the impression from Rick Smith's Gazette story about Miller's video idea that supervisors will be waiting to see if his videos get many views before turning on installed cameras. We think that's misguided.

Government should present its deliberations and decision-making in a variety of formats that make it more accessible and understandable to the public. Whether those formats draw lots of attention or very little is irrelevant. Government's role is to make the information available. The Internet makes it possible for government to easily share a much more rich array of information than in the past.

We commend Miller for turning on his camera. We urge the supervisors to activate cameras already paid for by taxpayers, and get ready for their close up.

' Comments: (319) 398-8469; editorial@thegazette.com