POUGHKEEPSIE – Residents of Poughkeepsie may find it a bit easier to contact at least the key people on the various boards and committees in city government, after council vote Monday night. The resolution calls for the publication of certain contact information.
Majority Leader Tracy Hermann said citizens seem to wholeheartedly support such a measure, believing it means more open and transparent government.
An original measure was vetoed by the mayor because it included publication of personal contact information for board and committee members.
Hermann said the revised resolution steps that back while still providing a means to contact the boards and committees.
“It rather calls for a very minimum, the publication of the phone
number and email addresses of the various committee, commission and board
chairpersons,” Hermann said. “It also requires the city
to provide each member with a designated city-specific email address as
well as gives them, the member themselves, the option to publish their
personal information.”
Minority Leader Lee Klein said there have been instances in which individual members of the boards have been harassed.
He had concerns about requiring disclosure of personal contact information for chairpersons, suggesting that a generic email should be sufficient.
Klein suggested redrafting the resolution. He voted “no”, but the other council members supported it, so it passed on a 7-1 vote.
