Englewood citizens "open up" the government: civic engagement in action
Englewood citizens claim victory in an effort to make Englewood City Council meetings electronically accessible to all.
According to The Arapahoe Examiner, a local publication, Englewood citizens were miffed that the City of Englewood declined to broadcast City Council meetings on cable television, and that the Council did not make audio recordings of its meetings. According to The Examiner, fees collected to pay for cable broadcasts were placed into a general fund instead of used for broadcasting. A city employee testified that the cost of audio recordings was not affordable.
Two “Englewood heroes” (in the words of the publication) Laurett Barrentine and Matthew Crabtree, were spurred to take action. They formed a group, Englewood Citizens for Open Government (ECOG), bought some recording equipment, then recorded the Council proceedings and made them available on the Web (EnglewoodCitizens.org).
Subsequently the City decided to record Council meetings and posted them on the City website. The citizens’ group continues to publish Council meetings on the ECOG website.
