Open Government in Chatham County - Ag Advisory Board

After Dr. Dykers posted on Tuesday’s Chatlist about his Ag Advisory Board recommendation that opposed county-wide zoning, I sought a copy of the meeting minutes in order to read it for myself.

For those of you not following the Chatlist, here is Dr. Dyker's posting:

Alas, the Ag Advisory Board meeting minutes are not posted online, even though the County website indicates they get posted after each meeting. See http://www.chathamnc.org/index.aspx?page=1795.

When asked, a County representative politely responded that the Ag Board is redoing the ordinance that covers this board, and are developing bylaws. They will let me know when minutes get posted. The website also shows that the Ag Board meets four times per year, but has not had a meeting in the last 13 months. One can wonder if last June was when the Ag Board opposed county-wide zoning.

In the meantime, I sent a formal records request to the County for the 2015 meeting minutes of the Ag Advisory Board. When I receive them I will post the information to my blog. 

But more importantly, any citizen can request County public records by submitting the on-line form at https://chathamnc.seamlessdocs.com/f/PublicRecords. I highly encourage everyone to do so when information is not posted in a timely manner. Records of the County belong to the county citizens, and public access to public information ensures that we will continue to have transparent government for the County.