Dear Editor:
This area’s elected officials, Village of Milan, City of Grants, Cibola County, and Grants/Cibola County School District demonstrated their dedication to transparent government during the pandemic. Each relied on technology to provide online access for public meetings. There were occasional problems with the technology, but I commend the entities for continuing to provide public access during COVID-19.
Village Board of Trustees’ sessions and Milan P&Z meetings were available online.
City Council, Lodgers Tax Board, and Grants P&Z meetings were promptly posted on Facebook.
The school district implemented Zoom so people could participate in meetings. These sessions were archived and are available upon request.
Cibola General Hospital, a nine-member appointed board that includes one school board member and one county commissioner, utilized teleconferencing. This offered community members access to monthly board meetings via telephone.
Many people prefer not to attend public meetings. And some rooms do not provide adequate space to allow social distancing between audience members.
The use of technology enables people to learn how their elected officials are conducting the public’s business. I urge each entity to incorporate online access as a regular feature of their future sessions.
Rosanne Boyett
Former long-time area resident