In a move they believe could help modernize Kendall County government, two County Board candidates are suggesting moving meetings to the evening and posting more information on the county website.
District 1 Candidate Matthew Prochaska and District 2 Candidate Scott Gryder released a plan with a proposed meeting schedule and details on combining county committees.They also suggested adding video of county meetings and a database of county expenditures to the county website.
"Change is always difficult, and there will no doubt be resistance to this plan," Prochaska said in the news release. "But this is intended to be a starting point to get other board members moving towards a consensus that will help the voters and taxpayers keep a watch over their elected representatives and their tax dollars."
Some of these ideas surfaced during the primary race, when various candidates argued that daytime meetings were more convenient for county staff. Others, including current board members Anne Vickery and Dan Koukol, supported reducing the number of committees.
Prochaska suggested county staff could receive flex time and come in later the morning after attending a county meeting.
Presently, county board members can attend two monthly board meetings, attend a monthly committee of the whole meeting and participate in 11 county board committees. One monthly board meeting starts at 9 a.m., while another starts at 6 p.m. The committee meetings start at a variety of times, with the Economic Development Committee meeting starting at 8:30 a.m. and the Labor and Grievence Committee meeting starting at 3 p.m.
Prochaska and Gryder suggest merging six of the commitees into the Committee of the Whole. Their proposed calendar has meetings starting at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Gryder said residents have told him the daytime meetings prevent them from being more involved county government. The pair also points out that about 65 percent of working Kendall County residents commute outside the county for their jobs.
"Most government bodies meet in the evening so that the process is more open and more citizens can be involved," Gryder said in the news release. "It still will take a tremendous time commitment, but this is a great start for streamlining county government. Evening meetings have been discussed for decades and Kendall County has grown so much that the time is now to make this a reality.”
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I cannot wait for the Online County checkbook to be on the web or having the Kendal County Board Meeting video available soon after a meeting is held. I hope there are plans also for a KCB meeting video archive library so past meetings can be stored and catalog on our County website.