The Dorchester Citizens for Better Government group has two proposals that they think will significantly improve both transparency and good governance at the county level. And on the surface, they look like rather simple ones.
The first one, a change to Charter Section 606, it would require Dorchester County Council meetings to be on live CATV or live streamed on the internet. It would also require the Council to provide documents to the public that support the agenda items prior to Council meetings.
The second one is a charter amendment (405-406) is to prevent Council members from hiring and firing county employees other the its chief executive (County Manager). It simply strengthens the role of the County Manager in hiring and termination decisions of department heads and by instituting a formal process and safeguards for the hiring and dismissal of the County Manager.
On the face of it, both of these sound reasonable enough, but in order for these to be on the ballot in November, this croup will need to have close to 5,000 Dorchester residents sign petitions over the next several months to make that happen.
WHCP’s Kevin Diaz and the Spy’s Dave Wheelan sat down with Allen Nelson, president of Dorchester Citizens for Better Government yesterday at the studio on Race Street to talk in more detail about both of these important initiatives.
This video is approximately seven minutes in length. For more information about Dorchester Citizens for Better Government please contact at Allen Nelson at [email protected].
Charles H Rideout, Jr. says
Enjoyed and appreciated your comments, Allen. I Agree we need to pursue the new rules and regulations. You certainly have my signature on both documents. I will do what I can to spread the wor,