Rathdrum advances transparency agenda

RATHDRUM — Rathdrum officials recently decided they would no longer televise City Council or Planning & Zoning meetings on Zoom.

That prompted vocal concern from citizens about the council’s motives.

But never fear: Transparency is here. On Monday, the city reversed its position.

“Effective immediately, we will begin live broadcasting our meetings on the YouTube channel,” said City Administrator Leon Duce following a conversation with Rathdrum Mayor Vic Holmes.

Previously, the city had been recording the meetings with Zoom and posting them on YouTube the next day. Now they'll be live streamed instead. Zoom will be discontinued.

Citizen concern grew when the city announced it was making the Zoom changes.

“What about transparency?” said Ed DePriest, a member of Responsible North Idaho Growth. “They are shutting down Zoom because they don’t like the added attention. They have hidden motives.”

Duce told The Press the issue isn't about transparency, but numbers.

The COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary last year to provide citizens virtual access to meetings and prompted the start of the city of Rathdrum YouTube channel.

However, viewers on Zoom and YouTube in recent months have been very few. The Planning & Zoning meeting on July 12 had just five views. The City Council meeting June 23 had only seven.

In-person attendance has recently been strong.

“We’re often seeing a packed house,” Duce said Monday.

Duce said that the extra staff they needed to manage Zoom wasn't worth maintaining for the few viewers watching there.

“We are trying to provide as much transparency as we can,” he said. “We want to reach as many citizens as possible.”

Duce said the city has an email system in place to notify the public about any meetings or hearings. He said the City Council plans to post all results from council meetings on the city of Rathdrum Facebook page as well, including how council members vote and which initiatives are approved or denied.

“There is a big effort going into getting people the information from our meetings,” he said.

The city of Rathdrum is in the process of implementing a new system called TextMyGov, a texting app allowing Rathdrum citizens to send and receive text messages to their city government.

TextMyGov should go live soon, although there are some final preparations to be worked out.

According to Textmygov.com, the system allows government officials to send messages or alerts via text, and for citizens in turn to report code violations, road damage or animal control concerns.

Citizens will have the ability to attach photos to the alerts they send city officials, as well as having easy access to details like city office hours, sanitation schedules and parking information.

Duce explained that the City Council is completely committed to public transparency. The only time issues are discussed privately are during legally sanctioned executive sessions.

Issues discussed in executive session can only be voted on in public.

“We never deliberate, or vote privately,” Duce said. “It never happens.”

Info: TextMyGov.com, for email alerts with the city of Rathdrum see www.rathdrum.org/email or rathdrum.org for meeting schedules & agendas