That makes sense. However, the City of Ansonia has always posted the minutes of their meetings within 2 weeks of the actual meeting date. If they want to change course, that is fine. They should just let us know.

As an Ansonia resident I find the minutes ( when posted ) very helpful keeping me updated on all the transpiring’s within the city government affecting my quality of life in town.
Technology allows us to use these tools available for communication. Proven to the fact it is nearly impossible for many working residents with 1.5 hour or more commutes to attend such meetings in person.
Actually it would be better if Ansonia had employers present as Shelton has where we can make a living wage locally.
Judging by the downtown business district appearance and improvement direction (West Main Street backstreet improvement ??? – What will be gained there in light of the decrepit factories surrounding that improvement ??? ) I am quite confident that is not going to happen in my life time. I need to consider my personal options to turn my house into a rent joining the towns growing temporary rental society who so loosely use my tax dollars to gain education and other benefits.

The April minutes have been online for some time now: http://www.cityofansonia.com/filestorage/2528/563/565/5105/4_08_14_BOA_Meeting_Minutes.pdf

Nothing in the process has changed regarding aldermen minutes from the past administration. The same recording secretary is used, and the current webmaster places items on the site the same day they are received!

OP has a good point about clarifying the link, however. It is difficult to understand.

If they were online "for some time now" then they were filed in the wrong location. When you click Minutes>Aldermen>2014 Minutes they were not there...until this morning (or after 1pm yesterday the last time I checked). Perhaps the same recording secretary is used, but it is not the same webmaster. Things have definitely changed as far as that goes. Just check the 2013 minutes and you will see what I mean as far as clarifying the link is concerned.

I agree with Fred Sampson. In the past, it was required that the minutes be filed within 7 business days the last I knew. I know several people who have been looking for them online. The change they made in the format of filing minutes for various meetings is far lacking to say the least. For how much we pay people to take the minutes, the least to be expected would be that they be filed & available to the public in a more timely manner.

to whom it may concern.the board of ed person her last name is suweeza is now in charge of posting the minutes i think she is doing a great job.when i called a certian grant writter in the dell admm. she told me she wasnt obligated to post them.so we were at her mercy.

No, I'm sorry. If Ms. Suweeza was doing a "great job" then she would know in 2014 she IS required to post minutes to the city web site and no, the residents of Ansonia are not "at her mercy". I trust the Mayor's office has seen this and are investigating. The OP has a valid point.

hey larry try to read the post the right way.i said the dell administration NOT the cassetti one.the old people told me this not the new one.so please read things the right way before you run off at the mouth on subjects you dont know.

FYI - Minutes, agendas, cancellations, news and events, updates, photos, press releases, special meetings, to name a few, are recorded (if applicable) and posted daily. Perhaps if you are unable to locate information, please scroll through the list you are viewing. It is possible that it may be towards the bottom, depending on the nature if the content and title. The website software doesn't always allow preferred formats and we strive to keep the pages as friendly as possible. Should you have specific questions, please click the "contact us" at the bottom of the website page which will allow you to send your questions directly to the webmaster. Rest assured, all that should be on, is. I welcome your comments and questions and thank you for your input.

PS. It's Zawisza

Darlene you are doing excellent job on all the minutes and everything you do on the Ansonia website people should be very happy that you're doing this on your own time With no charge. Please keep up the good work for the citizens of Ansonia .We appreciate what you do. Thank you very much

Kenny, thank you for being so bold as to thank Darlene on behalf of ALL "Citizens of Ansonia". You may want to pull back and remember you are ONE person when thanking someone for something YOU appreciate. Thank you very much, another ONE Ansonia resident.

I don't know exactly who "Planner" is but he should check with the State of CT regarding minutes for Municipal Meetings.

This is directly from the State of CT FOI Laws.

"Generally, FOIA requires public agencies to keep minutes of their meetings and make the minutes available for public inspection within seven days after the meeting. The minutes must contain the vote of each member of the agency on any issue that came before it. If an agency has an Internet website, it must post the minutes on it by the seven day deadline. The requirement applies only to minutes that must be publicly disclosed (executive sessions are not covered). The law exempts from the requirement agencies of state political subdivisions. "

The 7-day deadline for internet posting does not apply to municipalities. Municipalities are "state political subdivisions". Boards of Education are actually their own political subdivision of the state, legally separate from the city it serves. Although the current law on internet posting does not apply to them, I completely agree that all municipalities should post them on-line as soon as the drafts are available in hard copy. It is good practice and benefits the public at minimal cost.
I was only citing the legal requirements and identifying when minutes are actually official. In regard to the recording secretaries actually posting the minutes on-line, most secretaries don't have direct access to their websites. Municipal or BOE IT offices generally have to perform the mechanics of posting, so they delay may not be the recording secretary's responsibility.

Talk about being thrown under a bus (or in this case, an ice cream truck).

Mike (Softy), when you incessantly called my office for minutes to be posted, I explained that I would post them within 24 hours of receiving such minutes. If I didn’t have them, I couldn’t post them (which, I’m sure, the current webmaster will agree). The residents were not at my “mercy.” An improved system would have been welcomed.

Yes, having the minutes posted online is a good practice and benefits the residents, which is why I did the job for years, on my own time, without additional compensation.

Mike, I certainly did not say I “wasn’t obligated” to post the minutes, but I did read to you from the Connecticut State Statutes PA 10-171 – HB 5255 (Sec. 4. Section 1-225) – An Act Concerning Municipal Mandate Relief, which states “no public agency of a political subdivision of the state shall be required to post such minutes on an Internet web site.” This was in clarification of your misunderstanding of the FOIA requirement. The city is not "required" to post minutes online.

Planner is correct - a municipality is a political subdivision of the state. This does not exclude minutes from being filed within seven days with the municipality’s Town Clerk’s office where they are available for public inspection. Minutes are official once approved by the board at its next meeting, there have been cases where revised minutes were posted online to replace an older version, but are noted as such.

Eileen K, are you saying that it was often that there were delays in getting Minutes to you? I'm not complaining. I would just like to know where the problem lies and how to get it rectified. Whose responsibility is it to get those minutes to you?

Just wanted to say NICE IMPROVEMENTS to the website. The links are now easy to read and well organized. Thank you for correcting this!!!

Still do not see June's BOA minutes posted on the website. Very frustrating. The Republicans were gung-ho about taping the meetings so they could be broadcast on local cable channels (that died out) and yet they can't seem to post the minutes in a timely manner.

The website should have Accurate information. The list of Board Members are Outdated and Incorrect !!! There have been Many changes and the website does not reflect this. Where is the Transparency ???

Dear Citizen ~ as the webmaster, I take pride in keeping the website updated daily. These changes that you speak of, kindly send them into the general mailbox on the city website, where I can research to see if any additional updates need to be made.

The Board of Aldermen Meetings are taped and are available by clicking on a link at the bottom of the City Web site opening page or going to the Board Of Aldermen Page where links are also provided. It is also broadcast in one hour increments every Wednesday at 9:00 PM by Comcast on the Public Access Channel 10. If you have access to a computer to look for minutes you can watch the entire meeting on video. The link is usually active the day after the meeting.

Dzawisza,

You "take pride in keeping the website updated daily" but you need posters here to send you the changes that need to be made to the site and the site is clearly outdated and incorrect.

I wouldn't be very proud if I were you.

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