To the Editor:

The Albany County Legislature is taking a needed step forward for transparency and citizen engagement. These issues were key parts of my campaign platform last year.

In April, the legislature is scheduled to begin live streaming county legislature meetings so citizens can view them on the Internet from home or on their mobile devices.

To build on this breakthrough, I have introduced a resolution that would make it much easier for you to interact with the legislature. It would call on the body to promote this new feature so people are aware of it and create a hashtag label for each meeting. This would allow citizens to actually become engaged in debate before a vote is taken (a hashtag, such as #CoLegMtg1, would allow you to quickly join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter).

The resolution would also make the meetings available online after they have concluded so you could view them on your schedule. Our 21st Century technology presents an unprecedented opportunity for dialogue with citizens during the lawmaking process. The more you know about what’s going on, and the more say you have about it, the greater the likelihood of stronger accountability.

This advance would also be a great outreach effort to engage our younger generation of Albany County residents who communicate extensively via social media.

I urge you to contact the legislature to support this resolution and I pledge to keep you updated on its progress.

Mark Grimm

Guilderland

Editor’s note: Mark Grimm represents the 29th District in the Albany County Legislature.