File Photo Three Alpena County commissioners are seen in this photo discussing an issue at a meeting last month. The News researched into local governments’s agendas and board packets for the celebration of Sunshine Week. Sunshine Week is a national nonpartisan collaboration among groups in the journalism, civic, government, and private sectors that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government.

ALPENA — Most municipalities in Northeast Michigan release their meeting agendas only a short time before public meetings and provide few details on what business may be conducted.

A few local governments post meetings and release agendas only about a day before meetings, which allows little time for the public to review them and consider making public comment.

The News’ research into agendas and board packets was spurred by the celebration of Sunshine Week.

Sunshine Week is a national nonpartisan collaboration among groups in the journalism, civic, government, and private sectors that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government.

In Northeast Michigan, Harrisville was the only municipality contacted by The News that doesn’t publish its agenda online, which can make getting information a challenge for residents.

Not only is an agenda not posted on its website, but Harrisville only makes it available about 24 hours before meetings, which are held the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m.

Harrisville Mayor Jeff Gehring said people who want to review an agenda need to stop into the clerk’s office to receive one.

That may be easier said than done for many people.

City Hall in Harrisville is only open from 9:30 a.m. until noon, which leaves little time for people to obtain an agenda before action is taken later in the evening.

It also limits the time people have to consider or prepare for any public comment they may want to share with the council.

Gehring understands that the current practice is not ideal and believes changes to it need to be made. He said the city is going through a transition within its IT department currently and he was non-committal on when any changes and agendas could become available online.

“We’re working on that right now, but right now, we’re not sure how to do it yet,” he said. “We are undergoing a system change in-house and our IT guys are still testing it over.”

In Northeast Michigan, Alpena and Alpena Township are the gold standard in transparency when it comes to the information they provide residents before meetings.

Not only do they make detailed agendas available days in advance of a public meeting, but they also include packets that include staff reports and recommendations, financial documents, and plans of any sort before the meeting commences.

The story is not the same for most local governments, as few post any material that can educate a resident on issues to be addressed during a meeting.

There is some information in a meeting packet that is not shared with the public and it typically involves closed-session business or information involving employees that could include their names or other personal information.

Alpena Mayor Cindy Johnson said city officials believe transparency and the sharing of information is the best way to educate residents about what issues local governments face and important decisions that are on the horizon. She said it’s especially important when those decisions could be controversial and people want to share their thoughts and concerns with their elected officials.

“It is important to be transparent and the City takes access to information seriously, whether it is meeting packets, remote access, or general information the public can find information on our website,” Johnson said. “Council and staff understand the importance of the public’s right to have information regarding their community and making access user friendly is key.”

Johnson said the availability of meetings on Zoom or other streaming platforms has also added a level of transparency to small government.

Rogers City releases its agenda online well before the meeting, about 72 hours, but there is little information on it pertaining to issues that will be addressed.

Also, there is no packet available to elaborate on the business to be considered during the meeting.

Rogers City Mayor Scott McLennan said Rogers City is very transparent in other ways. He said city business and happenings are shared at other types of meetings and he often engages with the public to answer questions and listen to concerns.

But, he admitted, the City could probably do more and he is open to providing more details to the public before a meeting.

“To be honest, it never really crossed my mind and it is just sort of the way business has been done,” he said. “We are always looking for ways to be transparent, but I think we can do more and I’m open to doing more. I will say this, I have never run away from the news or my constituents, no matter what the issue is.”

Rogers City isn’t the only municipality that doesn’t have a meeting packet it shares with residents online. Montmorency County, Hillman, Presque Isle County, and Alcona County also have nothing more than a bare-bones agenda.

Alpena County has a partial packet, but retrieving information from the website can be confusing, as users are redirected to other websites and often have to bounce back and forth from page to page to read all of the material.

Alpena and Alpena Township have their reports on one page and a user simply has to scroll down and read.

Alpena Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said over the years, the township has taken steps to make information easily available. He said it will continue to seek ways to broaden its transparency even more.

“We continuously strive to educate our residents as if they sit at the Board table. Because the better we inform our residents, we inherently improve our transparency, and that has been our mission since my first day in office,” Skibbe said.

The Open Meetings Act dictates that a public meeting needs to be posted no less than 18 hours beforehand, but municipalities are not required to have an agenda, at all.

All of the municipalities polled for this story release agendas, but many released them just before a meeting. Some give ample notice on what to expect at the meeting.

Montmorency County typically has its agenda available online about a week before a meeting and Alpena Township four or five days.

Alpena County, Harrisville, Hillman, and Alcona County release their packets closest to the meeting — usually about 24 hours.

Of course, the amount of time between the release of the agenda and the meeting can fluctuate from month to month.

Sunshine Sunday began in Florida in 2002, led by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.

National Sunshine Week was launched in 2005 by the American Society of Newspaper Editors with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

In 2019, the American Society of News Editors merged with the Associated Press Media Editors to become the News Leaders Association.